CORTES, Bohol, Feb. 3 (PIA) -- Boholanos who would want to visit local tourism sites and destinations need not present a tour voucher for a tour organized by a tour agent accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
According to Executive Order No. 7 series of 2021, which Gov. Arthur Yap signed on Jan. 27, 2021, Boholano tourists only have to present their local Quick Reaction (QR) codes upon entry and exit in all tourist sites within Bohol.
The QR codes, also known as the Bohol Card, is the Boholano equivalent of the tourists' “Tour Voucher” which tourists from outside the province need to secure as soon as they pre-register and pre-book their stay at accommodation establishments with DOT permit to operate, and pre-arrange their tour itinerary to sites and destinations granted with the Provincial Government’s Ultimate Bohol Experience (UBE) Seal.
Earlier, Yap issued has Executive Order No. 53 series of 2020 which set the guidelines in the Implementation of the Bohol Tourist Bubble.
The Bohol Tourist Bubble Executive Order marked the era when Bohol re-opened its doors to outsiders after it closed its portals on March 16, 2020.
E.O. 53 allowed tourists to come to Bohol but only for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) as well as for events like birthdays, anniversaries, and similar celebrations with six attendees.
However, the tourists have to pre-register online through the Bohol tourist registration portal and that their events be coordinated by the Bohol Tourism Office.
When registering, tourists get their own version of the Bohol Card with the QR Code that facilitates a more efficient computer-based contact tracing system.
Upon registering, tourists must also be able to show proof that they do not have COVID-19 through a negative COVID test via the Reverse transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Test.
That means tourists who come in should be able to show not just a negative result for COVID-19 but also a confirmed hotel booking in a DOT-permitted hotel with Bohol UBE seal, and a pre-booked tour itinerary as arranged by a DOT-accredited tour and travel operator.
The arriving tourists would only travel when fetched by a designated and DOT accredited driver and tour guide, from the airport to their hotel accommodations and to their tours, without deviating from their tour itinerary.
Boholanos, too, according to E.O. 53, can join the tourists in their MICE and events as long as they would agree to be quarantined for five days and be tested for COVID-19 via RT PCR.
E.O. 53 also states that tourists staying more than five days in Bohol has to take an RT PCR test on the fifth day.
But under E.O. No. 8, tourists staying for more than five days may now opt to take a repeat RT PCR on the fifth day should they decide to leave the tourist bubble, or may not have to retake the COVID-19 test if they decide to stay within the bubble.
For locals attending MICE and events, they can according to the new E.O. provided that the event is held at an open-air venue and that participants must self-quarantine for at least five days after the event.
In the event that the local participants exhibit COVID-19 symptoms while on self-quarantine, or when one of the event's participants is found to be COVID-19 positive, they would be required to take the COVID-19 test.
The same E.O. has also included DOT accredited sites and accommodation establishments or with the UBE seal in Anda which are now part of the Tourist Bubble. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
0 Comments