Ilocos Norte reopens to local tourists

By Edison Justin B. Deus

LAOAG CITY -- Ilocos Norte has reopened to tourists following the recent downgrading of the province’s community quarantine classification.
    The provincial government, through the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office, urged "safer and stronger" resumption of tourism services as it braced for significant influx of travelers this holiday season.
    The quarantine classification of Ilocos Norte has been eased to "General Community Quarantine" from Sept. 24 to 30, under which the operation of outdoor tourist attractions is allowed.
     "As we move forward safer and stronger, we promise to take our guests’ trip to a better level. The pandemic didn't hinder us in our commitment to provide excellent travel experience to our visitors. If not, it even pushed us to strive harder and be better.
     Our guests’ and our local communities’ health and safety are our priority. We only ask our guests to follow these steps for hassle-free and responsible travel: registration at ilocosnorte.ph, QR code from SafePass, and a negative Covid-19 test," said  Xavier R. Ruiz, Ilocos Norte Tourism Office officer in charge.
    Provincial officials said safety nets were instituted for  stakeholders in the industry, specifically establishment of a tourists’ triage, regular hotel inspections, and prioritizing tourism workers in vaccination.
    Through the vaccination program of provincial government, 82.36 percent of primary tourism workers have already been vaccinated.
    Of those, 20.08% have already received their first dose while 62.28% have been fully immunized.
    The provincial tourism office recorded almost 45,000-day visitors, including locals, at attractions from Oct. 1, 2020, to July 2021.
    An estimated 3600 tourists have visited the province since October last year.
    The highest monthly arrival of tourists from outside Ilocos Norte was June this year, with nearly 1,200.
     Tourism office partial data showed there were almost 67,000 accommodation occupancy, including APORs and local staycations, from Oct. 1, 2020 to August 2021.