(Last of two parts)
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat knows that crucial to meeting her agency’s targets would be the commitment and the steadfast support of the private sector, who will be building hotels, resorts and restaurants, and providing all the other services needed to make tourists happy.
As a new and bright era dawns for the Philippine tourism industry in this coming decade, the private sector —particularly the local real estate developers—will need to step forward and level up their game anew to make travel all the more fun in the Philippines.
“The vital role of private developers cannot be overemphasized, as we consider them as co-equal partners in our program of sustainable and inclusive tourism development. Investment opportunities in the different sectors of transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and destination development are spelled out in the National Development Tourism Plan (NTDP) for 2017-2022,” Romulo-Puyat said in an interview with Inquirer.
“The active participation of well-meaning developers, who show true social responsibility will strengthen our sustainable development efforts. This is dramatized in the continuing rehabilitation of Boracay Island and other tourist destinations as we seek to balance commercial development and environmental conservation. With incentives for tourism enterprise zones (TEZs) extended for another 10 years, development of the TEZs will help stimulate inclusive growth, especially in the countryside,” she explained.
Fortunately, many local property developers have been responding quite favorably.
Colliers International Philippines said it was anticipating an aggressive completion of homegrown hotel brands within Metro Manila alone from 2019 to 2022. About 40 percent of the 10,000 new hotel rooms to be completed during this period are classified as three-star, while about 35 percent comprise of four- and five-star hotels. These numbers do not even include the hotels that will be completed across several key provinces.
These new rooms will help accommodate the influx of international tourists. For this year alone, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is targeting to hit 8.2 million in international arrivals, nearly 14 percent higher than the 7.2 million recorded in 2017. By 2022, the Philippines is targeting to hit a much higher goal of 10 million international tourist arrivals. Add to this the growing number of domestic tourists and staycationers.
There are, indeed, more than enough reasons for local real estate developers to be bullish about this industry, especially at this juncture when the Philippine travel and tourism industry is now at its most exciting times.