Tourism industry continue to soar, says NEDA

CEBU - Despite the global crisis, the National Economic Development Authority reported that tourism industry continued to soar high as well as the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

NEDA regional director Marlene Rodriguez said that tourist arrivals in Central Visayas increased by 6.5 percent in the third quarter of 2008 from July to September of this year.

In her recent report to the Regional Development Council, Rodriguez said even if there is an increase in tourist arrivals, the Department of Tourism still considered it as a “pale increase” compared to 20.1 percent in the same period last year.

Of the four provinces in Central Visayas, according to Rodriguez, Cebu posted the slowest hike in tourist arrivals at four percent in the third quarter. The figure was far behind the 19.9 percent tourist arrivals in the same period last year.

“This could mean that the global economic crisis has taken a toll on business travelers which is one of Cebu’s biggest tourism markets,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, however, expects bigger tourist arrivals in April 2009 as Cebu is preparing to host the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) meeting.

Meanwhile, the business sector in Cebu is also moving to help lessen the impact of the global fiscal turmoil to workers even if majority of industries endured the effect of the crisis.

Eric Mendoza, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said he supports suggestion to implement a wage hike moratorium particularly to their members to prevent retrenchment of workers.

Mendoza said the freezing of salary hike next year will be advantageous, particularly to export industry in Cebu, since this will lessen the impact of the fiscal crisis.

But this will be only temporary, Mendoza said of the proposal, as the moratorium will be better than for the industries to resort to retrenchment to sustain operations.

Mendoza said that traders, particularly those in export industry in Cebu, experienced depleting orders following the recession of United States markets.

Mandaue City is home to most exporters of furniture, fashion accessories, home decorations, among others, in the Visayas.

Mendoza said that the salary hike moratorium is the most practical approach to cushion the effect of the fiscal crisis that threatens to slow down most industries.

He further said that his proposal was welcomed by member-companies of MCCI as a way to survive the crisis.

Rodriguez, in the last RDC meeting, also reported that industry “lost vitality” as the construction industry and some of the manufacturing industry like those engaged in exports felt the impact of the global economic crisis in the third quarter of 2008.

She said that construction activities suffered a slow growth as investors became cautions of pouring in their huge investments in the wake of global economic turmoil.

“High prices of construction materials in local market did not help at all in stimulating construction activities. Big ticket construction projects were put on hold although implementation of small-scale and nearly completed projects continued,” she said in her report.

Even overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were hesitant to buy residential properties as they anticipated the effect of the global economic crisis. – Garry B. Lao/LPM(THE FREEMAN)