Yearender: RP tourism thrives despite global slump

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine tourism industry thrived in 2009 despite the global tourism slump and several calamities that hit the country.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) considers 2009 a very fruitful year, with over five million foreign and local tourists visiting various destinations nationwide.

“Tourist arrivals to the country’s tourist destinations up to the third quarter of 2009 grew by 17 percent to 5.2 million compared to the same period last year,” Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano disclosed.

In the first nine months of year 2009, Durano said, the volume of domestic tourists increased by 21 percent while foreign tourists grew by 2.7 percent.

Cebu, Durano’s home province, posted the biggest number of foreign and local guests with 1.24 million visitors or a growth of 1.8 percent over the previous year’s volume of 1.21 million.

He attributed the growth in tourist arrivals to the opening of new tourism destinations, products, facilities and activities as well as an increase in flight frequencies of major airlines from Manila and other islands in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Tourism Act

Early this year, President Arroyo signed into law the National Tourism Policy Act of 2009, which aims to solidify the status of the tourism industry as an engine of growth and development.

Under the new law, the DOT and its attached agencies will be strengthened to effectively and efficiently implement the national policy of tourism.

As provided under the new law, the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp. (PCVC) will be reorganized as the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), a corporate body responsible for the marketing and promotion of the Philippines as a global tourism destination, highlighting its tourism products and services.

The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) would also be renamed the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), a corporate body mandated to designate, regulate and supervise tourism enterprise zones (TEZs) as well as develop and supervise tourism projects in the country.

Duty Free Philippines will also be reorganized and renamed the Duty Free Philippines Corp. (DFPC), a corporate body mandated to operate the duty- and tax-free merchandising system in the country.

RA 9593 provides that the TPB and TIEZA will each have capitalization of P250 million from investment earnings, travel tax collection and other sources.

In line with the passage of the tourism law, the DOT convened the first Tourism Congress and drafted the Tourism Act’s implementing rules and guidelines.

But some tourism industry groups, however, opposed and threatened to file a legal suit for the nullification of the Tourism Congress as well as the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Tourism Act of 2009.

Aileen Clemente, of the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines (FTIP), said the IRR should be declared void because it is not in accordance with the provisions of the Tourism Act and contrary to the spirit of the law.

Clemente claimed that the IRR “changed” the wordings of Tourism Act and was drafted without consultation with the entire industry.

But Durano maintained that the IRR has the support of a “super majority” or 99 percent of the tourism industry, as well as participants of the Tourism Congress.

Durano noted that the Tourism Congress, with its newly elected members, is now an autonomous institution which can determine whether the Tourism Act’s IRR and other action being taken by the department is irregular or not.

Threats of H1N1 and other calamities

Aside from the financial crisis, the local tourism industry faced the threat of a global flu pandemic as well as the politically related massacre in Maguindanao.

Amid the threat of influenza A(H1N1), the DOT immediately initiated proactive measures and prepared to respond to a possible influenza outbreak.

Durano assured the traveling public that all monitoring procedures were being implemented, and coordination with regional tourism offices was maintained to assure safety of travelers.

In September and October, the twin typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” hit Metro Manila and provinces in Northern Luzon and devastated tourism destinations, particularly Baguio.

Officials said tourist spots and establishments in Baguio suffered a significant downtrend in arrivals immediately after the calamities as local and foreign visitors cancelled visits to the city.

Meanwhile,to lure more tourists to Boracay, one of the country’s prime destinations, the DOT negotiated for the construction of a new project providing 100 percent water supply to and sewerage coverage in the island.

Durano previously admitted that the number of tourists visiting Boracay has continued to drop in the past years because of the water and sewerage problems there.

The DOT and the PTA worked with the private firm Manila Water to rehabilitate the island with an investment of P1 billion over the next ten years.

This year, the DOT continued to push for the implementation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), which aims to protect the island from environmental degradation to ensure the long-term investment viability of Boracay.

After identifying the restricted areas for construction of new tourism infrastructure, Durano said about 270 hectares have remained for tourism development.

Also in 2009, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan successfully landed in the top 28 nominees and entered the finals of the ongoing search for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

The final proclamation of the 7 Wonders of Nature will be held in 2011.

With the implementation of the new Tourism Act, the DOT and the local tourism industry see more vibrant business prospects in the coming year.

Newly elected president of the Tourism Congress and former Tourism secretary Mina Gabor said the new tourism law is expected to pave the way for a booming tourism industry in the country.

“The Act is a tool to make sure that infrastructure support is put in place, and to identify priority areas of development,” Gabor stressed. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)