Boracay lifts contact tracing QR code requirement

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Boracay Island in Aklan will continue requiring tourists to sign up upon entering the island, but this time reverting back to manual registration.

The Aklan provincial government lifted last Oct. 29 the requirement of QR codes from visitors meant for contact tracing and monitoring purposes amid the travel restrictions enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the directive, the municipal tourism office of Malay town, which hosts Boracay, reverted to the “conventional tourist registration scheme” enforced through municipal ordinance.

“All tourists and visitors entering Boracay Island shall be strictly required to register with the Municipal Tourism Office at any designated entry point,” it said in its advisory signed by municipal tourism officer Felix delos Santos Jr.

“Packaged Transfers and/or Accommodation Establishments with special designated welcome center and in-house transport service are likewise obliged to comply with this requirement,” the office said.

Some netizens who read the advisory preferred the use of the QR code, with one saying the lifting of the QR code requirement was “counter-intuitive.”