Phl, Japan ink Memorandum of Cooperation on tourism

To mutually benefit from the increasing opportunities in the tourism industry, the governments of Japan and the Philippines have sealed a Memorandum of Cooperation for the said sector.

At the sidelines of the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday, Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito sealed the MoC which intends to expand opportunities for tourism development between the two countries.

Prime Minister Kishida and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of the MoC.

Strengthen, further develop ties

Under the agreement, both countries agreed to strengthen and further develop Philippine-Japan ties in the field of tourism by increasing tourist arrivals for both countries from world tourist-generating markets; encouraging more tourists to visit various tourist destinations and attractions, including rural areas in each other's country; encouraging mutual visits and traffic of high-value-added travelers to increase tourism consumption; encouraging the healthy growth of the tourism industry of Philippines and that of Japan's, especially on the aspects of education, culture, gastronomy, sustainable tourism and adventure.

"With the signing of this landmark Memorandum of Cooperation on Tourism under the Marcos administration, the Philippines' bilateral relations with Japan are strengthened as we anticipate that this will exponentially expand tourism opportunities with the Japanese, which is one of our top source markets," Secretary Frasco said.

"This shall also usher in further tourism development in the fields of sustainability, air and sea connectivity, education, human capital development, culture, gastronomy, nature and adventure, which shall increase tourism revenues for our stakeholders, usher in more tourism investments, and create more jobs for our fellow Filipinos, as envisioned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.," she added.

Third top source of visitors

As of 2 November 2023, Japan is considered one of the country's top sources of visitors ranking third with nearly 250 thousand arrivals into the Philippines.