Tourism was one of the major economic sectors highlighted during the EU-PH Business Summit at Makati Shangri-La Hotel recently. Representing the Department of Tourism (DoT), Undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez discussed the agency’s vision and plans for the industry.
She stressed the need for tourism products and services to provide unique experience for the visitors. “That is our challenge and our response is three-pronged–structural reforms, innovative product and destination development and creative marketing and promotion,” she added.
The undersecretary also encouraged EU representatives to “help spread the good news to get the EU numbers up.”
At present, total number of visitors from EU accounts for just a little over three percent of the total arrivals, UK not included.
“This means less of your nationals are able to experience the wonderful sights the Philippines has to offer, the health and wellness services that made it to the 6th place in Asia and 19th place in the 2016 Global Medical Tourism Index and the relaxing and laid back atmosphere of our retirement places,” she added.
To ensure a stable baseline market, the undersecretary mentioned expanding tourism reach in both geographic and service segments. These include revitalizing existing programs like medical and retirement tourism and the MICE segments while developing further products for the four Fs–fun, farm, family and faith tourism. Being resilient would involve putting in place crisis management plans to withstand shocks coming from security issues, climate conditions and manage market vulnerabilities. This requires a country tourism program approach through development of clusters and tourism circuits and the strengthening of regional cooperation.
More importantly, the DoT official stressed that the tourism business should ultimately redound to the improvement of the lives of the Filipinos. With direct and indirect employment, community-based projects and level playing field for MSMEs, the benefits of tourism can spread to the countryside.
Jimenez also urged everyone to give the new management of DoT a chance to have a fresh take on the tourism’s marketing campaign.
“The tourism campaign that has been undertaken obviously improved the awareness of what the Philippines can offer by way of tourism destinations. It is time to take it to the next level by providing flesh and substance that will deliver the promise. It means putting in place structural reforms that will ensure stronger fundamentals to make our tourism program stable, resilient, sustainable, transformative and inclusive. These are the strategic tourism imperatives that the Secretary of Tourism articulates as she defines the aspirations and policy directions for the industry.”