TIEZA wants masterplanning for tourist destinations

MANILA, Philippines — The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) is pushing for the crafting of masterplans for areas with potential to become top tourist destinations.

“You really cannot develop anything without a plan,” TIEZA chief operating officer Pocholo Paragas told The STAR. “And the best way to do is to really masterplan the different locations to ensure that the sustainability, concept and the supply chain of both the government and the private sector are planned out and concrete.”

Paragas said the agency is already in the process of crafting masterplans for Siargao, Ormoc, and Corregidor.

He earlier cited Siquijor, Camotes, and Bantayan as areas the TIEZA is eyeing to craft masterplans for.

“When you see the potential is there, that’s when you masterplan,” Paragas said in a panel discussion Thursday at the Tourism Summit Philippines 2019.

The TIEZA official said the push for more sustainable tourism destinations is really driven by the lesson of Boracay’s closure last year.

“Even before it happens to other locations, we’re already going there. DOT, TPB, TIEZA and all the other departments are really working together to make sure that the learning from this specific island that had to go under closure will never happen to other locations,” Paragas said.

He stressed the importance of identifying a carrying capacity for a destination.

“Find out a number and deal with it and diffuse that capacity to different areas and sections of a specific site,” he added.

Paragas earlier said it would take roughly 18 months to finish masterplanning a destination, depending on the components and the extent of the masterplan.

“From there, you should be able to see the direction of what needs to be done,” Paragas said.

Moreover, the TIEZA official said the country’s tourism sector is still in need of investments for the development of tourism destinations across the country.

“We’re very closely coordinating with the LGU units, but we also have our own office that accepts (investment proposals) because we know the need for tourism enterprise zones (TEZ) within the different areas of our country,” Paragas said.

A TEZ is an area of at least five hectares in size and is in one contiguous territory with historical and cultural significance, environmental beauty, or existing potential integrated leisure facilities within its vicinity.

At present, there are five flagship TEZs across the country. Among these are the 883.11-hectare Long Beach area of San Vicente, Palawan; the Rizal Park Complex in Manila; Mt. Samat Shrine in Bataan; Panglao Bay Premiere in Bohol; and Bucas Grande in Surigao del Norte.

TIEZA also has a total of six registered tourism enterprises (RTEs) namely Philippine Arena, Kingdome Stadium inside Kingdom Global City, Magikland inside Aton Land and Leisure Zone, Signature Suites in Boracay, Kabote Beach Resort and Lazuli, both of which are located inside the flagship TEZ in San Vicente, Palawan.

TIEZA said it continuously improves its systems and processes to make business transactions with TEZ investors and RTEs more streamlined and efficient.

In the first quarter, TIEZA launched its Electronic Import Permit System, an online web-based system for filing and processing of the import permit applications coming from the TEZs and RTEs making it easier for investors and locators to file their import permits.

The TIEZA said it is set to conduct a series of regional investment forums this year, in partnership with local and foreign business groups and chambers of commerce to seek for potential tourism-related investments that will help spur inclusive and socio-economic growth for the communities within the country’s TEZs.

Under RA  9593, TEZ developers and tourism enterprises will be granted a six-year income tax holiday that may be extended for another six years, a five percent preferential tax on gross income in lieu of national taxes except for real property tax and fees of TIEZA, a net operating loss carry over scheme, import tax exemptions for capital goods and equipment needed for TIEZA-registered activities, and import tax exemptions for transport equipment and spare parts needed for TIEZA-registered activities.

They will also be exempted from value-added tax and excise tax goods imported by TIEZA-registered activities, tax credit equivalent to taxes paid on locally sourced goods, and tax deduction of up to 50 percent of cost of environmental protection and cultural heritage preservation activities as well as of sustainable livelihood programs of the registered tourism enterprises.