Gordon sees more jobs from tourism

Sen. Richard Gordon has tagged tourism as the "savior industry of the country" as it has the potential to realize the administration’s goal of creating 10 million jobs.

In a press briefing at the Krua Thai Restaurant in SM City in Cebu, Gordon, a former tourism secretary, said that local government units must develop a "culture of tourism" as a means of providing livelihood opportunities.

Gordon, who is all praise for Tourism Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan, also batted for the retention of Pagdanganan. He said President Arroyo should not put politics in the appointment of a new Secretary of Tourism.

"So far he is doing well as DOT Secretary. I do not see any reason for his replacement," Gordon said of Pagdanganan, a former marketing man of Unilever.

Pagdanganan earlier said that a boom in tourism will create jobs as he bared a yearend target of 2.25 million tourism arrivals. From January to May this year, tourism arrivals hit a record 954,473, an increase of 30.6 percent from the same period last year of 730,765 visitors.

According to Gordon, Central Visayas, particularly Cebu, can be developed as the "beach capital of the Philippines."

There is need for "more hotel rooms in Cebu," and the government should "give more incentives to hotels, airlines and shipping companies as a way of attracting tourists," he said.

It is in the tourism industry that the less-skilled workers can get a job, thus creating more jobs, especially in the countryside, Gordon added.

The Department of Tourism is now in the midst of crafting a Philippine Tourism Master Plan as well as identifying tourism investment opportunities in coordination with the private sector to bring in tourism dollars.