AS LONG as the peso remains in the same level as other Asian countries, the country’s tourism industry will continue to experience growth.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the country will remain to be a competitive tourist destination in Asia because the peso is not the only currency in the region that has risen in value against the US dollar.
He said the currencies of Malaysia and Thailand, both popular tourist destinations, also rose against the greenback.
Anthony Chan, senior vice president at Alliance Bernstein Investments, predicted that Asian currencies will continue to strengthen this year.
Bernstein, in an article posted on the Alliance Bernstein website, said the Thai baht and the peso led other Asian currencies, rising “slightly more than 20 percent” last year. The Indian rupee, Malaysian ringgit, Chinese renminbi and the Singaporean dollar also grew against the greenback.
Tourist spending
Durano dismissed talks that the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar, which was caused by growth in the economy, has discouraged foreign tourists, especially those coming from the United States.
“While the peso grew to its mightiest, tourism receipts likewise grew to unprecedented level,” he said.
He said that while the peso continued to rise last year, tourist spending in the country reached $4.88 billion, a level that is three years ahead of target.
At the end of this year, he said the Department of Tourism (DOT) expects tourist spending to hit $5.8 billion.
The level of tourist spending is based on volume of tourists, length of their stay, and goods and services they pay for.
“The strengthening of the peso simply means an adjustment in our strategy,” said Durano.
While the rising peso cannot weaken the country’s tourism advantage, he said hotels and resorts must peg their rates on the local currency to protect their businesses against foreign exchange movements.
Not cheap
Durano pointed out, though, that the Philippines was never positioned as a “cheap destination” but rather as a high-end leisure and business hub.
This is why he said, 90 percent of foreign tourists coming to the country can be considered “high-end” or those who prefer to stay in four- or five-star hotels, like the Europeans and Japanese.
The DOT is looking at maintaining an eight- to 10-percent growth in arrivals for 2008 or as much as 3.4 million tourists.
To ensure higher spending levels, the country must attract longer-staying visitors like the Europeans, Durano said.
To complement the country’s bid as a high-end destination, DOT is also promoting high-valued services, like those related to wellness, conferences, eco-tourism and education.
“We are attracting premium tourists,” Durano said, adding that tourism stakeholders have now shifted its marketing strategy in key tourism markets abroad, luring tourists that are not cost-sensitive.
“We focus on value, rather than volume. At the end of the day, it’s how much dollars these tourists bring to our economy that matters,” he added. (MMM)
