The big ask

Getting work done through people sounds biblical but it is actually a basic principle I learned in my college subject Management-101. This management principle best encapsulates the idea of turning Filipinos themselves into “ambassadors of tourism” that Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco is promoting as a national pursuit under the “Love the Philippines” brand campaign.

First launched three and a half years ago, the “Love the Philippines” campaign gave Frasco her initial brush with her arch critics from within and outside the tourism industry. It was initially the pushback from those who strongly opposed the change from “More Fun in the Philippines.” Lately, Frasco is under fire anew for her alleged “self-promotion” images coming out on the cover of a glossy magazine, in tarpaulins and other tourism-related promotion programs and activities.

Vehemently dismissing anew “self-promotion” criticisms, Frasco restated at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last week the DOT’s Philippine Experience Program (PEP) started in 2023 under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. “Because of the approach of the Marcos administration to diversify our tourism product portfolio, from singularly being fun and adventure to a cross-cutting product that cuts across heritage, culture, traditions, gastronomy, our festivals and, most importantly, a view into the heart and soul of the Philippines and our world-class hospitality that keeps tourists coming back again and again,” Frasco explained.

Frasco cited the visitor sample survey conducted by DOT showed the overall quality of the tourism experience increased the average nine-night stay in the Philippines to an average of 11 nights. Thus, tourism spending per capita grew at no less than $2,073 average, she added.

According to her, the PEP brings to various tourism destinations a composite of members of the diplomatic and consular corps, members of national and regional tourism organizations all over the country. To date, she cited, the DOT has brought the PEP to 13 out of 18 regions in various destinations all over the country.

“All of us Filipinos can be tourism ambassadors,” Frasco enthused.

“There is so much to love about the Philippines. And despite all of the bad news, there are still so many stories to be told of good in our communities that really deserve to be told,” she pointed out.

Aside from “robust” domestic tourism, Frasco also credited more overseas Filipinos – from the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan – who choose to fly home to the country. Per DOT records, visiting Filipinos have been steadily increasing from 510,383 in 2024 to 543,085 in 2025 or a growth of 6.41 percent.

She attributed the such increased visitor traffic to partnerships between the government and the private sector, particularly the organization of “Very Important Pinoy (VIP)” and “Winter Escapade” tours for US and Canada-based Filipinos by Rajah Travel, and collaboration with airlines such as Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines.

The DOT secretary, however conceded that Philippine tourism is facing a number of “challenges and incredible headwinds” these past few years. She went on to identify the tourism industry woes – from the very stiff airfare prices to expensive hotel accommodations in popular destinations around the country.

While she pointed to a lack of infrastructure as one of the “roadblocks,” Frasco insisted, however, the Marcos administration has been addressing this through privatizing the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other airports, especially in key destination areas in the Visayas and Mindanao. The DOT embarks on building “tourist rest areas” which travelers need and look for while on the road.

“So that would be our big ask – that there be a designated fund for tourism infrastructure,” the DOT secretary said.

Frasco revealed she has reached out to Department of Transportation (DOTr) Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez to fast-track the development and rehabilitation of airports across the country. She recalled the DOT submitted in 2022 a “wish list” of 30 airports for improvement by the DOTr in terms of expanding and improving the terminal and/or the runway.

Frasco echoed also to the DOTr and other relevant government agencies the concerns of tourism stakeholders on the planned transfer of all turboprop aircraft to the Clark airport in Pampanga as additional costs and longer travel time to tourism destinations.

Being among the members of the Civil Aviation Board (CAB), Frasco cited the DOT moved for the publication in national newspapers a monthly index of airline ticket prices. “So there is no price shock and CAB is able to hold on to what the franchise of airlines would require to maintain just and reasonable pricing of airline tickets,” Frasco stressed.

Earlier, Frasco revealed, airlines had “agreed to remove the two top price buckets or the most expensive fares to specific destinations,” including Manila-Siargao flights, reached during a dialog with them.

The DOT secretary took though a cautious stand on the latest initiative in the 20th Congress – a proposal to scrap the travel tax law imposed on outbound Filipinos. Presidential son House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos filed House Bill (HB) No. 7443 that sought to abolish the travel tax supposedly to reduce travel costs and encourage more Filipinos to travel abroad.

In yesterday’s Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) convened at Malacañang, PBBM endorsed his son’s HB 7443 as among the priority administration bills for approval by Congress.

By virtue of Republic Act 9593, or the Tourism Act of 2009, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) collects the travel tax, 50 percent of which goes to tourism-related infrastructure projects by this agency. Forty percent goes to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to support tourism education and the remaining 10 percent to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for preservation of heritage structures.

From 2024 TIEZA data, it reported P7.79-billion collections for the entire year. As of June 2025, available data showed only half of that amount was collected from the previous year’s travel taxes.

If scrapped, how can the big asks for tourism infrastructure fund take off?