SAGADA, Mountain Province – The municipal government is confident on the projected rebound of the heavily impacted tourism industry from the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic following the reported down trend in cases over the past several weeks and the lowering of the Alert Levels in most parts of the country, especially the National Capital Region (NCR) which is the major source of visitors frequently the municipality.
Mayor James Pooten II disclosed that since the implementation of Alert Level IV in the province, there were no tourists that booked their reservations in the accredited accommodation establishments but concerned tourism industry stakeholders are keeping their fingers crossed that there will be visitors who will be visiting the various tourist destinations to help in gradually and safely reviving the local economy.
However, he pointed out that tourists that will be allowed to enter the municipality must be fully vaccinated and must have with them their negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results which they will show to the town’s triage.
Further, the local chief executive added that visitors who will be found to have symptoms in the triage will be immediately subjected to antigen test and if they turn out to be positive, they will not be allowed to enter the town and they will be immediately sent back to their places of origin.
According to him, the municipal inter-agency will maintain the original 300 daily limit on tourists who will be allowed to enter the city as the same had not yet been met or exceeded when the municipality started allowing visitors to visit the different tourist destinations late last year.
Mayor Pooten claimed that tourists wanting to visit the town must first register online in the local governments registration platform, umali kayo Sagada, 2 days prior to their scheduled visit to ensure that they will be able to be part of the daily limit aside from the fact that they must already be booked in the various accommodation establishments that have been allowed to operate following their compliance to the prescribed standards for their resumption of operation.
Sagada is one of the premier tourist destinations in the Cordillera because of its natural attractions that serve as a magnet for nature lovers to frequent the place for them to be able to blend with nature.
The mayor admitted that the impact of the ongoing pandemic to the local tourism industry has been enormous that tourism industry stakeholders are now looking for ways to earn income while awaiting the easing up of the prevailing restrictions that will pave the way for people to be able to freely move around which will trigger improved economic activities even in the countryside.
He stipulated that tourist must have to bear with the inconveniences being caused by the implementation of the stringent guidelines on the entry of visitors in the locality because what is important is for the protection of the health and safety of everyone to prevent possible surges in cases that might compel the government to impose additional restrictions that might affect the initial gains towards the revival of the economy.