DOT: New A/D cards to benefit tourism industry

MANILA, Philippines - Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano yesterday expressed optimism the new machine-readable arrival and departure (A/D) cards would benefit the local tourism industry.

“The new A/D cards will greatly help in updating a database on incoming and outgoing tourists, and create a more in-depth profile of visitors to the country,” he said.

Durano said the new system, which was fully implemented last Jan. 1, would significantly speed up the processing of passengers’ travel documents at airports.

“With new global travel trends, people are moving at increased speed, and this faster scheme in getting necessary data from tourists is indeed a welcome development,” he said.

Under the new scheme, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) would immediately and more efficiently move processed information from the A/D cards to an integrated database.

Durano said the A/D cards contain vital information that will definitely benefit the whole tourism industry, allowing all stakeholders to better look at travelers’ needs and preferences, and how to serve them more effectively.

Details such as type of accommodation and exact purpose of travel are in the form as well purpose of trip — education/training, official mission, religion/pilgrimage, health, transit, and permanent resident or returning resident — require more focused information from the passengers.

Tourism Planning and Promotions Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque Jr. said data obtained from these cards would boost the Department of Tourism capacity to cater to tourists’ inclinations.

“In a constantly changing tourism landscape, travelers now are more into niche activities. This scheme is an opportunity to zero in on what they are looking for,” he said.

For returning visitors, Jarque said the A/D cards would help provide indirect feedback on the current tourism programs, thus enabling the industry to gauge the market’s reaction.

Allan Cañizal, DOT’s tourism development planning director, said the information gathered from the new scheme would also be integrated in the statistical program established in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The DOT would also be able to support travel agencies by giving them relevant figures gathered from the A/D cards.

“These times call for the most updated information on travelers, allowing all tourism stakeholders to respond well and make informed decisions to market their businesses better and respond to the trends,” Cañizal said.