TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco foresees a strong recovery for Philippine tourism, citing the P286 billion foreign tourism receipts recorded in the first seven months of the year.

Frasco made the announcement when she served as a panelist in the latest leg of the Post-SONA Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) Roadshow of the national government in Cebu, where she shared updates on the industry’s performance under the Marcos administration.

She noted that from January to July this year, the country’s foreign tourism receipts have reached P286 billion.

That amount is consistent with the over 66 percent tourism international arrivals recovery of the country, which is higher than the average ASEAN growth of 54 percent, based on the second United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer on the Recovery by Region in the first quarter of 2023, she said.

Tourism receipts from foreign and domestic visitors in 2022 amounted to P1.87 trillion, showing the momentum towards the phenomenal tourism performance in the first half of 2023.

In addition, Frasco said that as of August 10, the Philippines received 3,376,514 foreign visitors, surpassing 70 percent of the country’s 4.8 million baseline industry target for the entire year.

“These numbers are only seen to grow further especially that the Philippines has now fully opened up to tourism. We’re very grateful to our President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. for prioritizing tourism in his national development agenda,” Frasco said.

In terms of employment, the Department of Tourism (DOT) recorded over 5.35 million individuals employed in tourism-related industries in 2022, which is 93 percent of the industry’s employment figures during the pre-pandemic period of 2019.

Frasco also cited the statement of the country’s economic managers which noted the rebound of tourism growth as the second driver of economic development in the Philippines for January to June 2023.

At the Post-SONA PEB held at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Frasco also provided an overview of the DOT’s strategies to sustain the tourism industry’s momentum under the Marcos administration.

In Central Visayas, where combined international and domestic visitor arrivals have already reached 2.2 million as of June 30, the DOT, according to Frasco, is further developing the country’s tourism portfolio, including the English as Second Language, which is seen as a big come-on specially for non-english speaking markets.

Meanwhile, MICE, golf as well as health and wellness are also being developed as these are seen as bright spots for tourism in the region, according to the tourism chief.

Another positive development is the exponential increase in connectivity with the additional international flights to and from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, now at 195 flights as of August 10, or a growth rate of 315 percent from the same period last year.

Based on the DOT’s latest nationwide survey for 2023, Cebu ranks number one in terms of most preferred destination among overnight travelers.

Frasco said more Tourist Rest Areas (TRA) will be constructed, in addition to the ones already being built in Dauis, Bohol, and in the municipalities of Carcar, Carmen and Moalboal. Recently, the TRA in Medellin was inaugurated and turned over to the local government units.

She also signified the DOT’s strong intent to develop the region as a cruise tourism hub. This year, four cruise ships are expected to make a port of call in various islands in Central Visayas and this sector has “much room to grow,” she said.

In keeping with its commitment to sustainable tourism development, projects are in the pipeline for the country’s key and emerging destinations in Bohol, Siquijor and Siargao Islands.

The tourism chief likewise maintained confidence in the Philippine industry’s ability to bounce back sooner under the leadership of the President and its partnership with stakeholders.

“We anticipate that with the policies supporting tourism under the Marcos administration, the convergences that we have had under our President’s whole-of-nation approach towards tourism development, and most importantly, our private sector’s partnership, collaboration, continued investment, and belief in the strength of the tourism industry, will allow us to adopt and occupy a more primary position in Asia and recover sooner than what is predicted. Cebu, Central Visayas, and the rest of the Philippines will exceed all expectations because there are just so many reasons to love the Philippines,” Frasco said.

Referring to Central Visayas as a “treasure trove of dive destinations,” she pointed out the need to further support diving in the region and announced the DOT’s upcoming Tourism Dive Dialogue.

“Recognizing the huge contribution of diving in Central Visayas, the Marcos administration has seen it fit to hold the very first Tourism Dive Dialogue this September here in Cebu, to consolidate all the efforts of the national government, the local governments, as well as the private sector to be able to ensure that policies and programs will fully support the full expansion of dive tourism here in Central Visayas,” Frasco said.

The DOT through its infrastructure arm, the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority, also eyes the installation of hyperbaric chambers in key dive sites, including in Dumaguete and in Daanbantayan, Cebu in 2024.

In reintroducing the Philippines to the world, Frasco also announced Cebu’s hosting of the 36th joint meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia next year.

This after the Philippines, represented by Frasco, was elected as vice president of the 25th General Assembly of the UNWTO as well as chair of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific last June 16.

Also serving as panelists during the Post-SONA PEB Cebu session titled “Reinvigorate. Accelerate. Transform.” were Cabinet secretaries Alfredo Pascual of the Department of Trade and Industry and Bienvenido Laguesma of the Department of Labor and Employment, as well as undersecretary Marlo Iringan of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and assistant secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra of the Department of Agriculture.

Charles Kenneth Co, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also joined and represented the private sector in the panel moderated by Department of Budget and Management undersecretary Margaux Marie Salcedo.