Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco hopes that tourist arrivals in the country can reach five million this year.

In her presentation during the Tourism Pride Summit on Thursday at the Makati Shangri La, Makati City, Frasco reported that as of 27 September 2023, tourism arrivals are now at 3,973,630 or 87.77 percent of the 4.8 million target tourist arrivals for this year.

"We are still hoping to exceed the target until December to five million," Frasco said in an ambush interview.

Airport incident isolated

Following the humiliating incident that happened at Terminal 1 of Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport on 8 September wherein an airport security officer was caught stealing and swallowing the stolen $300 from a Chinese national, Frasco said the incident does not represent the whole system in the country's gateway.

"Tourism provides livelihood to millions of Filipinos. Therefore, any crime against tourists is a crime against our country. We fully support the Department of Transportation's measures to impose the maximum penalty to the person involved," Frasco told reporters.

She said the DoT will continue to collaborate with the DoTR so that the Filipino brand of excellence, especially in the country's gateways, is perpetuated.

"However, I would just like to qualify that the single act or any other isolated act is absolutely not representative of our tourism industry and our tourism workers in the country who have worked so hard to ensure that we will rise from the challenges of the pandemic and calamities. We are confident that since there are so many reasons to love the Philippines, our tourism industry will continue to flourish despite these isolated incidents," according to Frasco.

Inclusive comfort rooms for LGBTQIA+

Meanwhile, Frasco said the DoT will continue to work with its accredited tourism establishments to ensure that they foster an environment for non-discrimination by putting up all-gender restrooms.

"We are grateful for those establishments that already put up facilities that are gender-neutral and are friendly to our LGBTQIA+ community," she said.

Further, she said the DoT will further promote awareness of the massive contribution of the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer/Questioning, Asexual plus) community to the country.

She said that based on the United Nations World Trade Organization, the LGBTQ segment's annual spending on travel was at $218 Billion globally.

"This niche market has an opportunity to grow by giving them opportunities. In our province in Liloan, our LGBT friends are well accepted because we have ensured that the government gives them the recognition that they need. I believe in LGUs all over the country, this movement towards accepting and prioritizing inclusivity, equality, and diversity is being seen," she said.

Frasco, when she was a mayor in her town of Liloan, Cebu, organized and federated the Liloan LGBTQ, making it the first town in Cebu to have a fully federated LGBT federation in all barangays.

Frasco maintained that the DoT takes pride in having a multitude of numbers from the LGBTQIA+ community across the tourism value chain in all of the regions of the Philippines–from its personnel and, accommodation and services sector, from the frontline, managerial, supervisory, and upper echelons of the tourism industry, and even including frontline tourism personnel in LGUs, from pasalubong makers, choreographers, artistic directors, costume makers, festival dancers, and even various members of the DoT regional offices

"You are very well represented in the Department of Tourism and in the industry itself and your contribution to the success of tourism is invaluable," she added.

Frasco and her husband House Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco, donated P500,000 to support the Philippine Financial & Inter-Industry educational scholarships for underprivileged students that are members of the LGBT community.

PFIP is a collaborative, voluntary, and non-profit community that serves as the leading voice and champion of LGBT+ workplace inclusion in the Philippines.