In an effort to boost the country's tourism sector, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Tourism (DOT) to assess non-operating tourism zones under the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).

President Marcos meets the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group to discuss ways to improve the country's tourism sector. (Malacañang photo)

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Marcos issued the directive during a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group in Malacañang Palace on April 27.

In his remarks, the President said he was "happy" with the general direction of the country's tourism industry.

"I'm happy that the general direction… that means that we are actually… have already started. There are some very good suggestions," Marcos said in response to the updates on PSAC's recommendations and proposals to boost the Philippine tourism industry.

Marcos, however, thought TIEZA's problem seemed to be its non-operating properties.

TIEZA is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) attached to the DOT. It is responsible for implementing policies and programs of the DOT on the development, promotion, and supervision of tourism projects in the country.

During the meeting, the President and the PSAC explored the best ways forward for TIEZA and how to manage its assets.

The PSAC reported that TIEZA's primary funding source is travel tax collection, which insufficiently supports its project requirements.

Under the Tourism Act of 2009, 50 percent of travel tax goes to TIEZA, and 40 percent is allocated to Higher Education Development Fund to enable the CHED to prioritize tourism-related educational programs and courses. The remaining 10 percent goes to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

para sa pagpapaulad ng turismo sa bansa.

Sinang-ayunan din ng Pangulo ang rekomendasyon ng PSAC tungkol sa pagsasaayos ng mga paliparan sa Maynila para sa ikakaginhawa ng bawat pasahero pic.twitter.com/4beLW3GGlh

— Presidential Communications Office (@pcogovph) April 27, 2023

As a remedy, PSAC's raised its "quick wins" recommendations that include amending the allocation of Travel Tax to grant more funding for TIEZA and expanding the list of priority tourism-related investment activities, among others.

The advisory body's medium- and long-term recommendations include:

• Reviewing, simplifying, and standardizing the privatization or bidding process
• Leveraging properties to undertake more tourism infrastructure projects
• Establishing and issuing a long-term Strategic Tourism Infrastructure/Investment Masterplan
  
  

On the proposal to grant more allocation for TIEZA from the travel tax, the DOT said the move requires amendments to the law and may not materialize within a year, as eyed by the PSAC.

Responding to the proposal to exclude asset operation from TIEZA's mandate, the tourism GOCC said such function may be transferred to private partners instead.

The Philippines recorded 2.6 million tourist arrivals in 2022, which exceeded the target of 1.7 million.

For this year, the country welcomed 1,138,637 international tourist arrivals as of March 14, or 24 percent of the 4.8-million target for the year.

Comparing the 2028 target to actual pre-pandemic data in 2019, there is a targeted increase of 20.19 percent in tourism revenue, 10.53 percent in tourism employment, 38.55 percent in the number of international arrivals, and 12.61 percent in domestic trips to the country.

The PSAC comprises business leaders and industry experts who provide technical advice to the President in achieving the government's economic objectives, particularly in six key sectors such as agriculture; digital infrastructure; healthcare; infrastructure; jobs generation; and tourism.