The headline is a question because it remains to be seen if our country is truly serious in becoming a tourism powerhouse. Words, plans, even a President’s directive are all “niceties,” but are we truly ready to match the tourism prowess of Bangkok, Bali, or Hong Kong? Are we putting money where our mouth is? Or are we just daydreaming?
The recent presentation of a “2023-2028 National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP)” is noteworthy, in a way that there will be a blueprint in the coming years on how our tourism sector will be directed and developed. Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco’s optimistic assertion of making the country “a tourism powerhouse in Asia in the next five years” is admirable that it should only be natural for all Filipinos to get behind this plan and throw in their support.
The challenges, however, are gargantuan. The lack of airports and road infrastructure in emerging tourism areas, the shortage of hotel rooms for the events industry, and the various perils to safety and security are not something that can be solved in five years’ time. And there are the “irritants” that continue to hound tourism — inefficiency among airport personnel, shortage of skilled hospitality workers, lack of internet access, etc.
Frasco, to her credit, is cognizant of these negative conditions and the need for action to address each one. During the NTDP launch, she said, “We can only truly transform the Philippine tourism industry if we address the prevailing challenges that we face continually across our regions,” noting that the Department of Tourism (DOT) intends to “establish a tourism industry anchored on Filipino culture, heritage, and identity, which aims to be sustainable, resilient, and competitive."
The roadmap, presented by Frasco, identified seven measures to achieve the goal to be a tourism powerhouse, and part of it is improving infrastructure and accessibility. She said the DOT is “working with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to negotiate more routes for air and sea travel.”
Under the NTDP, Frasco said DOT will “focus on digitalization, enhancement of the overall tourist experience by incentivizing sustainable travel, and improving safety and security in destinations, etc.” The agency will also tap LGUs in developing more tourist sites and linking emerging ones to key destinations.
“This NTDP will serve as a blueprint for the strategies on how the DOT intends to continue and to grow the impact of tourism upon our economy in the next few years. This will be the guidebook of the industry where we put in place mechanisms for sustainability for many years to come,” Frasco said.
Amid the challenges is good news for the tourism sector. In a statement, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has announced that “a total of ₱17.7 billion has been allocated in this year’s national budget to fund the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) — this amount is ₱602 million higher than the ₱17.087 billion from last year’s budget.”
This shows that this administration is serious in providing funding support to vital infrastructure projects, which serve as the backbone of the economy and the tourism industry.
So, to answer the question: “Are we headed to becoming a tourism powerhouse?” Based on the plans of the DOT, with funding from the DBM to arm it, and with an administration determined to doubling — or tripling — tourist arrivals, then there is no need to doubt this lofty goal. But again, there’s much work to do and we should’ve already started yesterday.
