MANILA-- The country remains safe as precautionary measures are in place to contain the deadly 2019-novel coronavirus, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) said Tuesday.
The DOT and TCP made the remark in a joint statement as they also announced continued marketing and promotions of Philippine destinations, specifically targeting domestic travelers.
"The DOT and the TCP, which represents the country's tourism stakeholders, assure the public, especially our foreign and domestic tourists, that the Philippines remains a safe destination for travel," the joint statement reads.
"All preventive and precautionary measures are being put in place by the national government to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) including the temporary entry ban for tourists coming from China, its Special Administrative Regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau, Taiwan, and the 14-day quarantine for Filipinos coming from the said places," it added.
To mitigate the economic impact of the nCoV crisis, the tourism sector agreed to roll out a program offering more value-added tour packages, discounted accommodation rates and marked-down prices for domestic flights.
The DOT, for its part, said it will intensify its marketing and promotions domestically and internationally in key markets such as South Korea, the United States and Japan, and opportunity and emerging markets that cover Western Europe, the Middle East, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and neighboring Southeast Asian countries.
"In these challenging times, the tourism sector spanning airlines, hotels and tour operators, have banded together for the continued growth of the industry," the statement reads.
"It is because of this support from both the public and private sector that we reiterate that the Philippines remains a vast, diverse and most importantly, safe destination for international and domestic travelers alike," it added. (PNA)
