DOT wants visit from BTS, Hyun Bin to boost tourism

The Department of Tourism wants to invite South Korean superstars BTS and Hyun Bin to the Philippines.

According to Mariz Umali’s “24 Oras” report Friday, the move was seen to boost tourism after the lifting of the age restriction for domestic travel. 

“I always ask our attaché that if possible, they should ask their media to come and bring Hyun Bin along with them,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said in Filipino.

The secretary said that before the pandemic, the “Crash Landing On You” actor was supposed to visit the country and go to Boracay or Bohol.

“So that’s my goal, Hyun Bin and BTS,” she said, adding that the celebrities would be accompanied only by “fully vaccinated” people.

The report also said many international tourists had long been wanting to visit the Philippines again, especially South Koreans, the country’s top foreign visitors. 

Puyat said many foreign film outfits had successfully finished shooting in several locations in the country despite the pandemic, such as Caramoan in Camarines Sur and El Nido in Palawan.

As of now, only balikbayans or visiting or returning Filipinos are allowed to travel to the Philippines.

Puyat, however, said the DOT was pushing for its “Green Lane” initiative, which aimed to shorten the quarantine period for fully vaccinated balikbayans and tourists.

They were also studying if it was possible to do away with quarantine for fully vaccinated arrivals if it could be proven that they were immune from the virus. – RC, GMA News