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A beach
in Barangay Bolod in Panglao town, Bohol, normally a site teeming with
tourists, has instead been filled with a handful locals who enjoy the
pristine and white sandy beach. Photo: Leo Udtohan |
Normally at this time of year, the beaches on Panglao Island, the crown jewel of Bohol tourism, would have been a site teeming with tourists..
Hotels
and resorts would have been fully booked. Restaurants would have been
fully open and its white beaches are populated by Chinese and some
Europeans eager for some warmth after a winter.
Instead, the beach is almost empty.
In
Bohol, a province heavily reliant on tourism, the coronavirus pandemic
and subsequent lockdown has affected the tourism and hospitality
industry.
For businesswoman Anecita Nerves-Arcay, patience is a virtue — especially when facing in a crisis.
Her
only wish this year is that she will finally open her hotel on Panglao
Island in Bohol province. She was set to inaugurate her five-story ARC
Homes at Barangay Poblacion in Panglao town on March 26 last year, but
the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, forcing provinces to close
their borders and restrict the movement of people to prevent the spread
of the highly contagious disease.
"2020 was unpredictable. It was difficult and sudden," Arcay said.
Although
Bohol fully reopened its doors to tourists in December, Arcay decided
to wait because there were only a few visitors coming in, as people take
a wait-and-see attitude with the health crisis still raging.
“We
needed to make sure our business is sustainable in this new market with
special protocols put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of
guests. If we see numbers [of tourists] go up this year, we can start to
operate,” she said.
She also reduced the
rental fee for her tenants in a commercial building she owns to cope
with the pandemic as unemployment numbers jumped along with the COVID-19
case numbers.
After a year, Arcay is hopeful that her hotel can cater to tourists soon.
Panglao has at least 4,753 rooms in different resorts, hotels and related establishments.
Tourism companies are desperately scrambling for ways to minimize their losses and survive the harsh pandemic.
On
Alona Beach in Barangay Tawala, some resorts, cafes and restaurants are
still closed. The business center in Alona is so quiet that cats
slept on tables of shuttered cafés.
Some
establishments attempted to open but only to close down after a few
days due to low sales and high operating cost, especially with the
need to strictly comply with health protocols.
“No one is coming. A few locals come occasionally,” said a café owner.
In
Barangay Bolod which has at least six beach resorts only three are
operating. The beaches here are filled with few local residents only
Saturdays and Sundays.
Habal-habal (motorcycle
taxi) driver Dave Rulona, 40, still finds himself without passengers
because of the drop of tourist arrivals. He said most guests from
Tagbilaran come in their own cars.
Before
COVID-19, he charges P120 from Panglao to Tagbilaran. Now he charges
P200, an increase of P50 from the pre-COVID rate because habal-habal
drivers are allowed only one passenger per trip. Yet still, some still
find themselves without passengers.
Bohol
Governor Arthur Yap bared that Bohol province lost P15 billion on
revenues during the last eight months of the community quarantine.
Monthly, the industry loses some P308 million in room accommodation in
Panglao.
When Bohol closed its borders last
March 2020, most resorts followed suit, forcing many hospitality workers
to return home with uncertain job prospects.
The
pandemic has also affected some 200,000 tourism industry workers and 40
% of them lost their jobs. Some establishments retrenched their
workers. Others were given two or three days to work if the resort has
long-term staying guests.
Tourism workers who
lost their jobs shifted to fishing. Some augment their income by
planting vegetables. But most survived on “ayuda,” or financial and
food aid from government agencies, although these were not enough to
sustain their families.
The pandemic also
paralysed those in Jagna and Anda towns which lured tourists alike by
its pristine beaches, villa hideaways and marine life.
Marjun
Precones, proprietor of Jagna Rock Resort in Barangay Larapan in Jagna
town, opened his resort under the new normal even with a handful
tourists. He said before the pandemic, tourists came to his resort to
chill and relax since beaches in Panglao were crowded.
Tourism
makes up 15% of Bohol economic output. Bohol hosted 1.5 million
foreign and domestic tourists in 2019, with Chinese visitors
leading the arrivals, followed by Koreans, records from the Bohol
Tourism Office showed.
These tourists
disappeared when provinces started closing their borders as strict
quarantine guidelines had to be followed in March 2020 in a bid to
control the spread of COVID-19.
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| Anthony Ceniza, resort supervisor of Marilou Resort and businesswoman Anecita Arcay. Contributed Photo |
In 2020, there were 85,000 tourists from January to February 2020 before the lockdown.
Tourism leaders are trying everything they can to revive lagging business in the industry.
In
September 2020, Bohol hosted the Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX),
and it highlighted the preparedness of the island of Panglao to host
group events, especially with its adherence to the health safety
guidelines authorized by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
In
November 2020, Bohol reopened to local visitors arriving by plane,
ending the travel ban in hopes of reviving a lockdown-devastated tourism
industry that has fed so many Boholanos who are working in the
different tourism services.
Since the
reopening, there were 1,275 tourists who came to Bohol from November 15,
2020 to January 31, 2021 in the travel bubble concept.
By
tourist bubble concept, it means that a COVID-19 negative tourist has
to stay together with his group, travel only on travels organized by a
DOT-accredited tour operator on board a DOT-accredited transport
provider, and go to tours only in designated stops, never veering away
from their established itinerary.
BTO said from
November 15 to December 14, there were 184 local tourists came to
attend meetings, incentives, conventions and conferences, and exhibits
(MICE) and events.
A few days later, following
the same concept, Bohol again issued the same to free and independent
travellers, there were 389 tourists who came from December 15 to
December 31,2020.
This dry season, struggling
resorts and hotels have offered discounted room rates and promos in
hopes of persuading frazzled parents and stressed-out workers to come to
Panglao for a mini getaway.
The Roman Empire
Boutique and Wellness Hotel in Barangay Tawala offered 90% discount room
rates which include free breakfast and use of their Olympic-size
swimming pool to fill their 80 rooms.
“It was
just to inform everyone that we are alive,” said Roldan Cuevas,
manager. He hopes the promotion can be effective in boosting
visitation.
While room rates aren’t deeply
discounted at Marilou Resort in Barangay Bolod, they are typically lower
than those on the weekends.
"It's
not going to be a profitable year, but we're just trying to balance the
losses," said Anthony Ceniza, the resort supervisor.
Ceniza
is optimistic, but understands that international travellers would have
fear having to socially distance. As of this time, he focuses on
domestic tourists.
"It's going to be an amazing
experience this year for people that choose Panglao because it won't be
so busy. They will experience better customer service,” said Ceniza.
The
provincial government with Department of Tourism (DOT) launched the
“Balik sa Bohol” program, backed by the campaign motto “Balik sa Bohol
(Come Back to Bohol).”
The “Balik sa Bohol”
online sale which gave 70% tour discount for at least two weeks
participated in by 13 resorts, hotels and tourism accommodation
establishments, one adventure park, and six local tour operators. All
have earned their DOT Certificates of Authority to Operate, or the local
government permits and each holder of the Ultimate Bohol Experience
(UBE) seal.
Bohol still struggles to remain afloat even if it has reopened to visitors late last year.
It eased its entry protocols as part of efforts to resuscitate the province’s slumping tourism industry.
Starting March 1, tourists and returning residents can now visit Bohol and may no longer need to undergo quarantine.
Boholanos,
whether locally stranded individuals (LSI) returning Overseas Filipinos
and Workers (OFW), authorized persons outside residence (APOR) and even
non-APOR local.
For tourists, they can present
to Bohol a negative COVID-19 test result via an RT PCR test and the
test should be taken 72 hours before flying to Bohol, present a
confirmed hotel booking, and a registered Bohol Tourist QR Code.
Tourists
to Bohol can travel to sites and destinations that have been granted by
DOT the Certificate Authority to Operate, or LGU permitted and UBE Seal
grantee from the provincial government, as long as they do not veer
away from the tour itinerary provided by their DOT-accredited tour agent
and travel only in designated areas.
Bohol has
one of the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the country, with
3,882 confirmed cases and 54 deaths, according to the May 28, 2021 data
from Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF).
Cuevas
said that Bohol wants the economy to get back to what it was before,
but said some locals are worried that tourists might cause infections.
But he believes that Bohol is well-prepared for tourists.
"Just follow and respect the health protocols," he said. “It remains to be seen how many tourists will want to come to Bohol.”
One
who is excited to welcome tourists to Bohol is Helen Bagayas, 34, an
on-call massage therapist. She goes occasionally to Panglao for home
service. She has been offering Swedish massage and ventosa (cupping
therapy) for tourists for the past years. She said it was good before
Covid since she can earn enough. During the pandemic, she augments her
income thru buy and sell of bags, perfume and dress.
Bagayas, a mother of five, said she is praying Bohol’s tourism will bounce back.
“We
are like bamboo. Although we can be knocked down by life, tough times
and challenges, just like the bamboo, we bend and far more flexible. We
can come back stronger than ever through patience, strength and
determination,” said Bagayas.
Arcay,
on the other hand, said that while the pandemic is affecting the
community in unprecedented ways, it has brought out a trait that is one
of the most important qualities for Boholanos – resilience.
“This time of patience will teach us to plan better and bounce back stronger than ever,” Arcay said.
The pandemic won’t last forever and travels are anxious to hit the road when it is deemed to be safe.
Meanwhile, the winds in the end of summer make people become restless.
* * *
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