Palawan, voted World’s Best Island in 2020 by Travel + Leisure magazine, awaits visitors once more as it reopens its doors to tourism.
Now under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), and with the support of the Department of Tourism and the municipal government, luxury chain El Nido Resorts is the first to receive the DOT Certificate of Authority to Operate in the town after complying with the guidelines to accept leisure guests at a 50% capacity.
Under the “travel bubble” setup, guests will have to undergo RT-PCR testing 72 hours prior to their departure and fill out health and travel declaration forms upon reservation.
According to El Nido Mayor Edna Gacot-Lim, the resort town is happy to be among the first domestic tourism destinations to be given by the DOT to reopen.
Miniloc Island Resort, which is now on its 40 years of service, is the first to open its doors to guests coming from outside Palawan.
A maiden flight in mid-July and a follow through will be conducted in coordination with their partner airline, AirSwift.
With satisfactory results and positive feedback from guests and the LGU, it will continue to service guests through scheduled flights from Manila for a three-night vacation from Sept. 11-14.
An eco-discovery island resort, it offers guests with a back-to-basics Filipino coastal rustic village vibe. Guests can swim, snorkel or dive with the huge jackfish and a variety of marine species at its house reef, or explore the Big and Small Lagoons, Snake Island, and other attractions around Bacuit Bay.
Huni Resort, located at Lio Tourism Estate at the mainland, is already accepting bookings from Palawan-based residents.
Lim said that the archipelagic resort town is been blessed with a high biodiversity area, and thus exercises stewardship over the environment, stressing the importance of preserving nature to all stakeholders.
Situated in the northernmost part of mainland Palawan, it is part of the UNESCO declaration as a “Man and Biosphere Reserve.”
El Nido was declared a Managed Resource Protected Area by the government in 1998, and currently has 13 community-managed Marine Protected Areas.
It boasts of 2,645 hectares of mangrove forests, 114 bird species, 447 coral species, 888 fish species, vast tracts of tropical rainforest, and five endemic mammal species, including the dugong (seacow), the world’s rarest marine mammal.
Earlier this year, Ten Knots Group of the El Nido Resorts was awarded the world’s first-ever Sea Turtle Friendly Tourism Certification by the prestigious Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) for its exceptional care for the aquatic animal.
