DOT advises tourist hubs near Taal to cease operations

MANILA, Philippines — Tourism hubs in Calabarzon have been asked to cease operations due to hazards to tourists and workers amid the unrest of Taal Volcano, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said yesterday.

“The (DOT) strongly advises all tourism enterprises operating in all affected areas of the Taal Volcano disaster to immediately cease operations in light of the DOST (Department of Science and Technology)-Phivolcs’ (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) Alert Level 4 warning,” the agency said in an advisory.

Alert Level 4, issued last Sunday, remains. It means an eruption is imminent – after the volcano spewed ash and rocks a kilometer high on Sunday afternoon.

The DOT said it prioritizes “continued health, safety and welfare of our workers and tourists… as authorities have not downgraded the advisory of an imminent eruption.”

With thick ash covering several towns in Batangas and Cavite surrounding Taal Lake, particularly tourist hub Tagaytay City, “tourism industry in the affected areas… has suffered a tremendous setback.”

Moments after the eruption last Sunday, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat asked tourists in Tagaytay, Batangas and Cavite “to consider returning to Manila or their home cities as a precautionary measure due to the sudden eruption of Taal Volcano.”

Tourists had a hard time leaving due to the sudden exodus and the huge volume of ashfall.

Tagaytay, where Taal Volcano can be viewed from various parks, restaurants and hotels, remains a tourist destination because of cool temperatures all year round. It also hosted skateboarding events during the 30th Southeast Asian Games in December last year.

The DOT has yet to release figures on how many tourism establishments are affected by the current volcanic activity.

Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) president Jose Clemente III said they are supporting the DOT’s call for tourism establishments still operating in the vicinity of Taal Volcano to temporarily cease operations until the situation becomes stable.

“At this point, the safety and wellbeing of workers and those still staying at these establishments are paramount,” Clemente said.

“We call on those establishments to cease operations in the meantime as we want to avoid any untoward incidents as a result of the escalation in Taal Volcano’s activities,” he added.

The DOT said it hopes for the recovery of the tourism sector in areas affected by the eruption.

“But just as it has demonstrated in the past, the DOT is hopeful that tourism in the area and the entire Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon region will prove resilient and recover from this situation,” it added.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Tourism Undersecretary Arturo Boncato Jr. said tourism’s direct and indirect contribution to Tagaytay City’s economy amounted to around P1 billion in 2019, based on estimates from the local government.

Boncato added that in the first three quarters of 2019, Calabarzon registered a total of 6.9 million overnight visitors, 1.1 million of whom stayed in Tagaytay City. In addition, day visitors in the region reached around 6.3 million in the same period.

“Because of its proximity to Metro Manila, which is our primary gateway, visitors can easily access Calabarzon – so its contribution to Philippine tourism regardless of numbers is also important,” Boncato said.

The DOT said it joins the nation in hopes and prayers that Taal’s volcanic activity would soon dissipate, as millions of lives and livelihood are imperiled by the continued eruption.

“Our Department of Tourism regional office is closely coordinating with the LGU tourism officer in Tagaytay and was informed that guests staying for the weekend started departing early this afternoon,” Puyat added.

Amid cancellation of flights due to the heavy ashfall, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) meanwhile waived the overstaying fees for affected foreign visitors. 

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that they decided to waive the overstaying fee for foreigners affected by the closure of the airport due to a natural disaster. 

“This was a natural disaster that nobody wanted to experience. Hence, to ease the burden of our tourists whose flights were cancelled during the closure, we are waiving the overstaying fee for those affected,” Morente said.  

The Manila International Airport Authority was compelled to temporarily suspend operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport due to the ashfall. Airport operations normalized on Tuesday.