THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has tapped auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Philippines (PwC) as its “Knowledge Partner,” in a bid to boost tourism investments in the country.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed recently by both parties seeks to develop projects promoting tourism toward enhancing the Philippines as a premier tourist destination, a DOT news statement said.
“Part of our mandate is to boost investments in the country and, through this partnership, we are able to create a platform where people can take a look at investment prospects in tourism. It helps also that we partnered with an independent and credible partner,” said Alma Rita D. Jimenez, undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation.
Under the National Tourism Development Plan of 2016-2022, the Duterte administration is supposed to allocate some P2.3 trillion to encourage tourism investments in the Philippines.
So far, that effort has yet to bear fruit. Data from the Philippine Statistics Office (PSA) show that the Board of Investments and Philippine Economic Zone Authority approved some P931 million in foreign direct investments (FDI) in accommodation and food-service activities from January to September 2017. The figure, however, is a massive 77-percent fall from the P4.03 billion approved in the same period in 2016.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Jimenez said: “We will be undertaking joint research, encouraging investments in tourism destinations.”
She added that under the MOU, the tourism agency will be able to “reproduce” the private firm’s existing guidebooks on investing in Philippines destinations, which at present includes Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro-General Santos City, Davao, Bacolod and include a section on tourism investments.
“We will then hand these out to during travel and trade exhibitions abroad,” she said. Tourism as a strategy to reduce poverty in developing countries contributed 8.6 percent of the Philippine economy in terms of GDP in 2017, and employed 5.2 million Filipinos, making up 12.8percent of the country’s total work force that year.
Last year’s tourism investments were buoyed by locals, such that total approved investments (Filipino residents and foreigners) accrued to P9.6 billion, a 23-percent drop from the January-to-September 2016 investment of P12.57 billion, according to data from the PSA.
Jimenez signed the MOU on behalf of the DOT, while PwC Chairman Alexander Cabrera signed for the accounting firm. The other initiatives include sharing of information, expertise and technical assistance, organizing and undertaking activities to improve investment- readiness and attractiveness.
As this developed, the DOT welcomed Forbes.com’s citation of the Philippines as one of the hottest spots in Asia this year.
The opinion piece, titled “The 5 Spots in Asia that are Booming with Tourists in 2018” by contributor Carol Ramoran Malasig, underscored the country’s improved connectivity and infrastructure as major factors in increased visitor interest.
Other countries cited in the piece are Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.
“To be ranked with the region’s tourism powerhouses is a testament to the resiliency of the people and the country’s resolve to promote the Philippines as a safe and fun destination,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said in a news statement.
According to the piece, “new international connections are opening up with Qatar Airways recently announcing new regular flights from Doha to Cebu and Davao, adding to their existing flights to Manila and Clark. The airline flies from Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt, and other major European cities.”
It also said: “With recent improvements in local infrastructure, top tourist destinations are now being served by domestic airports with frequent flights to and from the country’s major cities.”
Several international gateways were renovated last year, with the government planning to develop or upgrade other regional airports like the Iloilo International Airport, Bacolod-Silay Airport, Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental and New Bohol International Airport in Panglao.
The Philippines welcomed some 1.4 million foreign visitors in the first two months of 2018, up 16 percent from the same period in 2017.
Image credits: PHOTO COURTESY OF D.O.T.