Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez yesterday assured hotel owners of government support in the revival of more robust tourism and hospitality industries in the post-pandemic era.
The supports comes in the form of expanded credit and lower interest rates.
Dominguez also cited the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Law, which will leave more cash resources for businesses to sustain employment or use for investments, as another measure that will help the tourism and hospitality sectors bounce back from the pandemic.
“I urge the hotel industry to take this opportunity to maintain infrastructure systems; strengthen health and safety protocols; and embrace digitalization to be ready for the upcoming demand in travel,” he said in his message to members of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association Inc. (PHOA) during their webinar.
He acknowledged that the hospitality and tourism industries have been the hardest hit by the imposition of movement restrictions that are necessary to contain infections since the pandemic swept across the world over a year ago.
“The crisis is not over. The virus continues to mutate, keeping us all on edge. The threat posed by the Delta variant of the coronavirus forced us to escalate restrictions once more,” Dominguez said.
He added the success of the country’s vaccination program is the key to a strong and sustained economic recovery. – Angela Celis
