The Management Association of the Philippines is urging the government to allow the private sector to spearhead tourism promotion in the country to enable the Philippines to get a bigger chunk of tourist arrivals from all over the world.
In a statement issued Monday, the business group suggested the establishment of a privately run Tourism Promotion Board.
“To fulfill the promise of tourism—a 12-percent total contribution to the [gross domestic product] and a total of 5.6 million jobs generated by 2020—there must be a keener appreciation of the needs and wants of our identified tourism markets, from which will emanate a concrete, targeted, cohesive and innovative marketing strategy,” the group said.
Such a strategy could only be formulated with the cooperation of all relevant sectors. The Department of Tourism should not take on this task single-handedly.
MAP said that while the Philippines had so much going for it—beautiful beaches, diverse marine life, mostly young and educated population, English-speaking citizens, good food and state-of-the-art medical facilities—the country was among the laggards in the region in terms of tourism.
Citing data from a recent report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the group noted that the Philippines managed to attract only 3.5 million tourists last year, behind Vietnam’s 5 million, Indonesia’s 7 million, Singapore’s 9.1 million, Thailand’s 15.8 million, Hong Kong’s 20.1 million and Malaysia’s 24.5 million.
In terms of tourism receipts in the region, the country generated only $2.7 million last year, a huge difference from top tourism money-makers Hong Kong with $22.9 million, Thailand with $19.7 million, and Malaysia with $17.8 million.
MAP urged the government to take advantage of the Tourism Congress, a private-sector consultative body that would develop, implement and coordinate tourism policies. The Tourism Congress was created under RA 9593, or the Tourism Act of 2009.