The Philippines will reopen its borders to some foreign tourists from December 1, government officials said on Friday.
The Philippines, known for its diving and thousands of tropical islands, saw an 83% drop in foreign arrivals last year, receiving nearly 1.4 million visitors, compared to nearly 8.2 million in 2019. Japan, South Korea and China are its biggest tourism markets.
Only tourists who have received vaccines recognized by the Philippines Food and Drug Administration or authorized by the World Health Organization will be allowed entry into the country.
Neighbours Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have also announced various degrees of reopening in recent weeks, after progress in vaccinating their local populations.
"Allowing tourists from green countries or territories that have the majority of its population vaccinated and with low infection rate, will greatly help in our recovery efforts," tourism minister, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, said in the statement.
“Those from the green list countries will most likely be the first to be permitted admission,” Puyat said.
There are currently 44 countries and territories on the Philippines green list, namely-
American Samoa, Bhutan, Chad, Mainland China Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Federated States of Micronesia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, South Africa, Sudan, Taiwan, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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“There’s just a few things that we need to tweak. But the reason why we are announcing it is that we are putting the entire world on notice that we will eventually open up our shores to tourists coming from green list countries,” Nograles, acting presidential spokesman, said at a press briefing.