The Philippines to fully reopen its borders to all foreign tourists on 1 April

As of 9 March, the number of arrivals in the country reached 76,736

The Philippines reopened its borders to foreign travellers from visa-free countries on 10 February.

On 1 April, the Philippine government is fully reopening its borders to foreign visitors as visa issuances resume in Philippine embassies and consulates.

An alternative option has been allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which allows fully vaccinated foreign tourists to submit a negative laboratory-based antigen test result taken within 24 hours of departure. This is following the previous requirement that a negative RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to departure must be presented to be granted entry.

Business Mirror reported that Croatia, Cyprus, and Nepal are also among the 157 countries whose citizens are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa under Executive Order No. 408. Tourists from Hong Kong and Macau will also be allowed to enter the country for a period not exceeding 14 days.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said, “This latest development opens the country to all fully vaccinated tourists from all countries and means the country’s tourism industry is well on its way to recovery.” 

“We at the DOT thank our colleagues in the IATF for approving such measures that will help sustain the recovery of the sector in the coming months. We have high hopes that all of these will result in an uptick in international travelers visiting the country during the summer season,” she added.

More: More than 21,000 people visited the Philippines since its reopening

As of 9 March, the number of arrivals in the country reached 76,736, wherein 43,249 of these were foreign visitors while 33,487 are balikbayans, according to the Philippines News Agency. Baguio City, Batangas, Boracay, and Palawan remained the most popular destinations in the country.

Puyat said that while the number was not as big as it was before the pandemic, which was approximately 8.28 million, it was still a “pleasant surprise.” The top markets, according to the Department of Tourism, included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].