Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco on Friday cited the need for more and improved tourism infrastructure and proactive policies to boost the industry as advised by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Certainly, to benchmark policies in this regard would be the direction that we would take per your instructions. Many measures could be improved as far as policy regulations, both on the national and local level, and proper coordination to be able to focus on the overall tourist experience from the time that he arrives to the point of entry to the time that he gets to his point of destination,” Frasco told the president during the second Cabinet meeting Thursday.
Marcos said local tourism-related infrastructure should be at par with top tourist destinations such as Singapore.
“We just have to support the plan to develop all of these enabling environments—the policy, conditions and infrastructure,” the president said during the meeting.
Frasco underscored the DOT’s commitment to the full development of enabling environment—the policies, conditions and infrastructure—to further boost the revitalization of the tourism industry.
She laid down the targets and objectives of the department in keeping with the President’s directive to revitalize the tourism industry and transform it into a major pillar for economic growth in the Philippines.
The specific objectives include the improvement of tourism infrastructure and accessibility; a cohesive and comprehensive digitalization and connectivity; enhancement of the overall tourist experience; equalization of tourism product development and promotion; diversification of portfolio through multi-dimensional tourism; maximization of domestic tourism; and strengthening tourism governance through close coordination with LGUs and stakeholders.
Frasco underscored the need to anchor the objectives on three focus points—connectivity, convenience and E(quality)—taking into consideration the Philippines’ 6th ranking in Southeast Asia in terms of tourist arrivals and destination preference.
She said the DOT should work towards improving connectivity of tourist destinations through convergence with tourism-enhancing government agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways for infrastructure and Department of Transportation for transportation.
The DOT will also speed up the establishment of regional tourism circuits connecting bigger provinces and more well-known destinations to smaller islands and improve end-to-end transportation by land, sea and air from arrival to departure, she said.
She said for the convenience of travelers, the DOT would push for uniformity of protocols through inter-agency collaboration with national agencies such as Bureau of Immigration, Department of Health, Department of Interior and Local Government and local government units.
“There is no question as to the richness of our heritage and the vastness of our culture, but, there is definitely still a need for national government assistance to LGUs as far as technical expertise on how we can harness these aspects of our country so we can package it in a manner that is at par with the finest that is being offered by other countries and make our offerings in our country characteristically Filipino,” Frasco said.
