PBBM to promote PH-Japan exchange of students, professionals
TOKYO, Japan — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has pushed for the promotion of educational tourism between the Philippines and Japan, with a special focus on the exchange of students and professionals in tourism-related institutions.
Marcos said this during a roundtable meeting with tourism stakeholders here, where he invited Japanese students to study English in the Philippines.
In his remarks, the President said the tourism industry, under his administration, has “shifted its gaze to becoming more than just a promotion arm of the government, but also to ensuring that travel is not only convenient, connected, and equal for travelers, but as well as for locals who are living and preserving our invaluable key and emerging tourist destinations.”
“With this in mind, this government has set the direction to harness the development of tourism in key tourism destinations,” Marcos said.
“Through this, we will make sure that hard and soft infrastructure is well-developed, from roads and bridges to medical facilities, clean water supplies, and readily accessible for tourists and locals alike,” he added.
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos identified tourism as one of his administration’s top priorities.
Before the pandemic, tourism contributed 12.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“We are banking on this potential to reshape the industry to be one of the key economic drivers of the country,” President Marcos.
“We are well on our way to recovery, this I assure you, with more than 2.65 million foreign visitors we have welcomed last year, that’s exceeding the initial target of 1.7 million,” the President pointed out,” he added.
The President pointed out that the Philippines and Japan are deeply rooted in “unique appreciation and preservation of our culture, our traditions, and our heritage.”
“Now, this is something we admire and can share with our Japanese friends, whose success in the tourism sector is profoundly etched in one’s cultural identity that has adapted and strengthened over time,” Marcos stressed.
President Marcos added that the country is “open and ready to welcome more Japanese onto our shores.”
As of January 30, Japan ranks sixth among the country’s foreign visitors.
“As a country that recognizes the linkages of our success to that of our neighbors such as Japan, working together in boosting our tourism sector is vital to economic resurgence,” Marcos said.