LEGAZPI CITY—Albay’s persistent efforts to boost its tourism sector and local economy have started to pay off, as it reduced its poverty rate to 25.1 percent in the first semester of 2015, the lowest in the Bicol region.
The latest poverty incidence report of the Philippine Statistics Authority was based on income data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted in July 2015. The survey report presented the comparative poverty incidence of the seven Bicol provinces in 2006 and 2015, respectively.
PSA said poverty incidence in Albay dropped from 32.3 percent in 2006 to 25.1 percent in 2015. Albay’s 2015 figure, however, was still above the national average of 21.1 percent.
Poverty incidence in Camarines Norte increased from 29.5 percent to 36.5 percent while the rate in Camarines Sur dropped from 38.7 percent to 29.2 percent.
Poverty rate in Catanduanes rose from 31.2 percent to 39.7 percent while that of Sorsogon increased from 30.6 percent to 35.7 percent. Poverty in Masbate went down from 47.8 percent to 31.6 percent.
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said his administration in the past nine years worked hard to boost the local economy, particularly through tourism promotion, and was able to provide its constituency better health and medical care and support, and greater access to quality education.
He expressed confidence Albay’s tourism industry would continue to prosper and hit its goal of five million tourists, with $1 billion investments and 235,000 jobs in ten years, after the completion of the Bicol International Airport in August 2018.
Salceda who is stepping down from his post end of this month to assume as Albay’s 2nd district Representative in Congress said the efforts of placing tourism at the frontline of Albay’s economic program proved most successful, adding that in his three terms as governor, he had observed a pattern of growth from 8,700 foreign tourist arrivals in 2006 to 374,949 in 2015.
“And the numbers are even greater if we count domestic tourist arrivals which was a mere 124, 675 in 2006 but has exponentially grown to 1,042,646 in 2015, for a total of 1,417,646 arrivals. What these numbers don’t expressly show is how the huge hike in tourist influx contributed significantly to Albay’s economic growth. More tourists mean more revenue for the local government and more jobs for the people,” he said.
