MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte is set to visit Boracay island next week as part of the government's efforts to promote domestic tourism amid the COVID-19 scare.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat made the announcement in a media conference on Wednesday, saying the March 12 trip will be the President's first time to visit the island since its six-month closure and rehabilitation in 2018.

"It's the first time he's going to Boracay since it [re]opened, so probably he will look at the changes in [the island]," she said, noting that medical facilities have since improved in Boracay.

When asked for more details about President Duterte's visit, Romulo-Puyat replied: "We're still planning as we go along... Whenever there's a presidential visit, it always changes."

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has placed its focus on domestic visits this year, with the expected decrease in inbound arrivals as many people postpone travel plans because of the threat of the new coronavirus.

According to Romulo-Puyat, tourist arrivals in February dropped 41.4% compared to 2019.

"If you want to look at the occupancy rates, in Boracay it's 40% down, in Cebu, it's 27% down, and Bohol, it's 40% down," she said.

Airlines and DOT-accredited hotels have slashed rates as much as 70% to encourage Filipinos to travel around the country, but the scheduled nationwide mall sales this month have been postponed to prioritize public safety.

To strengthen its public-private partnership initiative, the DOT has allocated P6 billion for "international and domestic promotions, infrastructure, and regional tourism development."

Romulo-Puyat said the amount will be spent on a new campaign for domestic travel (P421 million), engaging content to resonate with emerging countries unaffected by COVID-19 (P467 million), conducting and participation in international events and marketing initiatives worldwide (P725 million), night rating of secondary airports (P1.6 billion), training for COVID-19 protocols for industry stakeholders (P85 million), aid for local governments' tourism master plan (P400 million), and infrastructure development and expansion (P2.2 billion), among others.

"We wanted to be assured that measures are in place to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 to the tourism sector, and we are happy to note that our government is all-out in ensuring the effect of this looming pandemic is contained, at least in the Philippines," she said.

"From our end, the Department of Tourism has identified and is working on strategic approaches to address the negative effects caused by this global health scare," she added.