THERE was a lot of brouhaha over the launch of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) new slogan “Love the Philippines,” which replaces the 12-year-old It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign conceptualized during the administration of the late former President Benigno Aquino III.
The controversy was rooted in the promotional campaign as conceptualized by the advertising agency tapped by the DOT with its use of stock photos from other countries as part of its presentation. While the entire incident was regrettable, what is important is that the DOT, under Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, took immediate steps to address the issue, including the termination of the contract of the DOT with the ad agency.
I personally do not see any problem with the new slogan. Not only does it present reasons for non-Filipinos to love the Philippines, but it also encourages Filipinos to show more love and appreciation for what we have and to take greater care of our resources, including our tourist attractions.
What should not be overlooked, as far as tourism is concerned, are the numerous more serious problems that have hounded the country for years that if left unchecked, could derail the progress we are making as a premier tourist destination.
One of the first things that immediately come to mind is the state of our airports. As the gateway to the Philippines, this is the first thing that tourists see when they land. It may be cliché to say that first impressions last, but this still holds true to many people, particularly those who only come for a brief visit.
In general, our airports in Manila are quite congested. We have people who are sitting and even lying down on the floors of the airports while waiting for their flights. There are not enough restaurants and cafes to cater to travelers and on occasion, there is a problem with air-conditioning so hungry passengers also have to deal with uncomfortable temperatures.
Then there are the power outages that hit our airports every so often. Last June 9, 2023 the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 experienced a blackout for over an hour, which led to long lines of passengers at the immigration counters and directly affected several flights. It was the fourth incident since September of 2022 and includes the severe power outage that affected the central air traffic control system of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on January 1, 2023 and caused the delay, cancellation or diversion of 282 flights. Around 56,000 passengers at the Manila airports were affected.
These incidents can easily derail the gains we have been making in terms of attracting tourists and the campaign to make the Philippines one of the major tourist destinations in the region and even the world.
We are actually doing very well right now in attracting tourists to the country post-pandemic. The latest data from the DOT shows that a total of 2.7 million tourists arrived in the country for the first half of the year. At this pace, the DOT and tourism stakeholders are confident that we can breach the government’s target of 4.8 million international tourist arrivals by the end of the year.
Tourism is a major contributor to the Philippine economy. Many local government units rely heavily on tourism, particularly on the employment front and small businesses benefit also with the foot traffic. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) registered a total of 5.35 million individuals employed in the tourism industry in 2022. This was 9.3 percent higher than the 4.9 million recorded in 2021, but of course this was at the point when our economy was still in the process of opening up after the pandemic.
Tourism represented 11.4 percent of total employment in the country. The contribution of tourism industries to the economy as measured by tourism direct gross value added was 6.2 percent of the total economic output of the country.
Clearly we should prioritize the improvement of our infrastructure if we are to sustain the growth momentum of our tourism sector. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this because mobility and connectivity or the lack of it can make or break the ability of LGUs to attract tourists.
I am optimistic that under the Marcos administration we will be able to see the development and completion of more infrastructure projects. The 2023 General Appropriations Act contains a total of P17.7 billion for the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP). Rest assured we will continue to support this program and other efforts to grow our tourism sector once we go over the 2024 national budget in the coming months.
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Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 years—9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 9 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.
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Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara/PN
