IN APRIL, BBM, the frontrunner in pre-election surveys for president, vowed to prioritize the tourism sector if he is elected in the May 9 polls.
Marcos cited the importance of the tourism industry in the country’s pandemic recovery and said that he plans to redirect the focus of the Department of Tourism (DOT) roadmap to help boost the country’s overall economic outlook.
‘The country is gifted with the most beautiful tourist spots globally, which when harnessed and utilized properly could help fast-track the country’s economic development. It will also help create jobs for the locals in areas where they are located.’
He also said that he would ‘task the DOT to directly manage tourist destinations and determine the social and economic impacts on their respective localities and on the country as a whole – instead of being just a marketing agent of the country’s most famous natural and historic places. The next administration must revitalize the tourism industry as we recover from the pandemic.’
Well said.
If this means that we hear less of the asinine “It’s more fun in the Philippines”, then I wholeheartedly agree.
After his election, Marcos appointed Christina Garcia-Frasco as Tourism Secretary.
Last week she said “The Philippines might be left behind in terms of tourism if the government keeps the strict policy of requiring people to wear face masks outdoors. The Philippines is currently in a position where its existing entry and stay policies for tourists convey only a partial reopening of the country to international travel. For this reason, the Philippines is immediately at a grave disadvantage as a tourism destination vis-à-vis its neighboring ASEAN member-states because the latter have all lifted their mask mandates either totally or partially.”
We need to be clearer about the existing status of face mask policies. DOT needs to gain agreement with decision-makers, such as the Department of Health as to what should be said to potential tourists.
Garcia-Frasco recognizes that we are in ‘direct competition’ with Southeast Asian neighbors like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. She mentions that these countries did not see an uptick in COVID-19 cases after they relaxed their face mask policies.
The World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC)’s latest Impact Report said that travel and tourism in the Philippines recovered 1.3 million jobs and generate $41 billion (about P2.13 trillion) in 2021.
If there are no further pandemics, we should see fairly rapid economic growth for 2022-2028./PN
