According to the estimates, drop in tourist arrivals in Boracay alone reached 30-40 percent since the outbreak of the new coronavirus followed by travel restrictions for Chinese visitors imposed by the President scared the tourists off from the popular hot spots.
The President is going to take commercial flights to travel the country to go through all the necessary protocols to show travel in the Philippines remains totally safe at the moment. It is expected that the President's visit will boost domestic tourism which will partly compensate losses of the sector due to decrease of foreign tourist arrivals.
Currently, with some of the country's most important tourism revenue generating destinations almost shut down, the Philippines' tourism sector is projected to lose around USD291.71 million in February 2020 alone. Yet the Tourism Department of the Philippines assures that regardless of the hard times, the industry "intends to remain as one of the top growth drivers" of the country.
President Duterte to Visit Philippines' Prime Tourist Destinations to Boost Domestic Travel
News in Asia
The Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte is set to prove that destinations, particularly Boracay, Cebu, and Bohol, are safe from the 2019-nCoV. To do that, the President will start traveling around the country to show that it's safe.