The tourism industry is among the country’s high potential drivers for economic transformation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized on Monday as he graced the Philippine Tourism Industry Convergence Reception at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
The President was with First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos and House Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Rep. Sandro Marcos.
Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, and Deputy Speaker and Cebu Rep. Duke Frasco were also in attendance.
Mr. Marcos backed the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) plan to give Philippine gateways a facelift and create more roads to key destinations to attract more tourists to the country after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given that tourism is a “driver” of the economy, the President said the government must do everything “to make sure that this asset that the Philippines has must be used to bring jobs to people, to bring visitors to our country.”
“It became very clear from the very beginning, that as we transform our economy, one of the possible and high potential drivers for the transformation of the economy was tourism, and the reason, I think, to us all is quite obvious… because we in the Philippines have been so fortunate to have been born to this very beautiful country,” Mr. Marcos said in his keynote speech.
“And even more so, we have been so lucky to be born to such beautiful people. And that’s why, immediately, I said this is something we can show to the world, and immediately, this will come to help all the pre-occupation at the very beginning because we always talk about jobs, we always talk about employment,” he added.
Mr. Marcos said he fully understands “how tourism can drive our social, our economic recovery, especially in the countryside, given the majestic and natural wonders and exciting man-made sites that we have within the Philippines.”
“Following the pandemic, we need fresh and new ideas to bring back the imagination and confidence of our people—from here and abroad—so they will be encouraged to explore the best destinations that the country can offer,” said the President.
Mr. Marcos vowed his administration would remain committed to ensuring the inputs that have been acquired from the tourism industry’s listening tours will be optimized for the benefit of the sector.
“We want one of the key players in our nation’s progress to be buzzing once again with life—stronger than ever—so that they will be able to keep up with these fast-moving times,” he said.
In line with improving the tourism industry, Mr. Marcos said known resort areas would be developed and that tourists from all over the world will be welcomed. He reiterated that airports should also be improved so that tourist spots will be more accessible to the public.
“The government has to do its part and the government’s part is to develop and make sure that these beautiful places, number one, have people to run them, the staff to run them,” Marcos said.
“Another thing that we consider was immediately necessary is we must improve the accessibility of all these places, to have direct access to smaller airports, not necessarily the big airports of Manila, of Cebu, of CDO, of Gen San, but also to the small areas,” he added.
Earlier, Mr. Marcos said there is a need to develop the country’s infrastructure and policies to boost the tourism industry. He
mentioned Singapore’s developed tourism sector, despite limited natural resources, because of its policies and infrastructure.
According to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, a total of 1,767,791 international arrivals were recorded as of October 16, surpassing the projection of 1.7 million tourists projected by the agency prior to June 2022.
In her message, Frasco said the DOT and the Department of Transportation are working together in reviving pre-pandemic routes to minimize congestion in ports.
“We held dialogues with our aviation players – to enlist for the DOT’s strategy to increase the accessibility of Philippine tourism destinations to both local and international travelers,” Frasco said.
Frasco also said the DOT has been developing existing tourism products, dive and marine tourism, education, health and cruise tourism, food and gastronomy tourism as well as halal tourism.
Among Southeast Asian destinations, the Philippines lags behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam in terms of tourist arrivals, Frasco told reporters in a chance interview.
“The Philippines has the best destinations, only, we have challenges as far as infrastructure, health, and safety, gateway access that is why the President has decided to improve these enabling mechanisms,” the Tourism chief said.
“As you know, we are still in the race to recovery and we’re doing everything that we can to be at par with our ASEAN neighbors that are ranked far higher than us,” she said.
The DOT is pitching to improve several airports and seaports by giving these a “distinctly Filipino” aesthetic, Frasco said.
“Our gateways – airports and seaports – are the first impression that our tourists have and therefore it is very important to make a good first impression and to encourage our tourists to come to the Philippines not just once, but to keep coming back again and again,” she said.
“We will place a tacit manifestation of the Filipino identity and the Filipino brand so what you can expect are elements of our culture such as the sulihiya panels, Filipino-made furniture, weaves by our various tribes all over the country, as well as the incorporation of greenery and plants,” she said.
The DOT has “already 80 percent in completion of design plans for NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Terminal 2,” Frasco said.
Designs for the Cebu City Pier One and Davao International Airport will follow suit, she said.
“We hope to be able to institute some of the aesthetic changes by the end of the year.”