“The Philippines is now open for foreign tourists,” said Ambassador Ombra T. Jainal as he opened the breakfast meeting on “The Philippines: It’s More Fun with You” at Prague Andaz Hotel on 25 May 2022.
Speaking before a number of Czech travel and tour companies at the venue and to another group of Philippine tourism companies via videoconference, Ambassador Jainal stressed that the Philippines is not only open but is more than ready to receive foreign tourists, especially those from the Czech Republic who are allowed to enter and stay in the Philippines without a visa for not more than 30 days, provided that they present a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate and negative RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to departure from initial point of origin, among others.
“The Philippines is close to achieving 70% of its 109 million total population vaccinated against COVID-19. As of 17 May 2022, 61.6% of our population are fully vaccinated, ranking the Philippines as 14th out of 205 countries in terms of total doses of vaccines administered. Our tourism industry actors are vaccinated against the virus; thus, ensuring the health and safety of both local and foreign tourists in the Philippines,” Ambassador Jainal said.
In a pre-recorded message, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat conveyed her appreciation of Czech tour agents in considering the Philippines as “a destination of choice for Czech travelers” and added that the Philippines is “offering at least 115 new tourism circuits across the country, featuring culinary, history, nature, wellness and farm tourism to cater to the needs of new normal travelers.”
Further, Tourism Director Ms. Margarita Patricia Valdes presented the latest developments in the Philippine tourism sector, including its thrust for continued sustainability, and select Philippine destinations, such as Siargao, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Manila, Banaue and Boracay.
Airline partners, Emirates and Philippine Airlines (PAL), presented the international and domestic routes for travelers from the Czech Republic to the Philippines. Emirates flies daily to the Philippines (Manila, Cebu and Clark) via Dubai and PAL services about 40 domestic routes open for foreign tourists to date.
Six Philippine companies participated in the virtual B2B meetings with the Czech tour agents after the first part of the program.
The breakfast meeting was a held to reinforce the successful participation of the Embassy in the international trade fair and exhibition Holiday World and Region World 2022 at PVA Expo Praha in Letnany on 18-20 March 2022. END.