President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Tourism (DOT) to give regions, cities, and municipalities equal opportunities as he approved the national tourism development plan (NTDP) on Tuesday, May 16.
This was the directive of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to the Department of Tourism (DOT) as he approved the national tourism development plan (NTDP) on Tuesday, May 16.
"[P]er the directive of our President to give tourist opportunities equally to our regions, cities, and municipalities, under the national tourism development plan, we are engaging in a heritage and culture mapping of our regions, our provinces, cities, and municipalities," Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said in a Palace briefing.
This, Frasco said, would give opportunities to local tourism communities to develop their local tourism products.
Under the NTDP, the local tourism communities will also be able to obtain guidance from the DOT and its attached agencies as far as the marketability of their local products to tourism stakeholders and customers is concerned.
"So, it's really a comprehensive look at the tourism industry and a comprehensive roadmap towards its development," Frasco said.
'Unlocking roadblocks'
The Tourism chief explained that under the tourism plan, the government intends to unlock tourism roadblocks that have been hindering the Philippines to be a tourism powerhouse in the region.
One of these, she said, is infrastructure— building more quality roads towards tourism destinations not just in key destinations but also to lesser known and emerging destinations.
She also mentioned connectivity as among the tourism roadblocks the country is facing.
"One of the challenges that the Philippines faces vis-à-vis its neighbors in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)is really connectivity and that is why, since the beginning of the Marcos administration, we have engaged in intense negotiations with both international and domestic airlines in partnership with the DOTr (Department of Transportation) for the purpose of resuming flights that were halted during the pandemic as well as adding more flights not just into Manila but importantly to our destinations across the country," she said.