By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has proposed a P2.93-billion budget for 2016 for the Office of the Secretary/Central office alone, higher by some 28 percent from what it is getting this year.
Data provided by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also show that the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the DOT, has a proposed P1.64-billion budget, slightly higher than its P1.63-billion allocation in 2015.
Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. said the agency is still sticking to its target of attracting 10 million foreign visitors for 2016, up 21 percent from its 8.2 million target this year.
Of that number, he told the BusinessMirror, the TPB is supposed to attract 5 million foreign visitors in its assigned markets. These are the traditional markets, such as the United States, Japan and South Korea, etc.
The rest of the 5 million foreign visitors are projected to come from the new markets being developed by the DOT Tourism Development group. Among these new markets being developed are Russia, India, Israel, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia, to name a few.
Of the P2.93-billion budget the DOT is asking Congress to approve, P2.47 billion will be allocated to the Central Office, while the rest, at P468 million, will go to the various regional offices for their personnel, maintenance and operations expenses, and financial expenses, among other administrative and agency support services. The DOT has proposed that Region 7 (Central Visayas) get the largest chunk of the regional funds, at P44.92 million. Cebu and Bohol, major tourist attractions in the country, are located in Central Visayas.
Other regions with the largest allocations include the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), where the DOT’s head office is located, at P43.43 million; followed by Region 13 (Caraga), P39.39 million; Region 6 (Western Visayas), P37.46 million; Region 3 (Central Luzon), P37.32 million; and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), P32.78 million.
For the 2016 budget it submitted to Congress for approval, the DOT is committed to increase the tourism sector’s gross value added by 17 percent to P1.15 trillion.
The agency also committed to raise the number of people employed in tourism by 17 percent to 7.4 million. The agency, likewise, promised an 8.5-percent increase in domestic tourism to 56.1 million.
The proposed Aquino administration budget is currently under scrutiny by both houses of Congress.
Meanwhile, for its allocation for 2016, the TPB is focusing on using new media, i.e., bloggers, Twitter accounts holders and other online media, “to take a greater role in reaching the target audience more effectively,” according to documents published by the DBM. Included in the TPB’s proposed budget is a P475.67-million allocation for “tourism-promotion services.”
As per Republic Act 9353, otherwise known as the Tourism Act of 2009, the TPB’s activities will be funded with an annual appropriation from the national government of P500 million, as well as a percentage of income by Duty Free Philippines Corp., shares from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and shares from fees collected by the country’s airports and seaports. The TPB’s budget falls under allocations for government-owned and controlled corporations.
The TPB’s assigned target of 5 million for 2016 is 19.3 percent higher from the 4.19 million baseline figure for 2014. No target was included for 2015.
Along with the DOT’s budget for the central office, Jimenez has also asked both houses of Congress to approve the 2016 budgets for the Intramuros Administration (P444.21 million) and the National Parks Development Committee (P209.19 million), for a total agency budget of P3.61 billion. The proposed agency budget is 44 percent higher than this year’s budget of P2.5 billion. (See “Tourist arrivals up 8% to 2.33 million in H1,” BusinessMirror, August 25, 2015.)
Jimenez and other DOT officials defended the DOT budget at the House of Representatives on August 17, and at the Senate on September 28. Another budget hearing is scheduled at the lower house on Friday.
1 comment
So basically the Tourism secretary wants more money because he is raising his targets but his performance has been an absolute failure. He must be looking for some pabaon before he leaves his office.