Citing a neighboring country's steady tourist arrivals, President Marcos admitted that the Philippines needs to catch up in boosting its tourism.

Speaking during the inauguration of the Mactan Expo in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, on Monday, March 16, Marcos said the country's tourism industry is now under "a great deal of pressure."

"Our tourism industry is now under a great deal of pressure dahil sa mga nangyayari (because of what's happening)," Marcos said in his remarks.

"And last year, we only welcomed six million people. Just to give you a frame of reference, Thailand welcomes 30 million tourists every year, kaya malaki ang hahabulin natin (so, we have a lot to catch up on)," Marcos added.

The President noted that the country must continue to improve its tourism facilities and infrastructure in a bid to attract more tourists.

He cited the Mactan Expo located within The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City as among the efforts the government can replicate to improve its tourist arrivals.

"[F]acilities such as this are encouraging signs, and I am excited to explore more ways to elevate Philippine tourism. Of course, Cebu will always play a very very large part in all our plans for tourism," he said, acknowledging that Cebu has made a name for itself around the world and is recognized as one of the favorite tourist destinations in the Philippines.

"Because travelers look for destinations that are easy to reach, equipped with facilities such as this, and of course, a beauty that the whole of the Philippines is able to offer," he added.

Marcos also underscored that alongside infrastructure, the government "must continue to improve so that every visitor's experience becomes smoother, more memorable."

"That's why we need to build more facilities such as this and strengthen our infrastructure so that we support tourism even more strongly," he said.

"We have to develop our tourism industry, we have such competition in our region," he said, but stressed that the Philippines has a single advantage—the Filipino smile. 

Mactan Expo Center is the first stand-alone convention center of Megaworld Corporation and will host major events, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit chaired this year by the Philippines.  

It is designed to showcase Cebuano culture and identity and to strengthen the country’s meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) infrastructure.

The President stressed that the new expo center is a "big boost" to the country's tourism industry. 

According to Marcos, they chose Cebu as the main location for the ASEAN summit citing the "many talents and spots to visit" there.

"We, leaders, always see the inside of the convention center and the inside of our hotel but the rest of the delegations go around, and they visit all the places so you have to have a place for them to go. And this is the only place that is tourist-oriented and visitor-oriented, outside Manila of course," he said.

"And the facilities are excellent, malapit ang (it is near the) airport, you can secure the entire place so hindi magulo (it would not be disorganized, traffic is not going to be a problem," the President added. 

The Chief Executive also noted that the Mactan Expo Center is intended "not only for ASEAN, not only for the big summit meetings but for afterwards," stressing that the infrastructure will continue to serve as prime location even after the Philippines' hosting of the ASEAN summit this year.

"This will be here after Philippine chairship of ASEAN is over at the end of this year, this Mactan Expo will still be here to welcome all the visitors from around the world," he said.

"It is of such quality, and it is of such beauty that I don't think we will have to worry about it being good enough for whatever else you decide to organize, whatever else you decide to conduct here in this Mactan Expo," he added.