Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Improve value of services, DOT tells industry
TOURISM Secretary Joseph Ace Durano wants to focus on attracting “better tourists” by creating more value in goods and services in the industry.
To do this, he said, stakeholders in the industry should focus on what makes a tourist spend money to achieve the target of $5.8-billion in tourist spending.
Based on a 2007 data that Durano presented in a power talk forum last Saturday, the spending of tourists from Asia Pacific, United States and India has declined. However, the length of stay of tourists has improved.
Comparing data in 2006 and 2007, the length of stay of tourists from the Asia Pacific regions and China last year grew at 31 percent, Europe at 17 percent, the US at 41 percent and India at 97 percent.
The Department of Tourism wants to double this year’s tourist spending target in 2010. Durano said to achieve this, there is also a need for the country to maximize the capacity of the country to accommodate tourists.
In 2006, airport utilization in Manila was at 135 percent while the Mactan-Cebu International Airport was at 76 percent.
“Right now, (the numbers) could be higher,” Durano said.
Room capacity utilization of hotels located in Manila, Cebu, Bohol, Negros and Palawan averages from 53 percent to 73 percent.
With this, new infrastructure in the hotel and resort sectors are also needed, said Durano.
He revealed that by the first quarter of 2009, there will be 1,500 new hotel rooms in Cebu. (DME)
