NI NOEL ABUEL
Isinusulong ng isang kongresista ang pagtatanggal sa mahigpit na ipinatutupad na heath restrictions sa mga dumarating na mga turista sa bansa upang makatulong sa pag-angat ng ekonomiya ng bansa.
Ayon kay Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villfuerte, kailangan nang maging maluwag ang pamahalaan sa mga pagdating ng mga turista tulad ng pag-alis ng mandatory booster shots at Covid-19 testing .
“Rather than just playing catch-up to its Asian peers whose respective tourism industries have already started on strong-recovery mode, the Philippines, with its far better tourist attractions than those of its neighbors, could actually overtake its direct competitors in the region by doing away with its stringent travel curbs that have impelled most tourists to instead visit—and spend their money in—countries that have relaxed, if not jettisoned altogether, their Covid-related health and border entry protocols,” sabi ng three-term congressman at dating gobernador ng CamSur.
“Our quick and strong rebound from the nearly three-year pandemic, which is contingent in part on the full recovery of our tourism sector and the dramatic increase in tourist arrivals, will probably remain elusive for so long as the Philippines is stuck on the list of countries with tough entry restrictions for travellers,” dagdag nito.
Sinabi pa ni Villafuerte na kailangan ng gobyerno na gumawa ng hakbang upang mahikayat ang mas maraming turista na pumunta sa Pilipinas, higit pa sa kadahilanang ang global passenger traffic ay hindi inaasahang ganap na makakabawi hanggang 2024, bilang resulta ng patuloy na paghihigpit at humihinang global travel demand mula sa mataas na inflation, paghina ng ekonomiya at ang geopolitical conflict.
Bagama’t sinabi ng World Health Organization (WHO) noong nakaraang linggo na ang pandemya ay nananatiling “public health emergency of international concern” at mayroon pa ring panganib,
“It is quite ironic that while we were actually the first in Asia to allow the entry of foreigners for business and tourism purposes beginning February—but subject to certain conditions—the Philippines continues to be at the tailend in terms of tourist arrivals because it has failed to match this open policy with the lifting or at least relaxation of such strict entry requirements as booster vaccinations and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or antigen tests that have obviously turned off foreign travellers and impelled them to bypass our lovely archipelago and spend their free time—and cash—elsewhere,” paliwanag pa ng mambabatas.
Sinabi pa ni Villafuerte, na sa pagbawi sa mahigpit na health protocols sa mga overseas travellers ay mabisang paraan para matupad ang nais ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., na na dapat matuto ang mga Filipino na mamuhay kasama na ang virus tulad ng flu at pneumonia.
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