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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Ironic' for PH to lag behind neighbors in tourist arrivals, says Villafuerte

'Ironic' for PH to lag behind neighbors in tourist arrivals, says Villafuerte

Published Oct 24, 2022 11:31 am

The Philippines' slow tourist arrivals--despite being the first country in Asia to reopen its doors to leisure tourists amid the Covid-19 pandemic--is the result of the persisting strict requirements imposed by government on foreign travellers.

Boracay, arguably the crown jewel of Philippine tourism (Ramon Kagie/ Unsplash)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte gave this assessment in a statement over the weekend even as he pushed for the lifting of such stringent rule.

“It is quite ironic that while we were actually the first in Asia to allow the entry of foreigners for business and tourism purposes beginning February—but subject to certain conditions—the Philippines continues to be at the tailend in terms of tourist arrivals," said Villafuerte, majority leader of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) in the House of Representatives.

According the House leader, the country "has failed to match this open policy with the lifting or at least relaxation of such strict entry requirements as booster vaccinations and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or antigen tests".

He said that this has "obviously turned off foreign travellers and impelled them to bypass our lovely archipelago and spend their free time—and cash—elsewhere".

“Rather than just playing catch-up to its Asian peers whose respective tourism industries have already started on strong-recovery mode, the Philippines, with its far better tourist attractions than those of its neighbors, could actually overtake its direct competitors in the region by doing away with its stringent travel curbs," Villafuerte said.

 

ALSO READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/19/covid-19-not-pogo-drove-chinese-tourists-away-from-ph-salceda/

 

A readers’ survey done by the travel publication Conde Nast Traveler (CNT) revealed that the Philippines placed no.30 among the world’s top places to travel, with a score of 86.66.

In that CNT survey, the Philippines was behind Malaysia, which sat at no.27 with a score of 86.85; Singapore, which was at no.4 with 90.09; and Thailand, which was at no.3 with 90.46.

“Our quick and strong rebound from the nearly three-year pandemic, which is contingent in part on the full recovery of our tourism sector and the dramatic increase in tourist arrivals, will probably remain elusive for so long as the Philippines is stuck on the list of countries with tough entry restrictions for travellers,” the Bicol lawmaker said.

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