President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed government agencies to streamline and consolidate the country’s tourism services to enhance competitiveness in global tourism.
The directive follows a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector at Malacañang, where recommendations were discussed.
The President highlighted the need for a more organized tourism structure, drawing parallels with Thailand’s efficient system that takes care of various requirements such as hotel and flight bookings, transportation, and tour guides.
“I was talking to a friend and he said I am going to Thailand and I said why go to Thailand, go to the Philippines where it’s nicer, cheaper. But he said in the Philippines [I book] the hotel, I have to be the one to arrange for my driver. I have to be the one to arrange my tour guide, and if I want to go out of town, and then I pay each step of the way,” he said during the meeting.
“So, there’s the thing. I guess, you know, consolidate the system. So that it’s because when you’re on vacation, you just want to stay at the beach and have a nice time. So, I think it’s the facilities that we have to develop,” the President added.
Addressing the potential of sports and food tourism, President Marcos directed the Department of Tourism to explore opportunities for sports development and promote the country’s diverse cuisines.
He expressed confidence in enhancing facilities for sports development and tapping into the vast potential of food tourism, which remains largely untapped.
During the meeting, PSAC, led by Sabin Aboitiz of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., recommended showcasing native cuisines and hosting major sporting events to attract more tourists.
The council members, including Lance Gokongwei of JG Summit Holdings Inc., Lucio Tan III of LT Group, Rene Limcaoco of Hertz Philippines, and Lourdes Josephine Gotianun-Yap of Filinvest Development Corporation, stressed the importance of making the Philippines competitive in the tourism sector.
For their part, PSAC proposed several measures, including easing visa access, providing temporary 30-day visa-free entry for tourists, and exploring third-party service providers for the eVisa system. They also recommended improving airport connectivity and capacity through public-private partnerships for regional airports.
Other initiatives highlighted by PSAC included aligning hotel incentives with neighboring countries, such as VAT refund schemes for tourists, to match supply with demand.
The council emphasized the goal of encouraging tourists to “visit, stay, spend money, and return” to the Philippines.
Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines recorded over 5.4 million tourist arrivals last year, with tourism receipts amounting to P482.54 billion.