There is reason to believe that despite the two successive problems that confronted Philippine tourism in the last few months, the sector can become one of the biggest dollar earners for the country. For one, the new set of officials in the Department of Tourism (DOT) remains confident that the country will overcome the two major setbacks that have haunted the Philippine tourism sector since April.
The first setback came in April when the European Commission banned all Philippine carriers from flying to the 27-nation bloc due to concerns about local aviation safety standards, dealing a major blow to the tourism sector. Tour packages from Europe were cancelled even though no Philippine carrier has been flying to EU member-states since 1999.
The EU ban prompted European insurance companies to advise travel operators that packages to the Philippines — which included inter-island air travel — would not be covered by travel insurance.
The ban remains despite repeated pleas from both the Philippine Airlines and the Philippine government.
The second setback came last month when a dismissed police officer held hostage several Chinese tourists that resulted in the death of eight Hongkong tourists. Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said the country lost some P40 million due to the August 23 incident based on the 3,360 cancellation of hotel bookings in Regions 1, 4, 6, and 7.
“But the damage was much less than we were expecting,” Lim said as he refuted reports that there were about 1,000 cancellations of bookings from European tourists.
Despite the two major setbacks, Lim remains confident the country will achieve the DOT’s target of 10-percent increase in tourist arrivals this year. Lim said that by the end of the year, he expects some 3.3 million visitors to have entered the country. For next year, the department targets 3.6 million tourists and 325,000 in jobs generated. By the end of the President’s term in 2016, Lim said the administration hopes to have drawn in six million tourists and generated some 665,000 new jobs.
It is reassuring to know that the DOT will allocate one-third of its 2011 budget, or around P476 million, in promoting Philippine tourism in targeted countries, such as the Asia Pacific, where it will spend P87 million; US and Canada, P86 million; Korea, P64 million; Japan, P43 million; Europe, P38 million; China, P23 million; Middle East, P15 million; India, P12 million, and other promotion, P8 million. It will also spend P100 million for promotions using new media.
But promotion wouldn’t be effective if no corresponding support projects are done, and Lim realizes this, that’s why the department also plans to undertake projects such as upgrading of airport facilities, development of infrastructure, access to communication, and liberalizing access to the country through the open skies policy.
If given the proper boosts, the Philippine tourism sector can be a major contributor to the Philippine economy. While the overseas Filipino sector remains one of the biggest contributors to the Philippine economy, the tourism sector, despite all the negative publicity about the country, is slowly but surely catching up. From 2004 to 2007, tourism’s share in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to 6.2%, making it a key economic growth driver, especially in these times of global economic crisis.
Tourism raked in $4.88 billion in 2007, which is still a far cry from the OFW’s contribution of about $14 billion a year, but it is certainly headed in the right direction. In addition, domestic tourism expenditures grew 19.8%, which goes to show that even Filipinos in the homeland are beginning to realize and enjoy the beauty of their country.
Despite the financial crisis and negative news coming from Manila, a total of 3,139,442 tourists visited the Philippines in 2008, registering a 1.5% growth, which was phenomenal considering that most industry sectors showed a decline the past year because of the global economic recession.
The Philippines definitely has a very good potential to become a major tourist destination in Asia. The country is made up of more than 7,100 islands that offer some of the best beaches in the world, particularly the ones in Boracay and Palawan. The Philippines has some of the most amazing natural wonders of the world, including the Banaue Rice Terraces, the Palawan Undergound River and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol. It has some of the best hotels in Asia, the biggest malls, the best resorts, the best golf courses, and the most exotic festivals. And most importantly, the country has some of the friendliest, warmest and most hospitable people in the world.
Because of these factors, the Philippine tourism industry has the potential to become the major moneymaker for the cash-strapped Philippine economy. Look at the countries whose tourism industry is a major money-earner – the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, California, Florida, Spain, Mexico, Hong Kong, France, Greece, Singapore, Morocco, Costa Rica, and Italy, among others.
The Philippines has all the qualities to join this league. It just needs to pursue an honest-to-goodness tourism information and promotion campaign, which Lim vows to pursue starting next year. And with the help of his tourism personnel abroad, the national government, the airline industry, especially the Philippine Airlines being the national flag carrier, hotels and other tourist-related companies, there is no reason not to succeed