If you are looking to avail of a “staycation,” as promoted by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat last month, you’ll be happy to know that hotels are now allowed to operate at full capacity in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ) areas.
Metro Manila being one of the areas under GCQ, until the end of October at least, can expect hotels opening most of its amenities and welcoming more guests with the easing of restrictions.
Hotels in GCQ, MGCQ areas are now allowed to operate at full capacity, the Department of Tourism says. | @KAguilarINQ pic.twitter.com/4dY1ElGi8k
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) October 21, 2020
However, in the same interview with Inquirer, the tourism agency, said “the decision to open at 100 percent operational capacity will be subject to the hotel management’s decision and compliance with the safety guidelines.”
“Staycation,” is, of course, defined by the agency as “a minimum overnight stay for leisure purposes in a DOT-accredited accommodation enterprise, located in proximity with one’s residence.”
[READ: Here’s the updated list of requirements for domestic travel]
DOT and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EIM) have yet to finalize the guidelines on the resumption of full services in hotels.
DOT has likewise welcomed IATF’s decision earlier this month to allow “liberal interzonal and intrazonal movement of persons [including non-authorized persons outside residences (non-APOR)] traveling between destinations under GCQ and MGCQ.”
“These new policies, approved by the IATF, support the Department’s programs aimed at rebuilding the tourism industry to bring back lost jobs and livelihoods and stir local economies,” Puyat said.
Header photo by Emile Guillemot on Unsplash
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Writer: CHRISTIAN SAN JOSE
