Tourism is the way to go

Marvin A. Tort
Sway
Business Mirror


Tourism has great potential as a driver of Philippine economic growth. One doesn’t have to look far to realize the beauty of the country geographically and culturally, and what it has to offer the outside world. Local beaches, in particular, are major come-ons to vacationers worldwide.

The issue is infrastructure. Time and time again the government has been asked to put more money in facilities, transportation, logistics and security to provide for easier and safer travelling to and around the country by local and foreign tourists. Even the so-called holiday economics can be more beneficial if tourism infrastructure is vast and competent.

The Korean phenomenon is a clear example of the Philippines ’ tourism potential. And despite complaints from local tour operators, one cannot begrudge Korean tour operators from keeping the business to themselves. They saw the opportunity and did something about it, so they are now reaping the benefits.

Obviously, Department of Tourism (DOT) officials also realize the industry’s great potential. In fact, in a news report yesterday, one official was quoted as saying that targets have already been raised for 2008: 5 million inbound tourists from more than 3 million in 2007; and, $5.8 billion in tourism receipts from $4.8 billion last year—although all these were set before the recent stock-market crash in the United States, which adversely affected markets worldwide.

In its year-end report for 2007, the DOT said it was setting its sights on high-value tourists going to areas such as the Bicol Region and Western, Central and Eastern Visayas; specifically, the islands of Palawan, Romblon, Camiguin and Siargao—all major beach areas. After all, beaches are the main attraction in the tropics, so why not push that? The Philippines can definitely compete with the likes of Thailand and other exotic destinations in Southeast Asia , at least in terms of natural bounties. It’s now just a matter of matching, if not exceeding, other countries in terms of tourism infrastructure and services.

Last year was a relatively good year for Philippine tourism. For the first time ever, foreign arrivals breached the 3-million mark to hit 3.09 million, while tourist expenditure reportedly grew 40.99 percent to reach $4.885 billion, surpassing the $3.78-billion target. In its report, the DOT noted that in 2007 the core markets included China and Korea , while efforts were made to promote newer areas such as India and some European countries. And the aim was to attract not only more tourists, but also higher-value visitors who would stay longer in the country and spend more.

The 2008 targets would not be that easy to achieve, considering some challenges. Even the DOT noted that fiercer competition in Southeast Asia , changes in tourist behaviour, international concerns such as global warming and terrorism, and the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies, among other things, have all contributed to a tourism industry that has become increasingly difficult to grow.

And as more tourists are enticed to visit the Philippines , the strain on infrastructure can become more evident, and unless properly addressed soon, this would certainly hinder future growth. To date, hotel occupancy rates in Metro Manila are close to 80 percent already, while airport-capacity utilization is already beyond nominal maximum capacity, the DOT reported.

The plus side is that tourism is now earning more, given, among other things, the longer average stay of tourists to 17 nights from a previous 12 nights. As such, in the short-term, the DOT plans to maximize the use of existing airports, hotels and transportation as additional investments in infrastructure are sought. Squeezed to the last drop, so to speak.

Anyway, things are still looking up. Arrivals from Korea (21.2 percent of total tourist arrivals in 2007) continued to show robust growth, while Chinese tourist traffic (5.1 percent) maintained a steady upswing. More and varied types of tourists are also being lured to the country, including golfers, divers, students, honeymooners and families, the DOT said.

The USA accounted for 18.7 percent of arrivals, while Japan accounted for 12.8 percent, the DOT reported. Others in the top 10 were visitors from Australia , Taiwan , Hong Kong , Singapore , Canada , and the United Kingdom . Even arrivals from Russia , while relatively small, grew by 128 percent, while those from Scandinavia grew 24 percent. India also showed double-digit gains, making it one of the fastest-growing markets after China , the DOT reported.

One can only hope that more public and private investments can soon find their way to tourism infrastructure. More hotels, obviously, would do the Philippines a lot of good. In the event of another Peninsula or Oakwood siege in Makati City, tourists would not have to flee and leave the country—they can just move to the hotel next door and continue to enjoy their stay in sunny Philippines.