Philippines to exempt Vietnamese tourists from quarantine

The Philippines would reopen its doors to vaccinated foreign tourists from 157 countries and territories, including Vietnam, from Thursday with mandatory quarantine exemption.

All tourists are required to furnish a certificate proving they have been fully vaccinated against Covid and negative Covid test result, Philippines' Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said.

The nation, popular for its white sand beaches and rich marine life, had planned to reopen in December, but had to postpone over concerns about the Omicron variant.

From Feb. 1, the Thai government restarted its quarantine-free travel scheme, allowing fully vaccinated visitors from Vietnam to enter without undergoing hotel quarantine for 10 days.

The government expects between 200,000 and 300,000 travelers to take advantage of the so-called Test & Go program in February alone, with the numbers expected to swell in the following months, Bloomberg reported.

In early November, Thailand reopened to fully vaccinated travelers - who had to isolate for a night until they received a negative PCR test - from more than 60 countries but the policy was suspended in late December following the outbreak of Omicron-related infections.

Indonesia's famous Bali Island also reopened to vaccinated tourists from Vietnam starting Feb. 4, with arrivals having to undergo five-day hotel quarantine.

Vietnam plans to fully reopen its borders to foreign tourists by the end of March.