Infra builds tourists’ confidence (1)

Attention to the basic components of the tourism industry appears to have catapulted the sector to unseen heights.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, in an interview on DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk, said the first question she asked after being appointed to her post was about the state of the tourism infrastructure, mainly of the roads that led to leisure spots.

That made her approach different from the Tourism secretaries before her who focused on promotions to grow the sector.

“What good would promotions do if tourists would find it hard to reach a destination? It is good that we have a President who believes that tourism should be among the engines of growth,” she said.

“One of the very first things we did was to do due diligence on the developmental pillars of tourism in the country, as well as to do a comparative analysis of our performance vis-à-vis our ASEAN neighbors,” Frasco said.

The regional comparison not only assessed physical arrivals but also the facilities and infrastructure of the other ASEAN members that contributed to accessibility and connectivity.

She explained that the National Tourism Development Plan from 2023 to 2028 identified seven main objectives, the first of which was infrastructure, from roads, bridges, airports to seaports.

“Hard infrastructure plays a critical component in Philippine tourism success. With that, we forged a convergence with our fellow government agencies, chiefly the Department of Public Works and Highways,” she said.

The focused approach to tourism resulted in a banner year for the sector in 2023.

Tourism contributed an 8.6-percent share to the gross domestic product that year amounting to at least P2.09 trillion, the highest in 24 years.

Total inbound and domestic visitor receipts totaled P3.367 trillion, or a 75.3-percent increase from 2022.

The prioritization of the industry was key to what she termed as the golden year of tourism.

“The President’s leadership and clear vision have guided the Department of Tourism to craft and implement innovative programs to elevate the quality of tourism services, expand opportunities nationwide, and enhance tourists’ experience resulting in longer stays and more spending,” Frasco said.

“Together with partners across government agencies and the private sector, we have worked towards the President’s aspiration for the Philippines to take its rightful place on the global tourism stage,” she added.

Her biggest source of pride is that under her term, tourism provided livelihoods to 6.21 million Filipinos.

Foreign visitors also stayed longer, from an average of nine days to the current 11 days, Frasco said, quoting figures posted last year.

A net trade surplus of $2.45 billion was posted in travel earnings last year, where foreign visitors spent more than what Filipinos shelled out for travel abroad, which was a first in 15 years.

Tourism investments saw significant growth, totaling P509 billion and reflecting an increase of over 34 percent compared to 2022.

Frasco also rattled off other indicators, including the 5.45-million international visitors in 2023, exceeding the 4.8-million target. This year, the goal is to attract 7.7 million tourist arrivals.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Philippines has had more than three million international visitors.

Awards that the country received in the past years demonstrate the effectiveness of the government’s tourism initiatives

Most recently, the country was acknowledged at the 2024 GovMedia Conference and Awards in Singapore, which recognizes outstanding government initiatives in Asia. (To be continued)