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May 2021 – Requirements to Travel to Cebu Province

If you are planning to travel to Cebu province as a domestic tourists, here are some of the requirements needed.

  • Medical Certificate that says you’re fit to travel
  • Pre Booked Accredited Hotel/Resort with COC within Cebu Province

On the other hand, for incoming Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and Returning Non-Overseas Workers (ROF)

  • Swab upon arrival at the airport (results comes out within 3 days) If results are NEGATIVE, you may proceed to going home to your families. If results are POSITIVE, you’ll be quarantined.

So to conclude, if you are visiting Cebu province as a tourist, please make sure that you are pre-booked to any accredited hotel or resort with Certificate of Compliance. You can visit this link to check if they have COCs. They might need you to present some other requirements that are not mentioned above, please comply and present your booking confirmation together with your medical certificate upon entry to Cebu Province.

You can visit Cebu Provincial Tourism Office Facebook page for more information.

We, at Cebu Tours, can only arrange your tours within Cebu (for now) provided that you have complied all the requirements mentioned above.

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Cebu Province: No more negative Covid-19 test result requirements for domestic tourists

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia lays down a looser and a list of new requirements for non-APORs and domestic tourists who are going to visit Cebu Province.

In an Executive Order No 12 Series of 2021, signed by Gov Gwen Garcia on February 22, 2021, it says that tourists from other parts of the Philippines who wish to travel and visit Cebu Province will only need to have the following requirements:

  • A valid medical certificate from a reputable doctor which should be issued seven days prior to your flight.
  • A confirmed accommodation from an accredited hotel or resort by the Provincial Task Force.

In addition to the requirements listed, travelers must also pass the symptoms checking and screening in seaports and airports.

It is also being said that if the Local Government Unit (LGU) will issue additional requirements or regulations, travelers must comply. However, these regulations must be approved by the Cebu Provincial Government and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

These were agreed during the meeting between the tourism stakeholders in the province with the Governor and the whole Cebu Provincial Government.

“As the Provincial Government of Cebu is reviving the economy that has regressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to ease the travel restrictions of persons travelling into the Province for tourism-related activities in observance to the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines and other resolutions of the IATF-MEID,” the document said.

So, if you have the requirements ready and want to visit Cebu Province, you can visit this link for available tours. It is highly recommended that you book your tours online to avoid contact with other persons.

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Pescador island hopping and other tourism activities in Moalboal now reopens

July 12, 2020 – The local government unit of Moalboal just announced today on their Facebook post, that the municipality is now reopening the tour activities. The island hopping to Pescador island is now possible. New guidelines and health protocols have been set. This is after the Provincial Governor Gwen Garcia signed an Executive order (EO 20-A) last July 9, 2020 encouraging tourism-related activities to reopen and revive the economy that was lost due to the pandemic of coronavirus.

Here are some of the activities you can do in Moalboal:

Pescador island hopping – this is an activity that you should not miss. You just need to rent a boat or book a package from us. You will be able to see the beautiful corals in the island.

Sardine run – another activity in the municipality that you should not miss where you get the chance to swim with thousands of sardines in the area. You can do this after you visit Pescador island.

Turtle Chasing – just like Apo island in Negros, Moalboal is also known for the turtles which can be seen near their coast. Our package includes this activity.

Dolphin watching – if you are lucky enough, you will be able to see dolphins in the area. They are weather dependent. Most of the time, they will show up on your way to the Pescador island.

Swimming at Basdaku White Sand Beach – “basdaku” derives from the two Cebuano word “bas” which means sand & “daku” which means “big”. You will be amazed of how big this white sand beach is. The best time to visit is during sunny days (specially Summer season) where you can relax at the beach under the heat of the sun.

We just always wanted to remind the public to be safe when doing tour activities. Always follow health protocols and guidelines as mandated by the Department of Health (DOH), such as always wearing of mask, keep physical distancing and regularly washing of hands.

Make sure to follow our Facebook page for more updates. We will also let you know once the Oslob whale sharks will reopen.

If you want to visit Moalboal, you can book our package here.

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Tourist destinations in Cebu are now starting to open

The Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia signed an Executive Order 20-A on July 9, 2020 encouraging tourism-related activities in the province of Cebu to revive the economic opportunities lost due to coronavirus pandemic.

The signed EO 20-A says that the public can now do tour adventures and activities such as but not limited to Canyoneering, whale shark watching, snorkeling, parasailing, diving, and island hopping activities provided that they are fit to do the activities. In addition, they must also observe stricter health protocols and follow health guidelines as mandated by the local government. They are also told to always observe physical distancing, sanitizing, frequent handwashing and use of the foot baths.

Tourism activities will be operating under 50% capacity. This is it ensure physical distancing. All the local governments (LGUs) are responsible to implement this health protocols of the said tour activities.

There will be a meeting that is set to meet with the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) to finalize the EO 20-A.

If you have read our previous post, Garcia is promoting Cebu as “health and wellness destination” in the country. She is encouraging resorts to offer steam inhalation or “tuob” kits in each of the rooms which will include basin, kettle, and towel. In addition to that, welcome drinks should be provided by the accommodation establishments to their guests which come from salabat or ginger tea, calamansi juice or turmeric with honey.

In the said EO, it suggests not to mix one group to another group when doing the tour, even in the boats when doing whale shark watching or island hopping. Also, tour operators are also directed to contract the boat operators who are following and implementing the safety and public health standards as mandated by the Department of Health.

It has been 4 months already since the tourist destinations in Cebu were closed due to Covid-19 pandemic.

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Department of Tourism considers accepting guests from virus-free countries

The Department of Tourism in the Philippines is considering accepting guests and tourists from countries with low to zero Corovirus (Covid-19) cases. As of June 25, 2020, the are two countries they are eyeing to accept tourists from: Australia, with 37 active cases and New Zealand which only has 3 cases.

“Since zero COVID naman sila, we are looking at from their country to Boracay or Bohol na puwede na tayo magka-travel bubble or travel corridor so at least hindi lang tayo limited sa international tourism,” this is what the DOT Secretary Bernadette Puyat said in a briefing last Friday, June 26, 2020.

The country has 10 commercial international airports:

  • Metro Manila
  • Cebu
  • Clark Airport in Pampanga
  • Bohol
  • Davao City
  • General Santos City
  • Iloilo
  • Kalibo Airport in Aklan
  • Puerto Princesa
  • Zamboanga

If you are going to Boracay, then you can take the Kalibo International Airport. On the other hand if you want to go to Bohol, then they just had their International airport launched last year which is located in Panglao Bohol.

“If this goes well, we will finally be able to accept [tourists from] countries where [there is] practically zero or low cases of COVID,” Secretary Puyat said during the briefing.

Senator Sonny Angara said that these “travel bubbles” could be successful if the government is able to stop the spread of the virus. “We continue to record a lot of fresh cases daily and until we can bring these numbers down, confidence of tourists entering the country will be an issue,” the Senator added.

As of now, there are some international flights allowed going to the Philippines, but these are limited to repatriates and returning Filipinos from other countries.

For more travel updates, make sure you follow us on Facebook page.

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‘Tuob’ Kits, Healthy welcome drinks among Cebu’s new offering in Ecotourism

Cebu as a “health and wellness destination” — this is the re-branding encouraged by the provincial government in the revival of local tourism.

Tourism recovery plans, in consideration with the mandatory public health standards, were discussed in a meeting with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia last June 10 along the mayors and tourism officers of the different towns and cities of Cebu Province.

They aim to not only save lives but also the livelihood of every Cebuano.

governor garcia cebu

Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia

“Government cannot sustain this kind of lockdown, kani nga mga restriction. Government cannot sustain having to shell out more and more funds aron lang sa pagpakaon aning mga nawad-an na’g trabaho, wala na’y panginabuhi. We cannot do this. Or else we will have to set aside our future for the next two, three, four, five years. It’s time to move on and we must move on,”

– Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia

Ecotourism activities to return:

Present in the meeting were mayors and tourism officers of Cordova, Daanbantayan, San Remigio, Santa Fe, Moalboal, Alegria, Oslob, and Badian.

Health protocols discussed were:

  • Canyoonering in Badian– with 400 guests a day instead of 1,000 (in the past)
  • “Tuob Kits” – Resorts offering steam inhalation or “tuob” kits in each room which will consist of a basin, a kettle, and a towel. It is also known as a water vapor therapy.
  • Welcome drinks – made from salabat (ginger tea), calamansi, and duwaw (turmeric) with honey will be offered to the guests.
  • Equipment commonly used in tour activities- life vests and other protective gears will be disinfected through ultraviolet light sanitation device.
  • Foot baths- they will be in place and each room will accommodate one person only.
  • Oslob whale-watching activity – a family will not be mixed with other guests. Life vests will also be sanitized after every use.
  • Boat passes in Moalboal- issued to accredited motor banca operators credible of the mandatory safety or public health standards.

“With foreign arrivals being very scarce, we only have ourselves to ask help for. Hopefully, under new normal, we start thinking our health more and our economy. Kita-kita ra’y makasulbad ani. Cebu helping Cebu. Hinaut nga ang taga-Tabuelan, for example, motabang sa taga-Moalboal,”

– Andrei “Red” Duterte, 5th district Provincial Board Member (Chairman of the committee on tourism)

This article is originally posted in Sugbo.ph

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Governor Garcia to meet tourism stakeholders

Cebu, as we all know, is the center of tourism industry in the country. There are many options as to where to go when you talk about Cebu. From white sand beaches, to historic sites, to extreme adventures.

Cebu, just like other places in the world, was not spared from the impact on tourism because of the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus or the so called Covid-19.

Covid-19 started to break out in China last December 2019 and was declared to be a pandemic early March 2020. Most of the tourist sites and destinations including white sand beaches and resorts in Cebu were closed. Many people lost their job and was just quarantined in their respective homes.

Cebu province has been placed under lockdown since March 16, 2020. International and domestic flights were cancelled. All tourist destinations in the whole province were also closed.

Starting June 1, the whole Cebu province is now under General Community Quarantine, so, there are movements of people outside their residences but following some precautionary measures set by the government, so the virus won’t spread. However, tourism and leisure activities in the whole country are still prohibited.

As of today, June 2, Governor Gwen Garcia, will meet tourism stakeholders in Cebu to discuss the new normal when tourism industries are allowed to operate when General Community Quarantine will be lifted. They will set the guidelines or rules & regulations when opening tourist sites and destinations.

Governor will also meet the Mayors of respective municipalities under its jurisdiction to set guidelines when crossing borders and what are the to-do’s and don’ts when traveling away from your home.

We will just pray that we can defeat this virus together, and together we will heal as one.

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