The Fort Worth Press - Philippines to re-open to vaccinated foreign tourists

USD -
AED 3.67295
AFN 68.452776
ALL 93.048382
AMD 390.177793
ANG 1.816976
AOA 911.999619
ARS 998.2263
AUD 1.54507
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.698754
BAM 1.853558
BBD 2.03554
BDT 120.47462
BGN 1.855803
BHD 0.376886
BIF 2977.069937
BMD 1
BND 1.347372
BOB 6.966716
BRL 5.825396
BSD 1.008198
BTN 85.007628
BWP 13.679442
BYN 3.299388
BYR 19600
BZD 2.031743
CAD 1.39969
CDF 2864.999771
CHF 0.887995
CLF 0.035848
CLP 989.153355
CNY 7.242201
CNH 7.254505
COP 4485.54
CRC 514.803442
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 104.500739
CZK 23.985696
DJF 179.528977
DKK 7.077685
DOP 60.720649
DZD 133.952972
EGP 49.372602
ERN 15
ETB 123.045036
EUR 0.948855
FJD 2.27535
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.789359
GEL 2.730455
GGP 0.789317
GHS 16.281891
GIP 0.789317
GMD 70.999572
GNF 8685.114015
GTQ 7.788646
GYD 210.880869
HKD 7.781775
HNL 25.453011
HRK 7.133259
HTG 132.557454
HUF 387.514307
IDR 15925.803259
ILS 3.75528
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.414504
IQD 1320.673043
IRR 42092.50406
ISK 139.809873
JEP 0.789317
JMD 159.606118
JOD 0.709202
JPY 155.972502
KES 129.514885
KGS 86.199267
KHR 4084.665671
KMF 466.349913
KPW 900.000094
KRW 1405.411475
KWD 0.307686
KYD 0.839986
KZT 496.917168
LAK 22141.007898
LBP 90227.005275
LKR 294.668935
LRD 190.003315
LSL 18.110979
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.884614
MAD 10.024356
MDL 18.167086
MGA 4704.489757
MKD 58.413636
MMK 2097.99974
MNT 3398.000066
MOP 8.075803
MRU 40.134198
MUR 47.429998
MVR 15.449884
MWK 1748.169588
MXN 20.548297
MYR 4.484504
MZN 63.899993
NAD 18.111065
NGN 1684.480416
NIO 37.103201
NOK 11.15606
NPR 136.03721
NZD 1.704841
OMR 0.385008
PAB 1
PEN 3.821032
PGK 4.051574
PHP 58.819002
PKR 280.056171
PLN 4.113175
PYG 7867.983726
QAR 3.675652
RON 4.722896
RSD 111.038018
RUB 99.300479
RWF 1383.775103
SAR 3.757064
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.620181
SDG 601.488769
SEK 11.00801
SGD 1.346067
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.814977
SLL 20969.503157
SOS 576.121825
SRD 35.279862
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.819614
SYP 2512.529518
SZL 18.116683
THB 35.003667
TJS 10.73969
TMT 3.51
TND 3.147935
TOP 2.389991
TRY 34.35863
TTD 6.849698
TWD 32.572978
TZS 2681.658374
UAH 41.641396
UGX 3672.512403
UYU 42.486895
UZS 12891.667497
VES 44.876473
VND 25393.60245
VUV 118.721977
WST 2.803992
XAF 622.573731
XAG 0.03345
XAU 0.000391
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.753908
XOF 622.573731
XPF 113.258656
YER 249.774976
ZAR 18.282105
ZMK 9001.205525
ZMW 27.572126
ZWL 321.999592
  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • RBGPF

    59.2500

    59.25

    +100%

  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0400

    7.07

    -0.57%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

Philippines to re-open to vaccinated foreign tourists
Philippines to re-open to vaccinated foreign tourists

Philippines to re-open to vaccinated foreign tourists

The Philippines will re-open to fully vaccinated tourists from most countries on February 10 and lift quarantine requirements, officials said Friday, nearly two years after closing its borders to contain the coronavirus.

Text size:

Tourism operators across the archipelago nation famed for its beaches and dive spots have been devastated by a plunge in international visitors and restrictions on domestic travel.

Their misery was worsened by a super typhoon that smashed into the country in December, wiping out resorts, restaurants and bars in popular tourist destinations.

"The tourism industry can now recover and it can contribute big to jobs, livelihoods and the country's economic growth," presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles told a briefing.

A previous plan to welcome back tourists from December 1 was suspended after the emergence of the hyper-contagious Omicron variant that has since ripped through the Philippines.

Friday's announcement allows for the resumption of visa-free travel for short visits by nationals from the 157 countries who already enjoyed permit-free entry to the Philippines before the pandemic began.

Fully vaccinated tourists from countries on the list will need to test negative for Covid-19 shortly before flying to the Philippines and will not have to quarantine on arrival.

The list excludes China, the Philippines' fastest-growing tourist market, as well as Taiwan and India.

But it includes Manila's remaining top-10 tourism sources, such as the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, and Britain.

Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said it made no sense to restrict international travellers when Covid-19 transmission rates in the Philippines were so high, "maybe even higher" than in some countries.

"Based on those premises we recommended to ease restrictions," she said.

Unvaccinated foreigners will be banned from entry from February 16, Nograles said.

Tourism is a major driver of the Southeast Asian country's economy, accounting for nearly 13 percent of gross domestic product in 2019, when more than eight million people visited, official data shows.

That slumped to 5.4 percent in 2020 as tourist arrivals plummeted 82 percent to 1.48 million.

The government tightened restrictions across the national capital region and other provinces in recent weeks as Omicron fuelled a record surge in infections.

Around half of the country's 110 million people are fully vaccinated.

The Philippines has recorded more than 3.4 million infections since the start of the pandemic, including over 53,000 deaths.

S.Jordan--TFWP