Negrenses missing the thrill and adventure of Magikland, brace yourselves!
Visayas’ first outdoor theme park located in Silay City will open its doors again soon since it ceased operation in March, following the community quarantine imposed by the government due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Although no date has been announced yet, teasers on the park’s reopening have been posted by the management on Facebook in the past few days, showing preparations to ensure that health and safety protocols will be strictly followed once it resumes operation.
Visiting leisure sites like Magikland is one way of helping revive the local tourism industry, one of the hardest hit by the global health crisis.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson himself urged Negrenses to do their part in revitalizing tourism in the province amid the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I encourage all those involved in the tourism sector to explore how to best use our resources so we can recover swiftly while keeping in mind the health and safety of our fellow Negrenses as well as our visitors,” Lacson said during the 20th Negros Occidental Tourism Week held last month.
Aside from Silay, more local government units (LGUs) are also preparing and even starting to allow
reopening of their leisure destinations under strict health and safety protocols.
Since the province has been placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) on June 1, a total of 80 accommodation establishments in the province have already obtained certificate of authority to operate (CAO) and provisional CAO from the Department of Tourism-Western Visayas as of October 16, allowing them to resume business on limited operation.
On Monday, the status of readiness for leisure travel released by the Provincial Tourism Division showed that most of the cities and towns allow only local residents to visit or book for accommodations and do not yet permit non-resident tourists.
Among the 12 cities, Bago, Cadiz, Escalante, and Himamaylan allow only local residents.
Sagay allows its own residents to visit or book if they have no travel history for the past 30 days and have no close contacts with confirmed Covid-19, and also non-residents with negative result of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test within the last 14 days upon arrival.
San Carlos requires non-residents to submit health certificates from the municipal or city health office of the originating LGU.
In Talisay, Campuestohan Highland Resort and Nature’s Village Resort are already accommodating guests.
Sipalay, and Victorias have yet to reopen their leisure destinations.
Of the 19 municipalities, only four –EB Magalona, Ilog, San Enrique and Toboso– have not yet declared the reopening of their accommodation establishments.
Towns of Candoni, Hinigaran, Isabela, La Castellana, Pontevedra, and Pulupandan permit only their residents to visit and book.
Meanwhile, Binalbagan, Calatrava, Cauayan, Hinoba-an, Manapla, Moises Padilla, Murcia, Pontevedra, Don Salvador Benedicto, and Valladolid are reopening some of their resorts and other destinations. NLG
