The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) and Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) on Tuesday said all hotels and other accommodation establishments in areas under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) need to secure a certificate from the DOT prior to resuming operations.

Application for such accreditation is free; and businesses who resume operations without the certificate will be subjected to relevant penalties under applicable laws, the duo said in a joint statement.

DOT–accredited hotels and other AEs need only to submit to the DOT Regional Office with jurisdiction over their area the Letter of Intent to Operate, while Non-DOT-accredited hotels and AEs will need to apply for accreditation to ensure compliance of basic requirements, it added.

As the country gears up to push domestic tourism, all AEs are required to comply with the DOT’s health and safety guidelines for accommodation establishments, based on protocols issued by WHO and the Department of Health.

Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat reiterated that tourism stakeholders must work closely with their respective local government units to assess the readiness of their areas to support resumption of tourism activities.

Moreover, the DOT and TCP enjoined tourism stakeholders to defer to the strict guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on reopening of businesses while transitioning from one community quarantine level to another.