Domestic Tourism Boosting Philippines Tourism Industry (affect)

Tourism industry in the Philippines has been able to maintain the positive growth trend amid global crisis, mainly due to the significant
increase in domestic tourism.

Tourism Secretary, Ace Durano, has said that the tourists looking for leisure travel in the Philippines are showing interest in the domestic destinations,
driving growth in the country's tourism industry, as reported by philstar.

Philippines' domestic tourism has been growing at the rate of 18% per annum since 2005, when it contributed a total of P800 Million to the total tourism
traffic. According to the government projections, the country will witness around 3-3.1 Million overseas tourists and 8-8.5 Million domestic tourists in
2009, totaling to nearly 11 Million tourist arrivals. This will represent an increase of 9% from the 2008's figure. During the first two months of 2009,
tourists from France increased by 30%, China by 60% and Russia by 40%, as per the government data.

Even the affluent Filipinos are opting for local tourist destinations over the overseas destinations; thereby, diminishing the impacts of recessionary
trends on the Philippines tourism industry. Consequently, the tourism industry and various tourism-related businesses in the country are continuously
expanding amid recession.

However, tourist arrivals from the US and Japan have considerably dipped since 2008, but the Philippines tourism industry was the least affected, as
the rising number of domestic tourists and the steady number of visitors from Russia, China and France offset the decline.

The government of Philippines is collaborating with local governments to boost the tourism industry, as it is considered a key industry for generating
jobs and opportunities throughout the nation.

The commitment made by the country's President was strengthened in the "super regions" concept, developing Central Philippines as the
tourism hub by upgrading several airports as well as the Republic Nautical Highway System. Moreover, the domestic tourism will also take a boost from
the opening of new Ro-Ro ferry routes, bridges and roads that are aimed at spurring the inter-island trade. Less travel time, low transportation costs
and improvement in distribution of basic goods are also likely to play a crucial role in fueling growth in the domestic tourism. At present, physical
infrastructure and environmental consciousness are the major constraints before the tourism industry in the Philippines. Now, the increasing demand
for domestic destinations is calling for the expansion of infrastructure; thereby, ensuring the sustainability of the tourism destinations and landmarks in
the Philippines."
Philippines’ rank in tourism
competitiveness slips (benefits)

The Philippines’ world ranking on competitiveness in the travel and tourism industry fell five notches this year,

according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) study released on Wednesday.

In its Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008, the Swiss-based forum reported that the country ranked

86th among 133 countries in the world. It scored 3.73 points in the overall travel and tourism competitiveness

index.

In the previous report, though, the Philippines ranked 81st in the study.

The 2008 study said that among the country’s strengths are its natural resources—it is ranked 23rd for the number

of World Heritage sites and 40th in terms of having indigenous species in the country.

The Philippines also benefits from excellent price competitiveness, which ranked 16th with low prices overall—

particularly hotel rates, low-ticket taxes and airport charges.

“There are also some aspects of the policy rules and regulations regime that are conducive to the development of

the sector, such as few visa requirements for foreign visitors [ranked third] and bilateral air service agreements

that are assessed as comparatively open [28th], although other areas—such as the protection of property rights,

rules related to foreign investment, and the difficulty of starting a business in the country—remain a challenge,”

according to the World Economic Forum.

Other matters of concern in the Philippines are safety and security, ranking 113th, health and hygiene levels 87th,

and transport, tourism and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructures that require upgrading.

“Our study aims to measure the factors that make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism industry of

individual countries,” Jennifer Blanke, Senior Economist of the forum’s Global Competitiveness Network said.

Blanke said the top ranked countries like Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France and Canada demonstrate the

importance of supportive business and regulatory frameworks, coupled with world-class transport and tourism

infrastructure and a focus on nurturing human and natural resources for fostering an environment that is attractive

for developing the travel and tourism industry.

Success factors

Thea Chiesa, head of aviation, Travel and Tourism at the World Economic Forum, said that to thrive, or even

survive, in this period of uncertainty and change, both the travel and tourism industry, and destinations would need

to approach the challenges in a holistic and systemic manner.

“This would allow innovative ideas to emerge, new directions to be taken, new alliances to be forged and profits to

be reaped. This comprehensive approach to travel and tourism competitiveness taken in the report aims to

contribute to this discussion,” Chiesa said.

Alex Kyriakidis, managing partner, Global Travel, Tourism and Leisure, Deloitte, United Kingdom said that in these

turbulent times the tourism and travel sector must not only focus on addressing immediate challenges but also

longer term sustainability. Adaptability, deeper domestic tourism supply chains, “quality and skill” investments, and

diversity are of real importance and characteristics clearly evident in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness

Index.

The index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, international travel and tourism institutions

and experts from the industry, as well as the results of the executive opinion survey, and a comprehensive annual

survey conducted by the World Economic Forum.

The forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging

leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agenda. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and

based in Geneva, Switzerland, the organization is non-profit, with no political, partisan or national interests.