Saturday, March 15, 2008 US recession no effect on RP's tourism industry, says DOT chief
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano is confident the looming economic recession in the United States (US) will not affect the over-all performance of the tourism industry in the country.
"We have a good mix of tourists and we are confident we can still hit our targets," Durano said in an interview with reporters last Thursday. Durano reacted to the projected drop in tourist arrivals this year, especially balikbayans, due to the economic slowdown in the US.
Rolando Avante, executive vice president and treasurer of Chinatrust Philippines Commercial Bank Corp. said earlier that the balikbayan market, or those Filipinos working and residing in the US, are likely to experience financial constraints this year, which would affect their annual vacation plans to their Philippine hometowns.
He said balikbayans have the tendency to hoard their dollars, thus vacation spending would be one of the expenses that will be cut off temporarily when they experience financial constraints.
In Cebu, tourists from the US, including overseas Filipino workers, make up the third largest market. As of last year, visitors from the US accounted for about 20 percent of the total foreign arrivals in Cebu.
Decreasing
Durano admitted, however, that the number of balikbayans coming home to the country has been decreasing in the last three years, even though more Filipinos are leaving the Philippines to find overseas employment. He said the balikbayans used to account for about 30 percent of the entire foreign visitors data.
“(But) even if we see a drop because of the US recession, it is still compensated by growing foreign markets like China and Russia,” he said.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) wants to maintain an eight- to 10-percent growth in arrivals for 2008, or as much as 3.4 million tourists.
Durano also dismissed talks that the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar will cut tourism revenues.
He stressed that while the peso grew to its “mightiest,” tourism receipts likewise grew to “unprecedented levels.”
Even as the peso continued to rise last year, he said, tourist spending in the country reached $4.88 billion, a level that is three years ahead of target.
At the end of this year, Durano said the DOT expects tourist spending to hit $5.8 billion.
If the department will be able to achieve its goal of generating $5.8 billion in tourism receipts for 2008, it would surpass the projected medium-term goal of $5 billion for 2010.
In targeting the $1-billion additional tourist spending this year, Durano emphasized the need for tourism stakeholders to attract longer-staying visitors, like the Europeans, as well as lure tourists that are not cost-sensitive.
Durano also pointed out that the Philippines was never positioned as a “cheap destination,” but rather as a high-end leisure and business hub.
To complement the coun-try’s bid as a high-end destination, DOT is also promoting high-valued services, like those related to wellness, conferences, eco-tourism and education. MMM
