Dahican Beach, along with all other tourist attractions in the City of Mati, is now open to the public.

As the city ushers in the new normal pending the lifting of the Modified General Community Quarantine on June 16, the Department of Tourism thru the City Tourism Office has released 30 certificates to operate for resorts and hotels operating within the City of Mati.

Mati Tourism Officer Dashiel Indelible Jr. however said that not all 30 would open simultaneously as some establishments are still to comply with the implementation of the minimum health and safety requirements mandated by the DOT.

Due to the Covid-19 threat, the City of Mati locked down its borders to tourists and visitors for the past months.

The tourism industry is the most affected sector leading to an estimated loss of P114M for the months of March, April and May.

Before the pandemic, the City of Mati has an average tourist arrivals of 25,438 per month. With an estimated expenditures per tourist/day of 1,500 pesos, this amounts to P38 million per month income.

For the past three months of lockdown, the local tourism industry lost at least P114,471,000 expected income.

This excludes the negative effect of the cancellation of the Pujada Bay Festival and Citihood Day activities this month.

Indelible said they are hoping that the local tourism industry will recover from slump specially now that the most popular attraction of the city, Dahican Beach, is open to the public once again.

The province has also opened its borders even on weekends, with the provision of strict health screening and monitoring.

With the City of Mati’s Pujada, Mayo and Balete bays declared as “Most Beautiful Bays in the World (MBBW)” on February 20, 2020, the city also expects massive tourist arrivals.

All visitors and travellers who plan to visit Mati City should however expect strict health screening in provincial and city borders before entering for the safety and security of the community. (CIO MATI)