The Philippines has opened borders for tourists who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Friday.

Tourists are required to be fully immunized with vaccines approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration under an Emergency Use Authorization or the World Health Organization.

"Allowing tourists from green countries or territories that have the majority of its population vaccinated and with low infection rate, will greatly help in our recovery efforts--increasing tourist arrivals and receipts among others. This move will likewise aid in bolstering consumer confidence, which is a large contributor to our gross domestic product or GDP growth," DOT Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat was quoted as saying in a statement.

To date, the country has authorized vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sputnik V, Janssen, Covaxin, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Covovax.