LONG weekends this year have spurred domestic travel and helped businesses in tourist spots, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
The Philippines last year logged 102 million domestic trips. Authorities “anticipate that we would be able to exceed this number by the end of this year,” Tourism secretary Christina Frasco said.
“Napaka-supportive po ng ating mga kababayan, especially sa local tourism. Nagpapasalamat po tayo sa kanila at sa ating Presidente dahil sa mga proclamation po niya for the long weekends that have really helped our tourists, our families take that trip across our various destinations in the country,” Frasco told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
She added: “Nakakatulong din talaga siya (long weekends), especially sa ating mga local resorts, restaurants, tourist transport, and the like. And nakikita po natin na nagiging lively ‘yung local tourism economy of our destinations because the more opportunities there are for Filipinos and their families to travel, the more bookings po ‘yung nakukuha ng ating local destinations.”
Frasco said the Philippines had exceeded its target to attract 4.8 million foreign visitors this year.
“Less than 20,000 na lang po ang kulang, mag-5 million tourists na tayo,” she said.
Tourism contributed some P404 billion to the economy in the first 10 months of the year, the official noted. (ABS-CBN News)
