Tourist-boosting projects on

SEVERAL government programs and projects have been lined up this year to ensure a most vibrant tourism industry.

Much of the P182.2-billion government infrastructure program for 2012 will be used to build airports, roads and bridges that are instrumental in attracting tourists to visit the many attractions in several regions, including Western Visayas, the Department of Budget and Management yesterday said.

These infrastructure projects for the development and construction of tourism facilities include the P8.1B budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of access roads to airports and to roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ports leading to various tourist destinations such as Boracay, Palawan, Bohol, Bicol, Cebu, Mindanao and northern and central Luzon.

A robust tourism sector can fuel up the economy so we can provide more jobs in local communities as well as raise our national profile as a premier tourist destination,” the DBM explained in yesterday's factsheet.

Our ultimate target is to attract 4.6 million tourists in 2012 and 10 million visitors by the end of 2016.

It added that the Department of Transportation and Communications will also be engaged in tourism-boosting projects this year, including the construction of new airports in high-traffic destinations.

The Department of Tourism, meanwhile, allotted P762.4 million to intensify its international promotion campaigns and another P12.5M to beef up local tourism promotion activities.

DOT earlier launched its new tourism campaign: It's more fun in the Philippines, to lure in more tourists and further stimulate the industry.