THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has projected foreign tourists to reach anywhere from a low of 2 million to as high as 5 million visitors in 2022, the last year of the Duterte administration.
The last time the Philippines recorded 5 million in foreign arrivals was in 2015, when it hit some 5.4 million at year-end. Under the DOT’s National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022, foreign arrivals were targeted to reach 12 million.
An initial copy of the Reformulated NTDP for 2021-2022 indicated the DOT took into consideration mild, harsh, to severe scenarios based on ongoing developments in source markets in terms of lifting Covid-19 restrictions, as well as projections made by global tourism organizations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association. The UNWTO believes it will take two to three years before global tourism returns to 2019 levels.
DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Market Development Benito C. Bengzon Jr. told the BusinessMirror, “We are finalizing the Reformulated NTDP 2021-2022 which will include, among others, the new strategic directions for the next two years. The plan will also include targets under the upside, baseline, and downside scenarios. We are collating inputs of the members of the Tourism Coordinating Council [TCC] to whom we presented the Reformulated NTDP on May 19.”
The TCC was created by Republic Act 9353 (Tourism Act of 2009) and composed of representatives of 25 government agencies and private-sector tourism leaders. Chaired by the DOT secretary, the TCC was meant to coordinate national tourism development efforts.
At least 500K arrivals this year
IT is widely believed that the Philippines would have continued recording historic-highs in terms of inbound arrivals if it were not for the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, foreign tourists hit 8.26 million, and was projected to rise to 9.2 million in 2020.
However, only 1.5 million foreign tourists were recorded in 2020 as Covid-19 hit, forcing many countries, including the Philippines, to close their borders to international travel.
This year, inbound arrivals are targeted at 500,000 under a severe scenario; 800,000 (harsh); or 1.2 million (mild). The original target was 10.4 million inbound arrivals.
Under the Reformulated NTDP 2021-2022, inbound revenue is targeted at P7 billion in 2021 and P92 billion in 2022, under the severe scenario; P28 billion in 2021 and P161 billion in 2021 (harsh); and P83 billion in 2021 and P231 billion in 2022 (mild). The original NTDP 2016-2022 saw inbound revenue at P776 billion in 2021, and P922 billion in 2022.
Separately, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat explained, “The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the DOT to various challenges such as global and local travel restrictions, travel requirements, the availability of discretionary income to travel and availability of rooms and tour services, as well as the adoption to the new normal protocols and new technology.”
She added, market confidence was also a challenge, as “this covers the travelers’ willingness to travel based on available and trusted sources of information on evidence of safety protocols and general public health concerns.”
She underscored, “The ultimate challenge comes in balancing our approach towards economic viability, job generation, sustainability, and safety. We have been reiterating our stance that in order to restore traveler confidence, we need to meet, if not exceed, their expectations for tourism in the New Normal.”
Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes
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