RP tourism reels from global crisis

The local tourism industry is now reeling from the global economic meltdown.

Alejandra Clemente, president of the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines (FTIP) said fewer foreign tourists are coming to the country as a result of the financial crunch.

“There were no booking cancellations, but we are only getting very few bookings at this time. The industry has really been affected by the economic crisis,” Clemente told The STAR.

Clemente noted that the number of foreign tourists, particularly those coming from the country’s top market-Japan and South Korea- has sharply declined over the the past months.

“Since early this year, the industry already recorded a 35 percent dropped in arrivals from Japan and the number is still going down,” Clemente added.

According to Clemente, Japanese tourists are shying away from the Philippines because of the very high hotel rates here compared to neighboring Asian countries.

“A room in five star-hotels in the country cost about $250 which is more than double the $100 rate of hotel rooms in Macau,” Clemente said.

The restriction in hiring of foreign entertainers in Japan, Clemente said, has also contributed to the slowdown in the number of Japanese visitors to the country.

“There are so much constraints in getting the Japanese market, but, of course, the major reason is the economic meltdown. Japan is in recession right now,” Clemente explained.

She said fewer overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and “balikbayans” are returning home. “Traveling is very expensive, so many of our OFWs and balikbayans are hesistant to return home,” she disclosed.

But Clemente said the situation can be reversed if both houses of Congress and President Arroyo immediately pass into law the proposed Tourism Act.

Clemente said the proposed measure would promote the construction of additional hotel and other tourism-related establishments in the country. “With more hotel rooms, the rate would be lower and thus more foreign tourists will be coming here,” she stressed.

Clemente said the tourism industry is also pushing for the ratification of the ASEAN open skies agreement to encourage more foreign tourists to visit the country.

Despite the reported drop in the number of OFWs returning home to spend the holiday season in the country, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has opted to continue their operations during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

POEA chief Jennifer Manalili said the POEA will be open on Dec. 26 and 29 and on Jan. 2 to accommodate the thousands of OFWs who are going back to their jobs abroad after the holidays.

Manalili said OFWs are required to secure an overseas employment certificate and multiple travel exit clearance(TEC)  from the POEA before departure.

POEA issues an average of 50,000 TECs during the months of December and January because many OFWs spend Christmas with their families here.