We all know that the travel and tourism industry is a large contributor to a country’s economy. However, the covid-19 pandemic has brought this lucrative industry to its knees. Well, it is not the end of it all as there is hope in the horizon as more people are getting vaccinated. In order to help the tourism industry in the Philippines, the Department of Tourism said that having green lanes for vaccinated tourists will boost travel and tourism. These ‘green lanes’ are for tourists or foreign nationals who have been vaccinated.
This call by the DOT has earned the support of AirAsia Philippines. Both the DOT and AirAsia have been exploring ways and means to bring back safer leisure travel.
AirAsia is also thinking of ways to give ‘incentives’ to vaccinated individuals. 50% off on fares maybe? Hope so!
However, this move is not only being done to stir air travel, but to also encourage others to get vaccinated. It’s about time!
What is a green lane for vaccinated tourists?
Basically, a ‘green lane’ is a special lane for passengers who have been vaccinated against covid-19. Having this should help increase the number of leisure travelers while ensuring the highest standards of safety. This type of lane will also help ease the burden on those travelers who have concerns on varying travel requirements. Such case is rampant in the Philippines wherein different LGUs have different sets of travel requirements. In fact, going on a domestic travel is as complicated to fly international, there’s just too much requirements. Some of them are already unnecessary.
Uniform travel requirements and a digital travel pass
AirAsia believes that a set of uniform travel requirements mated with a digital travel pass will also ease the burden of securing more requirements for domestic travel. Many people do really want to travel again especially after coming from quarantine for more than a year. However, these are hampered by the many restrictions and requirements in the Philippines. These have greatly affected the travel and tourism industry.
According to AirAsia Philippines spokesperson Steve Dailisan, “AirAsia believes that the ‘green lane’ will encourage leisure travelers who have previously expressed concerns on varying requirements per destination. This will be further reinforced by the implementation of uniform travel requirements through a digital travel pass. If the execution becomes effective for domestic travel, then we can slowly welcome foreign tourists again.
While we strongly believe that easing of restrictions among fully vaccinated individuals is key to rebooting tourism, there must be no room for complacency. Industry partners and all stakeholders must proactively monitor and observe established health and safety protocols.”
Philippine tourism forecast
According to The Euromonitor International, a world leading independent provider of strategic market research forecasted that by 2023 Philippine tourist inbound arrivals will be at 9.9 million given the government applies measures such as COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, easing or lifting of travel restrictions, and the implementation of stringent yet convenient and seamless travel protocols like the ‘green lane’.
This data corroborates with AirAsia’s projection of a full recovery by 2023. Hopefully, AirAsia Philippines would begin recovery later this year with the resumption of international flights in August.
