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Tentative Title: The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic to the Tourism Industry in the
Philippines Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the Coronavirus
(SARS-CoV-2) was first detected in December 2019 in Hubei province of China, Wuhan
City. The virus is mainly transmitted through droplets floating in the air. It can also
spread through contaminated surfaces. COVID-19 mainly poses with respiratory
indications (cough, sneezing, and sore throat), together with fever, fatigue and myalgia.
Individuals stay infected from the virus for up to two weeks and could disperse the virus
even if there are no symptoms amongst infected people (Rather, 2021).

The virus transmission promptly grew to develop a deadly pandemic affecting much of
Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has severely
obstructed the global economy in 2020 (Fu and Shen, 2020). According to research by
Jorda et al. (2020), it is nearly unfeasible to comprehend and assess all the pandemic’s
impacts, but from past experiences, researchers have learned that pandemics usually
cause significant social and economic revolutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected
substantial interferences in the global economy. While all economic sectors have had
their share of economic difficulty, tourism has taken the impact of the damage.

Crucial global responses to curb the transmission of the COVID-19 virus involved travel
restrictions, community quarantine, and social distancing instructions. Most countries
around the globe have enforced complete of partial border closures, with travel bans
covering a huge number of the world’s population (Connor, 2020). Tourism is a major
contributor to social economic activity, job creation, and cultural expansion worldwide
(McCabe and Qiao, 2020).

The tourism industry has a very important role in economic activities, but it has also
become the most vulnerable industry sector (Ma et al., 2020). This study aims to analyze
the impact of COVID-19 pandemic to the tourism industry in the Philippines by
reviewing relevant literature to better identify the tourism influences and implications of
COVID-19. This paper intends to contribute by addressing a literature gap since there
are only few local journals available that explored the tourism sector in the Philippines
during the pandemic.

The scope of this study is limited only to the local travel agencies in the Philippines.
COVID-19 and the Tourism Industry The impact of COVID-19 pandemic to the tourism
industry in the Philippines The Philippines’ tourism industry is a significant source of the
country’s GDP throughout the years. In terms of tourism sector GDP share in Asia, the
Philippines' share was one of the highest-ranking. In 2020, though, the COVID-19
pandemic had disrupted the tourism industry supply chain causing a loss
unemployment for many local travel agency employees.

The Philippines had its first case of the novel coronavirus on January 30, 2020. Since
then, the virus has infected more than 1,300,000 Filipinos as of August 7, 2021. The rapid
rise in local transmissions is unsettling the country’s economic activities with negative
implications nationwide. The Philippines is one of the countries that executed a
lockdown to monitor the transmission of the disease. Figure 1 shows the Philippines’
monthly visitor receipts from 2019 to 2020. Visitor receipts is computed utilizing the
Visitor Arrivals, Average Length of Stay (ALOS) and Average Daily Expenditure (ADE). /
Figure 1.

Monthly Visitor Receipts in Billions (2019-2020) According to a published report by the

Department of Tourism, in January 2020, visitor receipts were projected at PHP 45.35
billion which was 5.22% greater than the January 2019 expenditure with about PHP
43.10 billion (DOT, 2020). This indicates fewer visitor arrivals. February 2020 visitor
receipts amounted to PHP 25.95 billion, a decline of 42.80% from the same month in the
previous year. The visitor receipts on March 2020 were at PHP 7.31 billion with an
82.65% decline. Due to the travel constraints, tourist spending from the month of April
to December plunged to almost 100%.

The “New Normal” According to a report by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association
(PTAA, 2021), travel agencies have been compelled to turn to other businesses to
survive. Airlines have suffered heavy losses. Hotels were utilized as quarantine facilities.
As the threat of the COVID-19 and its variants are still creating economic uncertainty,
the tourism industry will be defined or redefined as the possibility of going back to the
state of the industry to where it was before is nearly impossible as of now (Sigala, 2020).
New ways of living and doing things will evolve.
For instance, the health and sanitation practices spurned from this health crisis such as
social distancing, regular hand washing, and living a healthier way of life will most likely
be the new norm after the COVID-19 crisis. The following are some of the factors that
define the “new normal” that affects the local travel agencies. Travel Requirements and
Cost. Traveling during the pandemic crisis will be more expensive as many of the travel
destinations will require a mandatory quarantine, swab test or vaccination card. Global
Restrictions.

International travels will be difficult during these times as many international

destinations are implementing their own safety measures. Some countries may not
travelers to enter if they have been vaccinated with certain vaccine brands, such as
Chinese-made Sinovac, which covers the bulk of the Philippines’ vaccine supply.
Technology Adaptation. Local travel agencies are now adopting new technologies, both
to drive bookings and to expedite safe travel. Advancements such as contactless
check-in at hotels and accommodations, and other virtual experiences. Travel
Preferences.

According to a study conducted by Abdullah, et al. (2020), it is hypothesized that mode

preferences and travel behaviors are significantly different during pandemic
circumstances compared to pre-pandemic situations primarily due to the restrictions
enforced by authorities and concern of infection by individuals. The researchers
observed that there is an increased use of private cars and other active transport modes
(walking and bicycles) and lessened use of public transport for primary trip purposes.

Travel agencies usually provide tours in two packages, private or joiner. Recovery Plan
and Tourism Resiliency According to a published report by The Department of Tourism
(DOT), the organization has produced a five-year plan to build competent and
world-class Filipino tourism professionals. The Philippine Tourism Human Capital
Development Plan (PTHCD) for 2021-2025 pursues to guarantee the steady supply of
skilled manpower and to tackle challenges facing the tourism human capital
development.

The agency is also strengthening its cooperation with public and private sectors to bring
more vaccine doses to the country’s key tourism destinations (Rocamora, 2020). To help
the tourism industry recover, the Department of Tourism implemented the following
measures: Interest-free loans or loans guarantee up to five years for maintenance and
other operating expenses Credit facilities for rehabilitation, modernization, or upgrading
of current establishments to be conforming with the new safety and health standards
Grants for education, training, and advising for tourism shareholders for new normal
alternate livelihood programs Utilization of information technology for the improvement
of tourism services Development of a tourist tracking system for emergency response
and establishment of spatial database to improve planning capacity Participation fees
for all international fairs, exhibitions and roadshows in 2020-2021 are waived Several
travel agencies and companies also come up with creative ways to promote their local
tourist spots. Some business collaborated with different travel vloggers. According to a
study conducted by Chakravarty, et al.

(2021), travel vlogs created opportunities to promote new ways of tourism in an

uncertain time, drawing on virtual travel experiences. The vlogs enabled showed
different sections of society and raise a novel kind of travel awareness not experienced
before. The narrative approach to tourism is particularly valuable as it contributes to the
development of new theoretical perspectives on generation-based tourism. Several
travel accommodation hosts adapted to the pandemic by utilizing web-enabled
applications such as Airbnb and Traveloka to create a convenient and cashless booking
system for their clients.

Many travel accommodations were also altered to create a safe space for the occupants.
There is an on-going trend of hosts incorporating themed interior designs with some
indoor activities to their accommodation offers to encourage the guests to just stay
within the hosts’ premises. In a study conducted by Era, et al. (2020), the researchers
explored different strategies and recovery plans to address the effects of the epidemic
crises.

The researchers focused on the responses of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South
Africa against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola virus disease. The
researchers concluded that tourism resiliency will depend on the governments’ good
governance and transparency as its actions and decisions are crucial in handling the
crisis. The researchers also noted that tourism resilience also demands for the different
key stakeholders to work together at different levels towards recovery.

The resilience of the tourism and travel industry in the past reflects that while the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic is more severe and long term, the tourism and travel
industry will recover. From this viewpoint, it is crucial to understand tourism resilience,
how countries influenced by health crises in the past were capable to respond to the
tourism’s vulnerability from external threats (Becken and Khazai, 2017) Conclusion and
Recommendations COVID-19 is the largest crisis this century has caused devastating
effects on the local economy.

The tourism industry suffered greatly from the pandemic due to the drastic restrictions
on mobility that were initially decreed by the governments of most countries which have
incapacitated a great part of economic activity, as well as transportation and activities
between territories, resulting to the very limited movement of tourists around the world.
The economic crisis also resulted to the reduction in disposable income of countless
families who have realized their incomes disappear or cut for a substantial period.

This affected the tourist spending capacity even after the procedures of quarantine and
limitation of mobility have been made more accommodating. As an underperforming
country during a progressing pandemic, we are utilizing recommended intrusions
including travel restrictions, community quarantine, and testing despite limitations in
resource and facility. To further mitigate the risks of the negative impact of COVID-19 to
the tourism industry, the researcher recommends the following: The Government and
Administration In a research that studied the sustainability of tourism industry during a
pandemic crisis, the researchers suggested that the government should implement
comprehensive measures for tourism development in the COVID-19 pandemic and
develop a significant initiative with specific proposals to improve tourism (Abbas, et al.
2021).

Take the time to recuperate unmaintained local tourist destinations like the Boracay
rehabilitation program. The COVID-19 crisis should therefore be seen as an opportunity
to seriously reconsider the tourism’s growth trajectory, and to query the rationality of
more arrivals implying greater benefits. Local Travel Agencies According to a study by
Rodríguez-Antón and Alonso-Almeida (2020), tourism businesses should focus on
building trust in tourists, strengthening their brand and adapting their processes to the
so-called “new normal”.

In a research that explored the domestic travel intentions during the pandemic, retentive
advertising, discounting, and flexible cancellation policies are good strategies in
maintain and increasing travel intentions (Volgger, Taplin, & Aebli, 2021) Even if there
are recovery plans provided by the government and the local travel agencies, it is still
early to say if the industry will recover soon due to the increasing number of cases and
the threat of new variants. The new normal adaption is insufficient to provide the usual
employment rate for the local travel agencies as not all local travel destinations are
accessible to the public.

The paper has a limited scope and focuses only to the local travel agencies in the
Philippines. While the study should not be viewed as a comprehensive investigation, it
offers a groundwork for further research on COVID-19. Future studies may build on this
study’s findings and propositions to conduct more in-depth analyses in different
business settings. The main limitation of the present study is that, during its execution,
the pandemic was still in the process of developing, with irregular rates depending on
each affected country.

This does not allow an assessment of this situation from the proper viewpoint since it is
still undetermined if the virus can be eliminated if there will again be occurrences in the
countries that have it more regulated or if the coronavirus will mutate. REFERENCES
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