Looking for a travel companion that can give you updates to travel advisories during the pandemic? Worry no more!

The Department of Tourism (DOT) and its attached agency, Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) launched a new travel app called ‘Travel Philippines’, on Friday, October 30, 2020, in partnership with venture builder HIMO Global Inc.

The newly-launched travel web application will give tourists an update on the status of destinations that recently reopened, providing them one digital stop when planning leisure trips under the "new normal" which will also allow users to create itineraries conveniently, and securely store digital copies of travel documents.

The Travel Philippines app works online and offline, and is built to run in all the devices and browsers such as desktop and tablet, mobile phones, among others.

Click here to access Travel Philippines app

As to date, Travel Philippines app features six local tourist destinations: Palawan, Boracay, Bohol, Baguio, Ilocos Norte, and Metro Manila. You can also check out DOT-accredited accommodations and restaurants in the app.

“As we continue to reopen the country’s tourism destinations, Travel Philippines timely serves as every tourist’s official guide to safe and fun travel,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

“With the ever-changing needs and challenges in travel brought about by the pandemic, Travel Philippines will help both domestic and international tourists have safer and more memorable travel experiences amid our ‘new normal’,” she added.

HIMO Global Inc. president and CEO of Talino Venture Labs Winston Damarillo said the new platform will be regularly updated as more parts of our favorite local travel destinations reopen for tourism.

Damarillio also assured about the safety of information from the documents and IDs that will be uploaded in the app.

"All the data that you put in the app actually resides only on your phone. Hindi siya naka-store sa server na maha-hack anywhere else. And that data can only be transmitted when you want to transmit it. So 'yung user ang may control sa ating personal information," he said.

"We built this app for government use and for citizens to have trust," added Damarillo.

TPB's chief operating officer Atty. Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones said the project had a total cost of P20 million.

Aside from the newly-launched Travel Philippines app, there are other apps that can help you achieve a hassle-free travels.

FOR BOOKINGS:

Klook (activities, dining, accommodations)

Airbnb (accommodations)

TripAdvisor (hotels, dining, activities)

Traveloka (flights, hotels, activities)

Google Flights (flights)

Skyscanner (flights, hotels, car rentals)

Kayak (flights, hotels, car rentals)

KKday (tours, activities)

Hopper (flights, hotels)

FOR PLANNING YOUR ITINERARY:

TripIt – this app is built to collate all your trip plans into one master itinerary.

Google Trips – this app can be accessed offline and consolidates all the travel information from your Gmail and Inbox, and organizes them accordingly.

Google Sheets – this is proven to be reliable for a more detailed travel itinerary. Although, it doesn’t automatically collate information unless they are encoded.

Packpoint – you can create a checklist for your travel essentials, to ensure that you’ve got everything you need.

FOR NAVIGATION

Waze - provides real-time road traffic and suggests alternative routes for faster ETAs.

Google Maps/Apple Maps - helpful for simple navigation. Easier and more convenient to use instead of printed out maps.

Moovit – gives accurate real-time train and bus schedule and suggests which public transportation vehicles to take for commuters. Available in 90 countries and over 2,700 cities.

With these helpful travel apps and the new Travel Philippines platform, you can now conveniently plan for your next travel. Have a safe trip!