Retirement tourism expected to double in five years

RETIREMENT tourism is expected to double in the next five years as a foreign business group pushes for integrated destination management ahead of the Tourism department’s medium-term development plan due next year, an official said yesterday at a forum.

The Retirement and Healthcare Coalition (RHC) highlighted the country’s potential to attract a more mature and affluent tourist segment given the presence of quality accommodations, lifestyle facilities and medical services.

Fragmented tourism planning, however, has made it difficult for real estate developers and medical service providers to grow the retirement industry because of inconsistent local government policies and territorial attitudes.

Local and foreign officials therefore called for greater coordination among government agencies and strong public-private partnerships toward building tourism enterprise zones.

“The Philippines occupies a wide space in the map of tourism, but it’s not the most popular retirement choice in Southeast Asia because of poor infrastructure and also perspective as it is often cited for corruption and natural disasters,” Marc Daubenbuechel, RHC executive director, explained on the sidelines of the forum with the theme “Sunrise Industry: Retirement Building Communities and Addressing Lifestyle Expectations.”

”Comparatively, the value for money is also higher in other Southeast Asian countries like in Thailand where you can stay at a five-star hotel at prices way lower than the ones offered here in the Philippines. So even if the costs here is cheaper compared to Europe or the United States, people know they can save more retiring in a different country,” he added.

Current inabilities to make retirement tourism thrive are indications of a fundamental problem in governance, strategy and implementation. Overall, tourism was hardly a priority for previous administrations, the executive noted.

Contrary to Thailand and Malaysia, the top choices in the region for retiring foreigners, the Philippines was not as aggressive in its campaigns.

Meanwhile, former Tourism undersecretary Oscar P. Palabyab said: “We need to fast-track the implementation of the 2009 Philippine Tourism Act. The legal framework is there, but we haven’t been using it. Now is the time to gather local government officials for capacity-building measures regarding tourism management and good governance, since their councils have the power to create ordinances that can greatly affect the way the industry is run.”

Basic improvements, such as simpler business processes, urban and regional planning, and rule of law, have a significant impact on tourism, especially retirement tourism, given the long-term nature of the industry.

Tourists on leisure travels, Mr. Daubenbuechel explained, do not have deep concerns about the quality of living or security since these individuals will be staying for only a few days or weeks, but retirees have plans on staying for at least six months to a few years.

Retired foreigners, in other words, will usually need the same long-term conveniences as locals of the same status, such as health and medical care and living in a safe community with opportunities for socialization.

“At the moment, more than 50% of the retirement market is Asian like Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, and a few Americans then Europeans. Based on our estimates, we probably have around 100,000 foreign retirees and they potentially contribute roughly $2.4 billion. We are hoping to grow the retirement population to another 100,000,” Mr. Daubenbuechel said.

Real estate developers were tapped through the forum to discuss the market in retirement tourism and how to go about planning fully integrated communities where lifestyle and health care facilities are within the residential area.

Officials at the forum underscored strategic location of these communities for the benefit of both developers and tourists, if only to minimize unnecessary local government red tape. –ELIZA J. DIAZ, Reporter, Businessworld