The Philippines continues to beef up security efforts, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco conveyed to a senior Korean official as the country seeks to allay concerns by Korean visitors to the country.
In a bilateral meeting at the margins of the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum on Jan. 29, Frasco met with Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Vice Minister Kim Dae Hyun and expressed Manila’s eagerness to further expand air connectivity between the two countries.
The two officials focused on addressing issues affecting the sector, particularly security concerns that have recently caused a decline in the Korean arrivals.
“Considering how much South Koreans have loved the Philippines, and that love is certainly mutual, we do view with grave concern the travel alerts that are given to our tourist destinations, as a result perhaps of isolated incidents,” Frasco said.
“We express our government’s unequivocal position on prioritizing the safety and welfare of our tourists,” she added.
She told Kim that the Philippines has strengthened its Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) program by providing law enforcers with Korean language classes.
The initiative, the DOT said, has so far increased the capacity of security personnel, particularly in popular destinations such as Cebu, Boracay, Palawan, Davao, Bohol and Clark.
It also complements the Tourist Assistance Call Center (TACC) program that has a Korean-speaking agent who can respond to the immediate needs of tourists.
Regionally, senior officials from the 11 ASEAN member states, Korea, Japan and China agreed on Friday on the adoption of a tourism action plan to “jointly resolve” tourism challenges confronting the region.
Frasco, who chaired the ASEAN Plus Three (Korea, China, Japan) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting on Friday, said ASEAN would sustain partnership with the three states and boost travel confidence in the region.
“These markets continue to play a significant role in travel to the ASEAN—supporting employment, sustaining enterprises across the tourism value chain, and contributing meaningfully to economic activity across our regions,” she said.
“Their continued engagement underscores the importance of stability, predictability and confidence in travel conditions that are equally critical to sustained investment in tourism, infrastructure, services and human capital,” she added. (PNA)