Baguio to allow Metro Manila, Region 1-2 tourists on Oct. 22

The Department of Tourism announced on Saturday that Baguio City would open itself to travelers from Metro Manila, Region 2, and Region 3 on October 22.

According to a DOT Facebook post, the opening was announced during a DOT-Baguio Post Opening Assessment attended by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Representative Mark Go, and the tourism stakeholders of the City of Pines.

With Baguio opening itself up to tourists from other areas, new health and safety measures will be finalized together with the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Technical Working Group (TWG).

Nevertheless, Puyat noted that only a maximum of 200 guests would be allowed per day starting October 22 as this would ensure proper visitor management.

Meanwhile, documentary requirements would be relaxed in the digital platform called Baguio Visitor Information and Travel Assistance or VIS.I.T.A, which had received 2,000 registrations and some 200 travel requests since it officially launched on September 22.

While the requirement for visitors to book their itineraries through a DOT-accredited tour agency was now optional, they would still be required to book in a DOT-accredited accommodation establishment issued with a Certificate Authority to Operate.

“Now that we have an actual visitor count, the city has an important reference point and valuable feedback on how to move forward from this initial opening period,” said Puyat.

The Tourism Secretary noted that the increase in the capacity of Baguio’s critical health care and isolation centers, the addition of newly trained contact tracers, and the creation of a new triage center for tourists at the CAP Convention Center had allowed for the further opening to tourism.

Baguio City had opened itself to tourists from Region 1 last October 1. — DVM, GMA News