REGISTERED TRIPS. After Baguio City reopened its borders to tourists on Oct. 1, a total of 1,249 prospective tourists have registered in the online tourist assistance portal of the city, with two of them currently on a weekend visit. The city government has reiterated that tourists have to pre-register and submit the required documents before they are allowed to enter the city. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The tourism office here said a total of 1,249 prospective tourists have registered at the Baguio VISITA (visitor information and travel assistance) online portal.
In an advisory, Engr. Aloysius Mapalo said the account registrations were applied as of 5:04 p.m. Saturday, 107 of them made travel requests and also uploaded the requirements.
The city government requires a tourist to have a confirmed booking with a tour agency and accommodation establishment issued with a certificate of authority to operate.
A swab test result is also required.
Tourists also need to propose an itinerary subject to the approval of the city government through the city tourism office.
Once approved, an individual quick response (QR) code will be sent to the tourist which will serve as a pass at the border checkpoint borders.
Mapalo said on Sunday "these are guided tours and only the places in the itinerary will be visited. We do not yet allow DIY (do it yourself) travel."
He said while tourists cannot visit a relative or a friend in Baguio, they can meet at the hotel restaurant where the guests are staying.
The market tour which used to give a different experience for the tourists is not yet allowed, thus purchase of a " pasalubong" will be done through the tour guide.
"We limit the exposure for the safety of both locals and tourists," Mapalo said.
Meanwhile, of the total 107 travel requests, 46 are from Region 1, 32 from the National Capital Region, 14 from Region 3, 10 from Region 4-A, four from Cordillera, and one from the United States.
Mapalo said requests from outside Region 1 will be notified when travel from their regions can already be allowed.
He said there were two tourists from Region 1 who arrived on Oct. 2 for a weekend visit in the city.
There are also 43 approved visits whose travels from Region 1 are spread out for the whole month of October, he added.
Mapalo said there were also approved travel requests for November and December. (PNA)
