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More vaccines will be sent to tourism areas–Dizon

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MORE vaccines will be sent to key leisure destinations in the country as more supplies arrive.

This was the assurance made by National Task Force against Covid-19  (NTF) Deputy Chief Implementer Vince Dizon, as resort islands like Boracay and Panglao started ramping up their vaccination of residents and tourism frontliners in preparation for their eventual reopening to foreign travelers.

“Yes, we sent doses to Bohol for frontliners,” said Dizon in a Viber message to the BusinessMirror. “We will be sending more in the coming days and thank Sec. Berna and Gov. Art for their efforts,” referring to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat and Bohol Gov. Art Yap.

He added, “[NTF Chief Implementer] Secretary [Carlito] Galvez will continue to support them with the much-needed doses as they arrive.” Yap has requested for vaccines for 70,000 individuals. (See, “Island destinations gear up for the entry of foreign tourists,” in the BusinessMirror, June 21, 2021.)

OFWs to get Pfizer vaxx

Dizon acknowledged Boracay Island’s request for vaccines for 40,000 individuals, “And Secretary Charlie will agree to this, I’m sure. We’re just waiting for more doses of Sinovac and Gamaleya [Sputnik V] to arrive, because we can only use procured vaccines for A4,” the priority category to which tourism frontliners belong.

He underscored that donated vaccines under the Covax facility of the World Health Organization are only for A1 (medical frontliners), A2 (seniors), A3 (those with comorbidities).

But seafarers and other overseas Filipino workers for deployment abroad are now in the A1 category and will be jabbed with  the Pfizer vaccine. “Indigents who are in the A5 category,” will also be inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine, he sad.

Asked how OFWs can request for the Pfizer vaccine, Dizon said, “They can ask their LGU [local government unit] directly or through their agencies, and Owwa [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] and Marina [Maritime Industry Authority] for seafarers.”

Boracay arrivals at 16K

As this developed, Boracay businesses have been ecstatic in the last few weeks as visitors to the island were recorded at 16,047 from June 1-20, significantly higher than the 1,311 tourists recorded from May 1-23. The increase is likely due to the arrival of tourists from the National Capital Region, after residents were allowed to travel to modified general community quarantine areas like Boracay.

Ging Salme, manager of the popular Jony’s Resort, shared, “So far we’re okay, although it’s not the same as before [prior to the pandemic]. But we’re happy we’ve hit 50-percent occupancy for 21 rooms. But this coming Thursday to Sunday, we’re almost full already.”

But she noted it’s only during weekends that tourists arrive there in droves. On weekdays, their resort records “just 30-percent occupancy.” While the family-run property, a consistent TripAdvisor awardee for excellence, also has a boutique hotel on Station 2, Salme says she moves guests who book there to the beachfront resort on Station 1, “to lessen our operating expenses.”

She added, “It helped a lot that we started promoting and selling rooms via social media. We had to be aggressive and active there. Also, our recent sales promo helped. The rate we are offering now is the same rate when I started working here 22 years ago. But of course, since our market is still limited to local tourists and we’re still in a pandemic, even the large hotels are cutting their rates. We can’t offer a higher rate than them, of course.”

Salme said they also have flexible rates and rebooking schemes, which have boosted their bookings. She expressed hope that their island gets more vaccines especially for tourism frontliners like her. “They [government] should prioritize Boracay,” in the vaccination program.

Read full article on BusinessMirror

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