Travel agencies want martial law lifted
A group of travel agencies on Tuesday called on the government to “contain” the conflict in Marawi City to pave the way for the lifting of martial law in Mindanao.
In a statement, the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) said the continuing imposition of martial law on the island could scare away potential tourists.
PTAA president Marlene Jante said perception was the group’s “biggest concern right now” especially for those who have not yet been to the country.
“The mere mention of the words ‘martial law’ can easily scare tourists away. But we understand and support the government in its actions in Mindanao. The problem in Marawi must be contained. But we know, as travel agents, that most of Mindanao and the rest of the country are safe destinations for tourists,” Jante said.
The PTAA chief, however, said she was optimistic the country’s tourism industry would bounce back once martial law in Mindanao was lifted.
“The country has seen worse situations in the past and every time, our tourism industry has bounced back. We in the PTAA believe that the series of incidents over the past several weeks are just temporary setbacks,” she said.
PTAA also called for a stakeholders meeting to discuss the various issues currently affecting the industry, adding that with martial law in Mindanao only expected to last for 60 days after its imposition on May 23, both the government and the private sector should come together soon to craft a short-term plan for the tourism industry covering the rest of the year and 2018.
United path
“What we want is for every stakeholder in the industry to come together and chart a united path for the country’s tourism industry,” she said.
Established in 1979, the PTAA is the country’s biggest tourism association, with more than 500 members nationwide.
According to Jante, she expected a decline in tourist arrivals and receipts in May and this month even after the country posted a healthy 12-percent growth in arrivals during the first quarter of the year.
“This is the reason why our association is currently conducting an internal survey among members. We want to see how the recent developments have impacted their respective businesses. This will be a good gauge on how the industry is performing,” she said.
Jante said they would also be asking all their members to provide data over the past two months and assess how the travel advisories issued by foreign governments up to the time the Marawi siege erupted have affected their operations.
She said the data gathered and subsequent analyses would be forwarded to the Department of Tourism (DOT).
“There has always been a high level of communication and discussion between the PTAA and the DOT. We are more than glad to provide our inputs to them on anything related to the country’s tourism,” Jante said.
In April, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, and New Zealand issued separate travel advisories warning their citizens not to travel to Central Visayas because of the existence of serious threat of kidnappings by terror groups.
The following month, the United States, Canada, and Australia issued a second travel advisory against traveling to Palawan because of potential terrorist activities.
Following the Marawi crisis, the tourism industry was also shaken by the robbery-arson incident that took place at Resorts World Manila.
Jante said she was confident that if everyone in the tourism industry worked together, the 6.5 million in tourist arrivals and 73.30 million domestic travelers targetted by the government for the year would remain “achievable.”
