Given the natural beauty of the Philippines and the innate diversity of its points of interest in terms of aesthetic, ecological and historical value, the tourism sector has always been one of the strongest contributors to both social and economic progress. In years past, tourism contributed 12.7 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed 13.5 per cent of its total workforce, accounting for 5.71 million jobs in total.
However, with travel bans being imposed across the globe and localised quarantines being implemented in the strictest fashion by regional and local governments, Philippine tourism is one of the industries devastated by Covid-19. This has been quite a blow to the nation, but given how medical caseloads are beginning to go down, Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat of the Department of Tourism (DOT) is optimistic about gradually reopening the country to both domestic and foreign tourists. As this article goes to press, several major local destinat