Tourism boom to create jobs

President Arroyo’s job creation program will get a big boost from a boom in tourism that is now the focus of a government-private sector initiative.

Hotels, airlines, spas and other tourism-related entities have joined hands with the Department of Tourism in crafting a Philippine Tourism Master Plan as well as identifying tourism investment opportunities that aim to increase tourism arrivals to five million visitors.

Tourism Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan said that the influx of five million tourists would create five million jobs. He cited an economic think tank’s study that tracked the creation of one job for each tourist arrival.

He said that the agency has embarked on a positioning of the Philippines as a wholesome destination. "This is a marketing game," Pagdanganan, a former marketing czar of a global consumer firm, said.

Pagdanganan said that the industry is "very appreciative" of the government support to bring in tourists. The Department of Tourism has made pitches for the country as a tourism destination in various tourism fora such as the International Tourismus Bourse in Berlin, Germany, the Guagzhou roadshow, and the travel trade industry in Paris. It has also advertised the WOW Philippines and "Ganda ng Pilipinas, Galing ng Pilipino" programs in Taiwan and other foreign countries.

Among the positioning strategies for the Philippines to bring in tourism dollars are cultural tourism that includes a visit to Tabon Cave and Banaue Rice Terraces, and eco-tourism such as the Palawan subterranean park, and Donsol whale shark interaction.

Pagdanganan said that a boom in tourism will benefit the peso’s exchange rate with the dollar the same way as Thailand’s baht. Thailand’s tourism receipts from its 10 million visitors a year has had a positive contribution on its balance of payments position, he added. — L. Gagni