34% of nat’l employment directly or indirectly linked to PH tourism —DOT

The number of Filipinos employed directly and indirectly by the tourism sector is 16.4 million, amounting to over 34% of the entire national employment in 2024, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.

“’Yung turismo talaga ay isa sa pinakamalakas na sources of revenue sa ating bansa [Tourism is really one of the strongest sources of revenue for our country] and it is one of the most reliable industries that the Filipino people can depend on especially when faced with shocks such as climate risks, economic difficulties, and the like,” said Frasco at a Kapihan Sa Manila Prince Hotel session on Wednesday.

She said that Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the tourism sector was responsible for at least 6% of the Philippine GDP as of mid-2024.

Frasco added that the World Travel and Tourism Council said that the Philippines' domestic and international tourism performance has also contributed greatly to the combined ASEAN gross domestic product (GDP).

She also added that the Philippines landed its highest-ever visitor receipts in 2024, with P760 billion for international arrivals, while domestic tourism is now ranked first in ASEAN, estimated at $66.2 billion.

“They calculated that the total international and domestic combined spending of our tourists in the country is around P3.36 trillion… Since then, nakipag-usap tayo sa PSA pati na rin sa NEDA [we have spoken with the Philippine Statistics Authority and NEDA], siguro there is an opportunity for us to widen our perspective also in terms of the contribution of tourism to Filipino livelihood,” she said.

“This is a result of our close collaboration between the government and the private sector in providing interventions that would improve the tourism experience, allow for a higher tourism spend, and of course encourage repeat visits [for] international arrivals,” she added.

Frasco said that the Philippines’ tourism spend per capita was the largest in ASEAN at USD2,073.

The length of stay for tourists have also lengthened, now averaging at 11 nights per stay since the beginning of the Marcos administration in 2022.

More flights

However, Frasco said that the Philippines has to “take a look at the headwinds” that the country faces. For one, since the Philippines is not landlocked, it is only accessible to travelers via air and sea, and highly dependent on air travel.

The DOT is now working with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to improving connectivity to the country by encouraging more direct flights, two-leg flights, regional connectivity, and domestic connectivity.

“Since the Philippines does not enjoy the advantage of being landlocked with its ASEAN neighbors, we have had to work harder and really try to elevate the global competitiveness of the country. Kaya naman napaka-aggressive po tayo [Which is why we became more aggressive] in terms of our convergence with the DOTr to really advocate for stronger tourism infrastructure and more connectivity,” She said.

She noted that the Philippines also needs to promote visa liberalization to further encourage foreigners to enter and tour the country.

While there had been difficulties due to a recent tightening of requirements for China, the DOT said they are now looking into India as a possible tourism partner.

“’Yan po 'yong adbokasiya ng Department of Tourism [That is the advocacy of the Department of Tourism]. As early as the start of the administration, we advocated with the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as the Bureau of Immigration that, to become a globally competitive destination or at the very least competitive in the ASEAN, we have to liberalize our visa policies,” she said.

“Our focus is to diversify our tourism products so that the Philippines is not a one-dimensional destination focused on fun and adventure alone, but rather is able to offer cultural experiences, heritage, gastronomy, the creative arts, and eco-tourism, sports, and many other tourism products in order to expand our markets,” she added. — BM, GMA Integrated News