Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Saturday called for increased collaboration between the government and the private sector to enhance tourism initiatives and boost the Philippine economy.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, Zubiri highlighted the negative effects of inadequate infrastructure, frequent power outages, and insufficient water supply on the tourism sector. He emphasized that partnering with the private sector could play a crucial role in revitalizing and advancing the Philippine tourism industry.

“The country’s tourism sector will greatly benefit from private sector investments in the areas of infrastructure and public services that will enable the country to capture a larger market of foreign tourists that are all flocking to our Southeast Asian neighbors,” he said.

Zubiri lamented the country’s lack of efficient infrastructures for power supply, transportation, and connectivity is crippling the Philippines’ tourism potential.

“That’s why we’re still falling behind, even though the Philippines is truly a beautiful place,” he added in Filipino.

Zubiri cited that in 2023, Thailand had the best tourism economy in Southeast Asia, receiving 28 million foreign arrivals, followed by Malaysia with 20 million, Singapore (13.6 million), Vietnam (12.6 million), Indonesia (11.7 million), and Cambodia (5.5 million).

The Philippines, meanwhile, welcomed only 5.4 million foreign visitors last year.

“Tourism is the low-lying fruit that can help us increase our GDP (gross domestic product) growth once we get our acts together,” Zubiri pointed out.

“The market is there, the natural resources are there. We just have to invest in our tourism infrastructure,” he added.

Zubiri said the government should begin with developing the country’s energy generation, transmission, and distribution facilities.

“Investors won’t come to our tourist destinations if electricity prices are too high or if the power supply from electric cooperatives can’t meet the demand,” he noted.

He also cited the energy cost and power supply “emerged as a common deterrent” to tourism development, especially for off-grid island destinations.

“We were able to solve this power problem for Boracay, and we need to do it for other tourist areas as well…We can look at renewable energy as a more sustainable, more reliable and more cost-effective solution,” he said.

Zubiri also lamented the lack of direct international flights to the country’s tourist destinations.

“[These] inhibit potential visitors from traveling here, pushing them to go to more easily accessible destinations in our neighboring countries instead,” he said.

Zubiri then urged for the creation of a “tourism cabinet cluster that will oversee inter-agency efforts to improve infrastructure and public services in the sector.”