THE new leadership at the Department of Tourism (DOT) rallied her troops, so to speak, asking their support to push the recovery of their sector.
After her first flag-raising ceremony at the agency on Monday morning, Tourism Secretary-designate Christina Garcia Frasco also told employees, “This week, I will be starting my listening tour as [DOT] Secretary, to see for myself, and to hear the challenges faced by our regional offices and tourism stakeholders across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The objective [is] to be front and center of the prevailing issues that need to be addressed, and to craft solutions that will ensure the full rehabilitation and recovery of the tourism industry.”
A native of Cebu City, she said the DOT has to be “in touch with the realities on the ground” and help put underdeveloped destinations on the radar of travelers, as well as widen the benefits to stakeholders.
“I have full trust in the workforce of the [DOT] because you have been forged in the fire of the pandemic. We’ve been through it, we have survived, and we have thrived. There is no other challenge that we could not possibly surmount. And so, I ask for your support, I ask for your unity, I ask for your commitment to the Filipino people, that our brothers and sisters may be given equal economic opportunities through tourism programs that are made available in sites, provinces, cities, [and] municipalities nationwide,” she said. (Also read, “New Tourism chief keen on growing domestic tourism,” in the BusinessMirror, June 6, 2022.)
‘A potent force for economic survival’
Frasco, who was wearing a belted long-sleeved Filipiniana blouse over wide-leg pants, all in white, underscored DOT’s importance as a “potent force for economic resuscitation and economic survival.” She said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s marching orders were clear; for the tourism industry to become a key engine for growth in the country.
In a brief ambush interview with reporters, she explained, “The directive of the President has really been to ensure that we improve the overall tourist experience, first and foremost, and that will require a close examination of the tourism infrastructure not only in our well-known tourist sites, but also in those that have yet to be developed. It also includes a close examination of transportation in relation to our tourist sites and that is why I will be working very closely with both the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), as we will surely be needing their assistance and expertise to ensure that we improve access to our tourist destinations. “
The DOT has a convergence program with the DPWH and DOTr; it identifies vital roads and ports that travelers need to easily access tourism destinations.
Due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions all over the world, the country’s tourism direct gross value added (TDGVA) plunged by 63.4 percent in 2020, a reversal from the 12-percent growth in 2019.
The gradual easing of community quarantine restrictions in the country last year encouraged domestic tourism, resulting in a 9.2-percent growth in TDGVA. (See, “Local tourism helps boost tourism rebound,” in the BusinessMirror, June 28, 2022.)
Arrivals of foreign tourists, who help generate foreign exchange earnings for the government, slumped to 1.48 million in 2020 from historic high of 8.26 million in 2019. The arrivals further fell to 168,379 in 2021, as local and international travel restrictions continued to hold through the pandemic.