FINDING ANSWERS
At the Kapihan sa Manila Prince Hotel last week, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco shared two pieces of awesome news: First, visitor receipts for international arrivals in the Philippines has been unprecedented in 2024, and second, our country leads the entire ASEAN region in domestic tourism.
The media forum started with Manila Bulletin Publisher and former Press Secretary Sonny Coloma, Kapihan co-host, throwing her the first question, “What is the biggest thing in tourism today?” Sec. Frasco responded: “Well, the biggest, first of all, has been the highest ever visitor receipts for the country recorded at ₱760 billion for our international arrivals.”
She explained the unparalleled achievement “is a result of our close collaboration between government and the private sector in providing intervention that would improve tourism experience, allow for a higher tourism spend, and, of course, encourage repeat visits among our international arrivals.”
On the second piece of good news, Sec. Frasco announced: “Domestic tourism has also performed phenomenally well for the Philippines, with our country now ranking No. 1 in the ASEAN in terms of domestic tourism performance, with the World Travel and Tourism Council estimating that Philippine domestic tourism contributed $66.2 billion.”
There’s no doubt that tourism is highly essential to the economy, although it’s lamentable that sometimes, it’s not appreciated as much or given the importance it truly deserves compared to other sectors that drive economic growth.
So, I asked her about its impact. Sec. Frasco said: “Tourism is among the biggest sources of revenue, it’s among the most reliable industries that Filipinos can depend on, especially when faced with shock from climate risk, economic difficulties and the like.” Citing figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2024, she said tourism exceeded six percent of GDP, from the calculated total international and domestic combined spending of ₱3.36 trillion, and it employed around 6.3 million Filipinos in 2023.
In terms of the impact of tourism to direct and indirect employment like these pasalubong makers, food suppliers, transport providers, and the like, she said the PSA survey showed that in the first quarter of 2024, some 16.4 million Filipinos benefited, covering around 34 percent of national employment.
Sec. Frasco said the Philippines so far “is the biggest contributor to the combined GDP of ASEAN countries.” She said that the average tourist spend is at $2,073, and since the start of the Marcos Jr. administration, tourist stay has increased from the average of nine nights in 2019 to 11 nights at present.
With around 70 percent repeat visitors, Sec. Frasco said: “Tourists love the Philippines. They love it so much that they come back again and again, ensuring more tourism spend, more reliability in terms of income source of our stakeholders.”
But amid all the good news, Sec. Frasco said a lot still needs to be done to have more international tourists. She said that because the Philippines is accessible only by air and sea, and does not enjoy the advantage of being landlocked with other countries, the Department of Tourism has to work harder to elevate global competitiveness.
She said that on passenger capacity, the Philippines is ranked at No. 6 in ASEAN, therefore, so much more has to be done to improve infrastructure and connectivity. “Accessibility is very important for domestic tourism,” she explained. More tourism roads have to be built and rehabilitated. So far, more than 500 kms. of tourism roads have been built/repaired as a result of coordination with DPWH.
The DOT has also engaged in robust partnerships with local government units thru the culture, heritage and arts caravan — focus is not only on beaches and mountain sites but also on festivals, food, and products of local and indigenous communities. Focus is also on tourist rest areas, with 32 convenient restrooms built lately, and 60 more to be built in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
She said the DOT is also pushing for visa liberalization which is key for more tourist arrivals. Just like our ASEAN neighbors, she said the Philippines has to have a very aggressive visa policy — electronic visa or visa-free for tourists from many countries.
Sec. Frasco also said that tourists from India are being eyed for a liberalized visa policy. She lamented that of the five million tourists that travelled the world in 2024, only around 79,000 went to the Philippines.
More Japanese tourists are also being eyed. She said the Philippines’ diving spots are preferred by Japanese, and our country is ranked fifth in the world as their preferred destination to learn English as a second language.
As to branding, marketing and promotion, Sec. Frasco said the DOT is thankful to President Marcos Jr. for a restored budget of ₱500 million that would go a long way in ramping up its tourism campaign especially in the European market and in other key sources of tourists. ([email protected])