La Union opens up to NCR Plus tourists: What you need to know

After the government allowed leisure trips from the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus to selected areas until June 15, resorts in San Juan, La Union — the surfing capital of the North — have started getting flooded with booking inquiries.

According to Ian Cruz’s report on “24 Oras,” to make sure that trips remain smooth and safe, the La Union Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association (LUHRRA) reminded tourists that they must meet the following requirements:

• Tourists must have a travel agent from La Union
• Tourist must log -in to the tarana.launion.govt.ph for their travel request
• Tourist must have a negative RT-PCR test or saliva test that was taken 72 hours before travel

“Madami na pong tumatawag, madami na rin pong nag-aapply using the TaraNa app. Meron na kaming almost 1,000 na inquiries doon and most of them ay nagkaroon na rin po ng approval,” LUHRRA president Crestine Lucman said.

(Many people are calling and many have applied using the TaraNa app. We have almost 1,000 inquiries there and most of them have been approved.)

Restaurants and resorts in the area that have been accredited by the Department of Tourism are now prepared to receive tourists.

Reminders on health protocols have also been posted in these establishments and markers have been placed in check-in areas of resort to prevent crowding.

Small resorts have also established an isolation area for guests that would show symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019.

To prevent transmission of the illness, surfing instructor and his or her student are not allowed to get too close to each other.

Authorities are also conducting checkpoints at the boundary of Burgos, La Union.

Individuals going through the checkpoint must present their RT-PCR test result and QR code showing that they have registered with the local government.

Dante

Aside from the incoming tourists, residents of La Union are also monitoring the arrival of tropical storm Dante.

Surfers in the area said storms can bring both good and bad things to surfing sites. 

“Kapag malaking-malaki na ‘yung bagyo, ‘di na kami lumalabas. Pero ang bagyo talaga, ang dinadala niyan alon,” surfing instructor Lemon Dines said.

(If the storm is really big, we won’t go out anymore. But storms actually bring waves.)

“Either, pag bagong dating hindi ka makapag-surf, pero pag alis na pag alis nung bagyo, ilang araw ‘yan maganda ‘yung alon,”  he added.

(You can’t surf once the storm arrives, but the waves will be good for a few days after it leaves.) -Joahna Lei Casilao/MDM, GMA News