Malacañang on Tuesday said the high tourism numbers recorded during this year’s Holy Week were “good news” to the government.
In a virtual presser, acting Palace spokesman Martin Andanar said the influx of tourists in some of the country’s most famous tourist destinations was a sign Filipinos were becoming confident amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Magandang balita iyan, dumadami na ang mga turista. So ibig sabihin, iyong confidence level ng ating mga kababayan na magbakasyon ay nandiyan na matapos nga ang mga lockdowns,” Andanar said.
Andanar added that high tourism numbers would help the economies of Philippine areas that were dependent on tourism.
The Department of Tourism recorded more than 20,000 daily tourists in Boracay during Holy Week, even though the island had a daily limit of 19,000 tourists.
Andanar said the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were crafting reports on the overcrowding in Boracay.
“Nakita natin even before the Holy Week holidays happened ay napakadami nang uma-attend sa mga rallies ‘no. Iyong sa rallies, talagang dikit-dikit. Kaya dapat talagang mag-ingat tayong lahat, mga kababayan, dahil hindi pa nga po tapos itong ating pakikipaglaban sa Covid-19,” Andanar said.
According to the Department of Health’s latest bulletin, the country has 19,923 active Covid-19 cases. John Ezekiel J. Hirro