As Palawan eases into more relaxed quarantine measures, the province is reopening Coron in an effort to restart their local economy—which relies on tourism. According to municipal tourism officer Kim Ablana, activities such as island hopping, scuba diving and land-based tours will resume.
Most of the tourist sites on Coron are now open, save for Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake—which will be reopening on June 12. With bans on leisure travel still in place, these tours are limited to residents of the Calamian Group of Islands, which consist of Coron, Culion, Busuanga and Calauit.
To ensure that social distancing measures are carried out, island tours are limited to 250 people, while scuba diving tours will accommodate 30 people a day. Based on statistics from 2018, Coron received 208,100 tourists that year.
These activities are limited to tourists aged 21 to 60, who are required to secure permits from the local Philippine Coast Guard station and present proof of residence in Palawan.
Tourist boat operators are required to regularly disinfect their boats and provide alcohol or hand sanitizers to guests. They will also be limiting their boats’ carrying capacity to 50 percent to ensure the enforcement of physical distancing.
Header photo by John Michael Hubag for Inquirer.net
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Writer: ANGELA PATRICIA SUACILLO
