Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism is planning to carry out an ambitious “convergence” of efforts to raise tourism growth by 2013, not only to increase the number of local and foreign visitors but also the job opportunities for Filipinos.
Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. told the House committee on appropriations that it would need P2.6 billion next year to fuel its aggressive plans for the country’s tourism.
Jimenez said the key to their plan was the convergence with sister agencies which have pledged support to the DoT’s funding for 2013.
A whopping P16.4 billion, he said, has been set aside by various agencies to support tourism efforts, among them the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (P16 million), the Department of Foreign Affaris (P26 million), Bureau of Customs (P180 million), Bureau of Immigration (P110 million), Department of Labor and Employment and TESDA (P360 million), the Department of Transportation and Communications (P3.2 billion for the airports and P217 million for seaports), the Department of Public Works and Highways (P12 billion), the Department of Trade and Industry (P14 million), and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (P153 million).
Jimenez said the DoT is also planning to launch its consolidated website around September this year and release a national brochure.
“One brochure, one look. This is something which the Philippines has never had,” he said, pertaining to the country’s tourism destinations consolidated in the national brochure’s map.
Aside from the 91 percent increase being proposed by the agency, Tourism Undersecretary Daniel Corpuz said the National Parks Development Committee has also sought a P308 million budget and another P39 million for the Intramuros.
From its double digit growth last year, Corpuz said they sought to replicate the growth rate this year–targeting 4.5 million foreign visitors by December from its present estimate of 2.5 million foreign tourists from January to July.
He said they hoped to raise one million more visitors in 2013.
Corpuz believes that the 5.5 million foreign and 31.5 million domestic tourists target next year would generate P728 billion and add 500,000 jobs to the present 3.7 million Filipinos already employed in the tourism industry
The DoT has contributed 5.7 percent of the country’s GDP this year and is looking to contribute a 6.6 percent in 2013.
Corpuz said the agency was hopeful that 2013 will be a “banner year” for tourism and would help them in attaining their target of 10 million visits by 2016.
Jimenez said that key markets for 2013 are Korea, the United States, Japan, Europe, Australia, Asean, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, the Middle East, and Russia. He was quick to add that their venture into the Asean market was “something new and exciting because the Philippines today lags behind its Asean rivals. We are determined to get our share.”
“We are gradually regaining our growth (in Hong Kong. It is modest but we are growing,” Jimenez said of the Hong Kong market, adding that another market they were eyeing was that of Russia and its “ideal tourists, long stay visitors.”
Jimenez said the “popular belief that tourist arrivals are down because the image of the Philippines is bad” was “plain and simple ignorance” and testament to this fact were the two gold awards gained by the country’s exhibit in Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea.
But to attract more foreign visitors, Jimenez said the country must make our tourist destinations safe for them.
“We have to make tourist destinations safe, in some areas in Metro Manila, tourists stay inside their hotels for their tour guides. They are afraid to go for a walk,” he said.
“The key is convergence. We have to come together as a single unit to address tourism as a single industry. It’s not something we do on the side but a national business,” he added.