Hotel owners and developers, which are among the largest investors in the tourism industry, need to catch up to the rising demand for accommodation to ensure sustainable growth of the sector.
In her speech at the launch of the Philippine Hotel Industry Strategic Action Plan (PHISAP) – co-developed by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) – in Mandaluyong City yesterday, DOT Secretary Christina Frasco said by 2028, room demand is estimated at over 456,000 room keys.
Current supply of accommodation establishments is at 18,818 equivalent to 335,592 rooms based on compiled data of the Accommodation Capacity Survey of 2023-2024. Investments stood at P66.87 billion based on the list of registered projects from the Board of Investments in a span of five years, 2019 to 2023.
“We have some catching up to do,” said Frasco, adding accommodation is one of two challenges that has been nagging the tourism industry for years, the other being access.
“Our global competitiveness is less than ideal,” Frasco said.
The Philippines lags behind its competitors in Asean in terms of availability of rooms as of 2021.
The region had 3.12 million rooms led by Indonesia with 788,000 rooms. Vietnam and Thailand each registered over 700,000 rooms.
In contrast, the Philippines only 212,373 rooms based on the hotels and similar establishments accredited by the Department of Tourism.
But Frasco expressed confidence that with the continuous investments, the Philippines is well on its way to meeting the demand for rooms by 2028.
Frasco acknowledged the contribution of the accommodations sector to the tourism industry and to the economy in general: 16.2 percent of the over P2 trillion direct gross value added in 2023 and over 23 percent of the 6.21 million employed in tourism.
Frasco said the accommodation sector contributed about half of the P508 billion tourism investment under the Marcos administration.
But the most tangible impact, she said, is the livelihood provided to the 1.45 million workers in hotels and similar facilities.
PHISAP represents a comprehensive roadmap designed to address the infrastructure needs of the hotel sector and ensure that Philippine hotels are competitive on the global stage, Frasco said.
The plan, which builds on the previous roadmap from 2016, will align the hotel industry with the DOT’s National Accommodation Standards, the star-rating system for accommodation establishments.
Key objectives of the PHISAP rollout include gathering industry feedback, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and aligning efforts to enhance the Philippine tourism and accommodation sectors.
Arthur Lopez, PHOA president, in his speech said as hotel owners and developers are among the biggest investors in the tourism industry, it is imperative “for us to have a strategic plan that will guide us on where and what type of accommodation facilities to build. “
“From an investor’s perspective, we need to have a clearer picture of the destinations where market demand is projected to be strong. We also need to have a deeper understanding of the type of amenities and services that different travel segments are looking for so we can plan accordingly,” Lopez said.
