Cebu poised to become ESL hub in PH
Published Aug 1, 2019 09:58 am
By Minerva Newman
CEBU CITY – Cebu is poised to become the English as a Second Language (ESL) hub in the country as it gathered over 300 ESL industry stakeholders for the very first Philippine Education Tourism Conference (PETC) held on July 29-30 at the JPark Island Resort and Waterpark in Lapulapu City.
Philippine Education Tourism Conference (PETC) 2019 (Facebook: Tourism Circle Organization/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The PETC was initiated by the Department of Tourism (DOT) through the Office of Product & Market Development, in cooperation with the DOT in Central Visayas.
DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengson, Jr. said the Philippines is the 3rd largest English-speaking country in Asia and about 93.5 percent of its population speak and understand English.
“We are all working towards creating a clear and competitive Philippine Education Tourism brand by recognizing distinct product and boosting the status of the country in global education tourism market,” Bengson said.
According to Bengson ESL is among the products identified for tourism education that was included in the DOT’s development plan. It started the groundwork in 2010 and by 2013, the DOT had set up a team specifically for tourism education to focus on ESL.
The DOT has reached out and started to participate in fairs abroad such as roadshows in Thailand and Indonesia to get to know the ESL market better and getting rounds of ESL facilities in the country, Bengson narrated the ESL journey to this conference.
The ESL is an emerging tourism market in the country. Bengson said there are 59,428 special study permits issues by the Bureau of Immigration in 2018 which is more than double the 2013 figures of 22,561.
“This is probably a relatively low figure because we do not really have the specific data on how big is the ESL market alone. Part of the plan this year is to conduct a baseline study/survey on the market to identify the information gap,” Bengson bared.
Bengson said a platform for ESL stakeholders on how to raise the bar in education tourism is needed as well as a venue to improve the ESL brand and strengthen Cebu as the ESL powerhouse in the country.
Cebu is considered as the primary ESL hub, according to DOT-7 regional director Shalimar Tamano.
To date, there are 150 ESL centers in Central Visayas, mostly found in Cebu, that are registered and recognized by the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Bureau of Immigration (BOI).
Tamano said one of the major contributing factors for ESL to thrive here is Cebu’s connectivity to major international destinations such as Japan, Korea, China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, and Thailand.
In 2018 alone, 10 international flights were inaugurated, eight of these were from China. This greatly helped in increasing tourist arrivals in the region which reached more than eight million in 2018 and generated Php 44.2 billion in tourism receipts. This does not include the thousands of students who came to Cebu to study English, Tamano added.
He said that before Cebu became an ESL hub, it has long been a center of education in Southern Philippines. Students from Visayas and Mindanao flock to Cebu and Negros Oriental to pursue their tertiary education at some of the country’s best higher education institutions.
In recent years, the region’s top universities and educational institutions have attracted foreign students such as Indians, Nigerians, Thais, Americans, Koreans, New Guineans, and Kenyans who flocked to Cebu to learn and earn their tertiary education, Tamano said.
“This is also the primary reason why people chose to study English in the Central Visayas. As the 3rd biggest English-speaking population in the world, we provide good affordable education in a conducive fun learning environment,” he added.
Tamano said booming property development especially in Cebu contributes greatly to the ESL market expansion. ESL became a key driver for office space as demand continues to grow.
Philippine Education Tourism Conference (PETC) 2019 (Facebook: Tourism Circle Organization/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The PETC was initiated by the Department of Tourism (DOT) through the Office of Product & Market Development, in cooperation with the DOT in Central Visayas.
DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengson, Jr. said the Philippines is the 3rd largest English-speaking country in Asia and about 93.5 percent of its population speak and understand English.
“We are all working towards creating a clear and competitive Philippine Education Tourism brand by recognizing distinct product and boosting the status of the country in global education tourism market,” Bengson said.
According to Bengson ESL is among the products identified for tourism education that was included in the DOT’s development plan. It started the groundwork in 2010 and by 2013, the DOT had set up a team specifically for tourism education to focus on ESL.
The DOT has reached out and started to participate in fairs abroad such as roadshows in Thailand and Indonesia to get to know the ESL market better and getting rounds of ESL facilities in the country, Bengson narrated the ESL journey to this conference.
The ESL is an emerging tourism market in the country. Bengson said there are 59,428 special study permits issues by the Bureau of Immigration in 2018 which is more than double the 2013 figures of 22,561.
“This is probably a relatively low figure because we do not really have the specific data on how big is the ESL market alone. Part of the plan this year is to conduct a baseline study/survey on the market to identify the information gap,” Bengson bared.
Bengson said a platform for ESL stakeholders on how to raise the bar in education tourism is needed as well as a venue to improve the ESL brand and strengthen Cebu as the ESL powerhouse in the country.
Cebu is considered as the primary ESL hub, according to DOT-7 regional director Shalimar Tamano.
To date, there are 150 ESL centers in Central Visayas, mostly found in Cebu, that are registered and recognized by the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Bureau of Immigration (BOI).
Tamano said one of the major contributing factors for ESL to thrive here is Cebu’s connectivity to major international destinations such as Japan, Korea, China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, and Thailand.
In 2018 alone, 10 international flights were inaugurated, eight of these were from China. This greatly helped in increasing tourist arrivals in the region which reached more than eight million in 2018 and generated Php 44.2 billion in tourism receipts. This does not include the thousands of students who came to Cebu to study English, Tamano added.
He said that before Cebu became an ESL hub, it has long been a center of education in Southern Philippines. Students from Visayas and Mindanao flock to Cebu and Negros Oriental to pursue their tertiary education at some of the country’s best higher education institutions.
In recent years, the region’s top universities and educational institutions have attracted foreign students such as Indians, Nigerians, Thais, Americans, Koreans, New Guineans, and Kenyans who flocked to Cebu to learn and earn their tertiary education, Tamano said.
“This is also the primary reason why people chose to study English in the Central Visayas. As the 3rd biggest English-speaking population in the world, we provide good affordable education in a conducive fun learning environment,” he added.
Tamano said booming property development especially in Cebu contributes greatly to the ESL market expansion. ESL became a key driver for office space as demand continues to grow.