Creation of transport safety board seen beneficial to tourism

MANILA, Philippines — The establishment of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will improve the competitiveness of the Philippine tourism sector as it works in line with providing seamless travel, an industry official said.

In an interview with reporters, Safety Travel Alliance (STA) lead convenor Cherry Lyn Rodolfo said safety and security is the backbone of seamless travel.

“That gives confidence on the part of the traveler that when he/she travels to the Philippines in the case of the foreign traveler and, in the case of the domestic, when he/she goes to a certain destination, he has this level of confidence that he/she will be safe because the culture of safety in that destination or community is very high,” she said.

The NTSB will be a non-regulatory and autonomous agency under the Office of the President and will be the primary agency responsible for the conduct of impartial investigation on transportation-related accidents and incidents.

Based on the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness report, the Philippines ranked 135th in the safety and security category, lower than its 126th ranking in 2017.

Colliers International Philippines research manager Joey Roi Bondoc said earlier this is an area that needs to be addressed in order to boost the overall competitiveness of the tourism sector.

“Government officials must immediately address security threats in the country as failure to do so will definitely dampen the tourism sector’s growth and constrict its potential of generating more jobs and livelihood especially in the countryside,” Bondoc said earlier.

Krizia Chu-Tranquilino of the Greater Clark Visitors Bureau, a member of the STA, said that transportation is vital for the Clark’s tourism sector.

“So if people are afraid to travel because of certain accidents that they can possibly meet along the way, it will really hinder the business in our area, the Clark region,” she said.

Rodolfo emphasized that the establishment of NTSB will not only benefit tourists but everyone in the country.

“This isn’t just for tourism, it’s really for everyone: Filipinos, everybody. We promote the culture of safety among, say, tourist, travelers and also the providers,” she said.

Rodolfo said the NTSB will be able to identify what the cause for safety standards, in a bid to prevent accidents from happening.

“In the event that there would be major accidents, then we have an independent body that will conduct the investigation,” she said.