Palace confident tourism to bounce back after Marawi clashes end

Malacañang believes that tourists will go back to the Philippines shores anew once the government succeeds in eliminating ISIS-inspired Maute forces in Marawi City.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella in a statement on Monday indicated that it was not surprised that some tourists decided not to come to the Philippines at all because of martial law in Mindanao.

“We understand the concern of foreign tourists. Safety is on top of their minds. As you would recall, travel advisories from different embassies have been issued after martial law was declared in the whole island of Mindanao,” Abella said in a statement.

“We remain optimistic that things would bounce back once the peace, order and normalcy have been restored in Marawi,” he added.

Tourism Sec. Wanda Teo on Sunday said that many tourists bound for Mindanao cancelled their trips after martial law was declared.

But she also quoted a regional director from Cagayan de Oro City saying that the tourists were more afraid of the ISIS.

The Tourism department is yet to release statistics on how the Marawi City crisis and the martial law declaration affected the arrival of tourists in the Philippines.

In April, Teo said that the Philippines could exceed its target of seven million foreign tourists in 2017. —NB, GMA News