President Marcos Jr. yesterday ordered all concerned agencies to m/… zthe country’s tourism system to make the Philippines more competitive in the global market.
The President, during his meeting with members of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector in Malacañang, cited Thailand’s organized tourism system, which provides structures for hotel and flight booking, and arrangements for driver and tour guide, among others, to ensure convenience of tourists.
“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, then I pay each step of the way,” the President said.
“So, there’s the thing. I guess, you know, consolidate the system. 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,” he also said.
The President also directed the tourism department to look into the promotion of sports and food tourism to further attract tourists to visit the Philippines.
Marcos said while the country needs to improve the sports facilities in the country, the food tourism industry has a huge potential but is largely untapped.
“There’s a lot of room to improve,” he said.
PSAC, during the meeting, made several recommendations to promote the tourism industry which included attracting tourists, making them stay, and eventually spend.
Among these suggestions include the country’s embarking on a campaign to showcase its native cuisines as well as hosting major sporting events to attract more tourists similar to the tourism campaigns in India, China, Singapore and Thailand; the easing of visa access for tourists similar to what is being done in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, including a 30-day visa-free entry for tourists, and e-visa process streamlining; and tapping the services of a third-party service provider to handle the e-Visa system.
PSAC also recommended matching hotel supply of neighboring countries through the grant of better incentives, such as VAT refund scheme for tourists, and improvements in airport connectivity and capacity to help drive international demand, which means accelerating public private partnership (PPP) of regional airports to increase international airport connectivity and capacity for international airlines and routes.
Tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached over 5.4 million last year, with tourism receipts equivalent to P482.54 billion.
PSAC members present during the meeting include Sabin Aboitiz of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., 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.
