Seven objectives will be pursued to further grow the tourism industry even as the sector is well on its way to recovery.
In her speech at the launch of the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) yesterday, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the Philippines has logged in more than 1 million visitors in less than three months.
Frasco expects to exceed the Department of Tourism’s target of 4.8 million international arrivals this year.
Domestic travel is expected to fully recover in 2022.
The NTDP, Frasco said, contains strategies and programs beginning this year until 2028. It will provide direction and a development framework for the national and local tourism stakeholders in their journey towards full recovery.
Anchored on building up Philippines tourism as innovative, inclusive and globally competitive, the NTDP hopes to close the gaps that has led the Philippines to languish in the World Economic Forum travel and tourism index in 2021 to 75th out of 117 economies, slipping two places from 2019. In the eight countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked 6th, ahead only of Laos and Myanmar.
The Philippines was dead last in some key pillars like business environment, safety, security and managing demand pressure.
The seven objectives to be pursued under the NTDP are: improvement of tourism infrastructure and accessibility; cohesive and comprehensive digitalization and connectivity; enhancement of overall tourism experience; equalization of tourism product promotion and development; diversification of portfolio through multidimensional tourism; maximization of domestic and international tourism and strengthening tourism governance.
The Philippines attracted 2.65 international million visitors in 2022, exceeding by almost a million the
1.7 million target for the year. The industry generated P214 billion in revenues, exceeding target by over 38 percent.
Last year, the tourism industry generated 5.2 million tourism- related employment, exceeding the goal of 4.9 million. Irma Isip
