The Department of Tourism (DOT) has pledged its support for the continuity of the government's infrastructure programs, saying that these projects have helped boost tourism activities in the country.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat made the commitment after joining President Duterte and other government officials in the recent inspection of the New Terminal Building of the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
"Having world-class air, land and sea infrastructure such as the Clark Airport will help Philippine tourism bounce back sooner," Puyat said.
The DOT chief emphasized the significance of the new terminal's completion as boosting air connectivity is among the priorities of the department under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) for 2016 to 2022.
Data shared by the DOT showed that tourist arrivals in Clark Airport totaled 1.98 million in 2019. This dropped to just 494,387 in 2020 and 51,584 in the first half of 2021 because of the travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Meanwhile, estimated tourist receipts stood at P6.23 billion in 2020 and P2.32 billion so far in 2021--both a significant reduction from the recorded P19.66 billion in 2019.
The DOT also stressed that the fastest way to restore tourism to its pre-pandemic levels is to ensure that tourism destinations and establishments comply with the necessary health and safety protocols and to continue expanding the connectivity between tourism markets and destinations.
To promote accessibility of more tourism destinations, the DOT had spearheaded convergence initiatives such as the Transforming Communities towards Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Tourism (TouRIST) Program, the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP), and the Leveraging Infrastructure Program for Airport Development (LIPAD).