Tourist arrivals from January to July down 72%, says DOT

The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday said the revenues from foreign tourism in the Philippines from January to July have decreased by 72 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr said only 1.3 million foreign arrivals were recorded from January to July, which was also a 72 percent decrease from last year.

“From January to July, ang na-record natin in terms of revenue from foreign tourism nasa P81 billion at ang decrease ganun din e, nasa 72 to 73 percent kung ikukumpara mo sa same period last year,” he said.

According to Bengzon, the DOT finished the draft of the tourism response and recovery plan, which aims to revive the industry in the next to three years following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

First, the DOT will focus on promoting domestic tourism in the country to help affected stakeholders to recover from their losses.

“Lumabas doon sa survey na ginawa namin mga 82 percent ng mga tourism stakeholders ang naapektuhan one way or another,” he added.

Henoted that the impact is at different levels saying that some stakeholders were subjected to no work no pay policy, on leave without pay, terminated, facing closure of business.

“Sana mabigyan kami ng dedicated fund sa Kongreso para makatulong tayo sa pagbigay ng working capital loans sa doon talaga sa mga nangaingailangan na partners natin sa turismo,” Bengzon said. -NB, GMA News