LISTED: 2021 Philippine Holidays

The coronavirus pandemic forced everyone to abandon their summer plans for now, but is there a chance for us to be able to post our travel photos in the near future? Let’s have a look at the 2021 holidays in the Philippines.

Before the pandemic, the announcement of public holidays was a much-awaited thing. After all, we use them to figure out long weekends and plan our trips wisely. These are the things we would often share with our friends in hopes of making plans with them (flaking is highly discouraged but pretty optional).

2020-2021

But since the world has screeched to a grinding halt, it seems like future trips—both domestic and local—are frozen for now. Regardless, it still pays to know the upcoming holidays for next year.

Since a lot of us have probably been longing for the sight of the beach and the sand between our toes, here are just some of the long weekends for the year 2021, with dates that make long weekends highlighted in bold:

Philippine Holidays 2021
  • January 1 – Friday, New Year’s Day, Regular holiday
  • January 23 – Saturday, First Philippine Republic Day, Special working public holiday
  • February 12 – Friday, Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day, Special non-working holiday
  • February 25 – Thursday, People Power Anniversary, Special non-working holiday
  • April 1 – Thursday, Maundy Thursday, Regular holiday
  • April 2 – Friday, Good Friday, Regular holiday
  • April 4 – Sunday, Easter Sunday, Observance
  • April 9 – Friday, The Day of Valor, Regular holiday
  • May 1 – Saturday, Labor Day, Regular holiday
  • May 13 – Thursday, Eidul-Fitar, Regular holiday
  • June 12 – Saturday, Independence Day, Regular holiday
  • July 20 – Tuesday, Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), Regular holiday
  • July 21 – Wednesday, Eid al-Adha Day 2, Common local holiday
  • August 21 – Saturday, Ninoy Aquino Day, Special non-working holiday
  • August 30 – Monday, National Heroes Day, Regular holiday
  • September 8 – Wednesday, Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Special working public holiday
  • November 1 – Monday, All Saints’ Day, Special non-working holiday
  • November 2 – Tuesday, All Souls’ Day, Observance
  • November 30 – Tuesday, Bonifacio Day, Regular holiday
  • December 8 – Wednesday, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Special Non-working holiday
  • December 24 – Friday, Christmas Eve, Observance
  • December 25 – Saturday, Christmas Day, Regular holiday
  • December 30 – Thursday, Rizal Day, Regular holiday

Holiday trips still impossible?

But with the world scrambling to solve the COVID-19 crisis, will it be possible for us to finally book our trips next year? Let’s look at the facts.

According to their latest forecast, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed that global passenger traffic will not return to the rate before the pandemic happened until 2024. The group rescinded its original forecast that air travel in general will be back on its feet in 2023.

Based on their survey, air passengers in 2020 will decline by 55 percent against the numbers from 2019. Compared to its April survey, the rate of decline worsened from 46 percent. In addition, passenger revenue per kilometer, the measurement used by airlines to gauge the distance covered by a paying passenger, fell by 86.5 percent compared to last year.

What’s with the gloomy outlook by the IATA? Here are just some of the main drivers for the more pessimistic forecast by the airline group:

The United States, China, and developing countries are slow in containing the spread of virus in their respective countries. Combining the decline of interest in air travel from two of the biggest flight markets in the world with lagging response in their common destinations, these big factors significantly make the outlook gloomier.

Corporate air travel is on a freefall. Aside from budgetary constraints due to weaker economies, a lot of companies have embraced remote meeting setup for in lieu of face-to-face meetings. These developments significantly reduce the need for offices to send their employees on numerous trips.

Consumers become savvier with their finances. As markets are still shaky and job security is volatile, individuals who would normally travel for leisure are now putting their plans on hold. With unemployment and the risk of contracting the virus driving them to stay away from flying, they tend to create more vacant seats for flights now more than ever.

By combining all these factors, IATA concluded that it will take four years for the air carriers to return to their normal operations. Although still dismal, 2021 is slated to make a 62-percent bounce from this year’s terrible numbers.

QUIZ: How Much Do You Really Know About COVID-19?

Go local?

In his latest State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte said that the local tourism industry will need all the help it could get from all Filipinos as one of the badly devastated sectors globally. According to the chief executive’s speech, supporting tourism by going local will help the economy recover.

“While slow, try to put the fun back in your local travels. The national government agencies and LGUs must harmonize their policies to boost tourism in ensuring everyone’s well-being. We enjoin our people to help boost the economy by traveling locally once the necessary systems are in place,” he said.

Fortunately, the government isn’t alone in this. According to the Department of Trade and Industry’s report called “Philippine Travel Survey: Insights on Filipino Travel Behavior Post-COVID 19,” 77 percent of Filipinos are more than willing to explore local destinations once the restrictions are lifted. In fact, people are so eager to travel that more than half of the respondents are willing to go even without vaccine against COVID-19!

Despite this mildly disturbing enthusiasm for travel again, majority of survey respondents are still willing to comply with strict health and sanitation procedures, with 88 percent of them happy to comply with the new requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Although some areas are already under looser quarantine guidelines and land travel to some provinces outside Metro Manila already possible, it’s still inadvisable to go out of your homes for non-essential purposes. After all, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Stay home and eventually, you can finally get to update your Instagram feed other than throwback vacation photos or selfies from your home.