Baguio City, San Fernando City Opens Bubble To Shore Up Tourism In Northern Philippines

May 7, 2021 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY (May 7, 2021) – Baguio and San Fernando of La Union, in an agreement Friday, are opening the Baguio-San Fernando “Summit and Sea (S&S) Travel Experience Tourism Bubble”, to shore up tourism in Northern Phillippines.
The Baguio City Tourism Office said, the S&S Travel Experience is part of the efforts to gradually open up Northern Philippines to tourism, dreamt to offer opportunities for economic recovery in the area.
The tourism department is propping up the tourism bubble program of the two local government units (LGUs), kicking off Friday with the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the Manor Hotel in Camp John Hay.
With the S&S Travel Experience, individuals, family or groups of friends will be allowed whether on the same-day round trip, overnight or extended stay up to five days “to see and feel the cool highland mountains of Baguio City and the temperature breeze of the coves, beaches and waters of San Fernando City in a convenient and safe manner, with one travel registration with unified protocols, to be packaged and programmed by local tour and travel agents”.
The travel scheme under S&S has two modalities, in mode 1 which is the intra-Bubble travel, both cities allow interchange of tourists; with the same entry protocols and destinations limited to registered accomodation establishments and approved sites and attractions in both cities.

In Mode 2, which is the Sub-national intertravel, tourists from outside the bubble in other parts of the country provided they are in General or Modified General Community Quarantine (GCQ or MGCQ) will be allowed to enter the bubble with just one registration and unified entry protocols and health and safety protocols.
Tourists must register at the Baguio VISITA online at visita.baguio.gov.phand get specially designed QR-coded Tourist Pass (QTP).
A technical working group (TWG) composing officials from both cities will be finalizing implementing guidelines of the S&S. They will soon be announcing and launching the allowed first travel date by next week.
The use of the staysafe.ph for contact tracing will be required at the participating establishments, sites and attractions.
A point to point transportation Baguio-La Union vice versa will also be laid-out.
Artemio A. Dumlao