Tourism expected to pick up in RP next year

BANGKOK, Thailand – Tourism is expected to pick up in the Philippines next year as the global financial crisis eases and the threat of influenza A(H1N1) moderates, the Philippine Travel Agents Association (PTAA) said.

 In an interview, PTAA president Pat Alberto said that they expect tourism to grow by 10 percent to 15 percent in 2010.

Alberto said in 2008, tourism went down by 20 percent and this year, they don’t expect any growth at all.

“It will be flat this year because although we are already recovering, the second quarter was really bad,” she explained.

“People are just not travelling because they want to save.”

For instance, Alberto said now is the best time to travel to Thailand since hotel rates have been cut in half and airlines have been coming out with a lot of promotions.

“No matter how low the prices are, people are still not travelling. April to June was really bad but we hope to recover in the third quarter,” she noted. “The crisis is really affecting the business.”

Earlier, PTAA vice president John Paul Cabalza said domestic tourism will offset the slack in international tourism. Because of the slowdown in the global economy, the government said tourism will have a negative growth or a flat growth at best.

However, domestic tourism is expected to increase by 15 percent as air carriers cut their fares by as much as 50 percent, the PTAA said.

 “Maybe we can experience a little growth if domestic tourism picks up. We see this happening. I think this is the trend,” Cabalza said.

He said air fares have gone down by more than 50 percent. “There are some airlines who offer airfares for as low as P1,500 roundtrip to Palawan or Boracay,” he noted.

He said this encourages people to travel. In the meantime, room rates have gone down by 10 percent.

“Instead of traveling overseas, people opt to go to local destinations and the cheap fares encourage people to travel. Who can resist a bargain?” he said.

The 15-percent increase in domestic tourism will come from group travels such as the Philippine Medical Association, the government sector and the schools.

Cabalza identified November to May as a peak season, while Christmas, Ati-Atihan festivals in January, the Chinese New Year and Holy Week as “super peak” seasons. –Ma. Elisa P. Osorio, Philippine Star