By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
‘HOLIDAY economics” will help the country’s tourism industry recover faster as more Filipinos are seen booking vacations with family and friends to domestic destinations next year.
In a text message to the BusinessMirror, Cleofe C. Albiso, Managing Director of Megaworld Hotels & Resorts said, “The new holiday schedule for 2023 will help boost domestic tourism. We have seen how the pickup in domestic travels have helped the industry in many ways this year.”
She added, “With the adjusted holidays for the coming year, families and local travelers can create advance plans for their vacations, avail of hotel and airline promotions, thus making their travel costs more efficient. It will then be our opportunity to take care of our guests during their long weekend stays with the hopes that their experience will encourage them to promote patronizing our local destinations.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently issued Presidential Proclamation No. 90 adjusting the holidays next year, creating more long weekends that allows Filipinos around which to plan their vacations. The so-called “holiday economics” scheme was introduced under the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, now one of the top advisers of Marcos Jr.
Budget carriers Cebu Pacific and Air Asia Philippines are currently offering discounted air fares on many destinations that are good for trips until next year.
9 long weekends
Based on Presidential Proclamation No. 90, there will be a total of nine long weekends in 2023: January 2 (Monday) and November 2 (Thursday) have been declared additional special non-working holidays; April 10, Monday, is a non-working holiday as April 9 (Araw ng Kagitingan) falls on a Sunday; November 27, Monday is a non-working holiday since November 30 (Bonifacio Day), falls on a Thursday.
Marcos Jr. considers the tourism industry as a key engine of economic growth, despite the inadequate budget given to the Department of Tourism (DOT), which recently received Senate approval for P3.5 billion in funds next year.
Prior to the country’s reopening its borders in February, the tourism industry’s recovery was jumpstarted by the previous administration’s lowering of Covid-19 alert levels, which encouraged domestic tourism. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed domestic trips grew by 38 percent to 37.3 million in 2021, from some 27 million the year before. Prior to the pandemic, domestic trips reached 122.12 million in 2019.
100M trips by yearend
Under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of 2016-2022, the last two years of which was revised by the previous administration after the pandemic struck, the DOT was targeting domestic trips from a low of 18.8 million to an optimistic 100 million this year. (For inbound tourism, DOT was targeting arrivals between 2 million and 5 million this year.)
The current administration has yet to approve the NTDP for 2022-2028.
In a statement, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said Presidential Proclamation No. 90 is “an important stimulus to boost the country’s domestic travel figures. This will allow travelers to stay longer in destinations and thus bring direct economic benefits to the local communities. This gives our kababayans (fellow Filipinos) more opportunity to rest, recharge, and spend longer quality time and trips with their families and loved ones.”
She stressed, “Even our MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) stand to benefit from the extended weekends because the longer our tourists stay in a particular destination, the higher likelihood that they will engage in tourism activities and spend on local products,” adding, “The long weekends will definitely help spur economic activities, sustain tourism-related employment opportunities, and aid communities that are dependent on tourism.”
Frasco encouraged Filipinos to “seize this opportunity and book your trips as early as now. Traveling to our key spots as well as lesser-known destinations is one way we can foster our love of country and discover the richness of our country’s culture.”