MANILA – Bohol is planning to welcome travelers by the second week of December 2020, an addition to the growing list of destinations reopening after months of closure, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Tuesday.

“Bohol will also be opened. They are already open for MICE, for big events or weddings but I think about second week of this December, (they will reopen) also for independent travelers, kahit small groups, kahit mag-isa ka (even for small groups, even if you are alone) you can already go,” she said in a television interview.

Like many other tourist sites reopened under the new normal, Puyat said visitors would be required to submit a negative RT-PCR result upon entry to the island.

The province has been studying the island’s gradual reopening as early as August 2020. In October 2020, it hosted the first physical MICE event in the Philippines since the pandemic started, with the launch of the 2020 hybrid Philippine Travel Exchange in Panglao.

MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, an emerging niche market in the tourism industry before the health crisis.

Bohol is home to the Chocolate Hills, the tarsier, and the stunning Panglao Island, popular for its white-sand beaches and coral gardens.

Aside from sun and beach, Bohol also offers breathtaking spots for history buffs and adrenaline junkies. It has Danao’s Adventure Park, where you can zip over a canyon, walk on air over a gorge or simply take a plunge over a ravine.

The province also houses cultural treasures including old-houses, centuries-old stone churches, and watchtowers spread over the northwestern and southern coast of the island. (PNA)