MAJORITY of the workforce of Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) member properties in Metro Cebu are already 86 percent vaccinated, a top official of the organization said.
This ensures that tourism frontliners now have an added layer of protection amid the Delta variant that is delaying the full recovery of travel and tourism.
HRRAC has about 56 member-properties with 4,500 employees.
Because of this progress, HRRAC president Alfred Reyes is inviting the public to go out and dine in or stay in with confidence in resorts and hotels with the knowledge that most of the staff are already vaccinated or fully vaccinated.
“Even today, we suggest you dine in HRRAC member hotels and resorts because you are guaranteed you are being served by fully vaccinated people,” said Reyes, noting that there are already HRRAC member-properties whose workforce are already 100 percent vaccinated.
50% of PH tourism workforce vaccinated
According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), more than half of the entire tourism frontline workers population in the country have already been vaccinated against Covid-19.
As of Sept. 10, 2021, a total of 126,097 tourism workers from the A1 and A4 priority groups have completed their anti-Covid inoculation, translating to 51.40 percent of the target 245,338 tourism workers population across all regions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The National Capital Region registered the most number of vaccinated tourism workers at 94 percent, followed by the Davao Region with 88 percent and the Cordillera Administrative Region with 80 percent.
“As we work to secure more vaccine doses that will help us achieve a 100 percent vaccination rate among tourism workers in the A1 and A4 priority groups, I am also encouraging our workers to submit themselves for vaccination especially with the presence of the Delta variant,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat, in a statement.
Tourism frontliners classified under A1 priority group are those working in accommodation establishments temporarily operating as quarantine hotels or isolation facilities, while those under A4 category are workers in other tourism enterprises and tourism support services.
“Vaccinating our tourism workers is the only way we can continue to sustain the recovery of domestic tourism, especially with the presence of a new virus variant,” Puyat added.
Meanwhile, in a virtual meeting with Cebu’s tourism stakeholders on Thursday, Sept. 16, Puyat together with National Task Force Against Covid-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Vince Dizon assured that Cebu will be allocated with more vaccine doses and Cebu tourism frontliners are a priority for the additional doses that will arrive.
HRRAC targets to hit 96 percent vaccination rate among its members’ employees by the end of this month.
Besides encouraging employees to submit themselves for vaccination, HRRAC member-properties are also doing their own antigen and RT-PCR tests monthly or twice a month to ensure the safety of their guests and co-workers. (JOB/With KOC)