Tourism industry stakeholders to help craft DOT budget

The Tourism Congress—the private sector consultative body of the Department of Tourism—will participate in the crafting of the 2013 budget of the DOT, according to a partnership agreement signed on Friday.   DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez said stakeholder involvement in the budget process from formulation to implementation “ensures that our programs and activities are more community and results oriented.”   Marceline Clemente, president of the Tourism Congress, said the partnership "is a testimony that the national government and its stakeholders will now be working hand-in-hand in a common thrust through the National Tourism Development Plan.”   The Research, Education and Institutional Development (REID) Foundation is also a party in the agreement with the DOT and Tourism Congress.   Secretary Jimenez explained that the partnership agreement he signed is in keeping with the Department of Budget and Management circular requiring government agencies to enter into budget partnership agreements with stakeholders.   In the 2012 national budget, the DOT has total new appropriations of P1.63 billion—of which P762.4 million is for international tourism promotion while P12.5 million is for domestic tourism promotion.   Tourism services and regional offices of the DOT have an allocation of  P268.8 million. The budget for tourism development planning is P115.45 million. — ELR, GMA News