Tourism target likely to be missed

Key tourism targets are likely to be missed this year, according to Leechiu Property Consultants director for hotels, tourism,and leisure, Alfred Lay, in a briefing for members of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) during their third general membership meeting held Wednesday at the Sheraton Manila Bay Hotel.

According to Lay, the Philippine tourism sector is still in a recovery phase, and full recovery to 2019 levels may not occur until 2026. Fortunately, though, Lay pointed out, foreign arrivals recovery is continuing, with a 10 percent increase noted for the first seven months of this year to 3.55 million from the 3.21 million recorded in 2023. However, when compared to the 2019 tourist arrival figures that reached 4.85 million, the arrivals are down 27 percent.

This year’s foreign arrivals target of 7.7 million, Lay said, is “unlikely to be reached” based on the first seven months of data collected by the Department of Tourism and LPC’s own research.

The growth in tourist arrivals, he said, has been driven by the large turnout of South Korean visitors who contributed nearly half of all arrivals in the Philippines from January to July this year, making up for the loss of visitors from China, Japan and other countries.

Chinese tourist arrivals, Lay noted, continue to show strong growth from 2023, but the improvement is still significantly behind the numbers recorded in 2019.

Thus, based on the current pace of arrivals growth, Lay said, “full recovery to 2019 levels may not occur until 2026.”

The top five tourist source markets for the country are South Korea, with 932,000 visitors recorded visiting the country from January to July this year, a 14 percent growth compared to the 817,000 arrivals recorded in 2023. Most of the Korean tourists, Lay observed, are flocking to Mactan, Cebu.

Coming in second and showing stable growth are visitors from the USA, with 580,300 visitors recorded for the first seven months of this year, just slightly higher than the 580,200 arrivals recorded for 2023, perhaps indicating that these are the regular balikbayans that visit the country yearly.

Still accounting for a major source of tourist arrivals are the Chinese tourists, posting a 54 percent growth to 219,000 for the first seven months of this year compared to the arrivals recorded last year of 142,000. It is uncertain though if the arrival figures are all tourists, as Lay noted that some of those arrivals may have been individuals seeking employment with the POGOs. He is optimistic that with the full enforcement of the POGO ban by the end of this year and the Philippine government loosening visa restrictions to weed out those seeking POGO employment, the true Chinese tourists will finally come to visit.

The fourth major source of Philippine tourist arrivals is Japan, which showed an almost 37 percent (36.9 percent) increase in the January to July period to 213,000 from the comparative seven-month period last year of 156,000 arrivals. Unfortunately, Lay observed, Japanese travelers are still not in the mood to travel with a weak yen.

In fifth place was Australia, which actually posted a slight decline in visitors to just 150,000 from January to July this year compared to the 153,000 arrivals recorded for the comparative first seven months of 2023, showing a decline of nearly two percent (1.94 percent).

Thus, based on Leechiu research calculations, full-year tourist arrivals for the Philippines would likely hit only 6.01 million.

Thankfully, Lay noted, the slow pickup in foreign tourist arrivals will be compensated by domestic tourists who are expected to hit record-breaking domestic trips this year. While the Philippines is still posting growth, a recession is being experienced in consumption as inflation continues to eat up the household budget and thus a decline in demand for leisure travel results in reduced budgets even by corporates, which in turn results in decreased hotel revenues and reduced investments in the tourism sector. Filipinos, as such, Lay said, will “look inward.”

Leechiu’s research figures indicate that from 2022 to 2028, the country could see a doubling of domestic tourism, with destinations within driving distance of major population centers benefiting most. The research numbers show that in 2022, domestic tourist numbers jumped to 102 million after dropping during the pandemic lockdown to only 26.9 million in 2020 and 37.2 million in 2021. Last year, domestic tourist numbers climbed further to 119 million and are projected to hit 129.6 million for this year and steadily grow to potentially 195.7 million by 2028, which would fuel hotel revenue per available room and push up hotel occupancy to 65.2 percent.

Last year, the hotel occupancy rate was a comfortable 69 percent, with the Metro Manila luxury segment outpacing all other segments and surpassing pre-pandemic levels, showing immunity towards cost-of-living cutbacks. The economy and mid-scale hotels have also rebounded strongly post-pandemic due to domestic tourism and aggressive pricing from low-cost airlines.

HSMA September online sale

Meanwhile, the September online sale organized by the HSMA is back, with 85 hotels and resorts participating in the online travel fair this year. HSMA is the premier organization of hotel sales and marketing leaders in the country, with members representing hospitality properties in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

What started in 2020 as a way to boost the hotel and hospitality industry during the pandemic has become the Philippines’ biggest online travel sale, an anticipated annual event known for great deals and exciting offers. The month-long online sale, which kicks off on September 1, is the perfect chance to start Christmas shopping for the gift of travel. The online sale gives an opportunity to buy vouchers for hotel and resort stays, weekend getaways, dining packages, spa treatments and more.

Last year, approximately 3,700 vouchers were sold, posting a revenue of P19 million. The top 10 selling properties were Twin Lakes Hotel in Tagaytay, El Nido Resort in Miniloc Island, Palawan, Bai Hotel Cebu, Okada Manila, The Lind Boracay, Mithi Resort and Spa in Bohol, Belmont Hotel Manila, Seda Nuvali Laguna, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan and Acuatico Beach Resort in Batangas.

In terms of area, member properties from Southern Luzon, Palawan, Leyte, Davao, Cebu, Bohol and Boracay had the biggest share of the revenue from total sales last year. Discounts of up to 75 percent off from members of the HSMA will be available. On sale will be packages for meetings, conferences, birthdays, weddings and other special celebrations.

The best part of the online sale is that buyers can do all the booking and shopping without leaving the comfort of their home – no need to trawl through multiple sites either in search of good rates. To avail of the discounts, interested parties simply need to visit the HSMA website – hsma.org.ph/sos beginning Sept. 1. Once on the site, they can choose from a selection of featured destinations and hotel offers. They can immediately book and purchase their preferred hotel offers, and a voucher will be sent to them soon after. The sale officially ends at midnight on Sept. 30.

There are 85 participating hotels and resorts this year, categorized into nine clusters. The Alabang, Pasay and Parañaque Cluster features Acacia Hotel Manila, B Hotel Alabang, Belmont Hotel Manila, Crimson Hotel Filinvest Manila, Grand Westside Hotel Inc, Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport City, Hyatt Regency Manila, Kingsford Hotel Manila, Lanson Place Mall of Asia Manila, Okada Manila, Savoy Hotel Manila, Seda Manila Bay and Bellevue Manila.

The Bohol, Iloilo and Bicol Cluster includes Best Western Plus, The Ivywall Resort Panglao, Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort, Misibis Bay Resort, Mithi Resort and Spa, Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and The Bellevue Resort Panglao. The Boracay Cluster has Astoria Current, Belmont Hotel Boracay, Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay, Discovery Boracay, Fairways and Bluewater Resort Golf and Country Club, Feliz Hotel Boracay, Savoy Hotel Boracay and The Lind Boracay.

The Cebu Cluster includes Bai Hotel Cebu, Belmont Hotel Mactan, Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort, J Park Cebu, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Quest Hotel and Conference Center-Cebu and Savoy Hotel Mactan. The Manila and Makati Cluster features Bayview Park Hotel, Diamond Hotel Philippines, Dusit Thani Manila, Hotel Lucky Chinatown, Seda Residences Makati, Sheraton Manila Bay, The Manila Hotel and Winford Manila Resort and Casino.

The North Luzon Cluster comprises Best Western Plus Metro Clark, Clark Marriott Hotel, Quest Plus Conference Center Clark and Swissôtel Clark Philippines.

The Palawan and Davao Cluster has Acacia Hotel Davao, Astoria Palawan, Club Paradise Palawan, Discovery Samal, Dusit D2 Davao, Dusit Thani Lubi, Lihim Resorts El Nido, Miniloc Island Resort El Nido and Seda Lio.

The Pasig, Taguig and Quezon City Cluster includes Ace Hotel and Suites, Astoria Plaza, B-Hotel Quezon City, BSA Twin Tower, Discovery Suites, Eastwood Richmonde Hotel, F1 Hotel Manila BGC, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Joy Nostalg Hotel, Luxent Hotel, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Seda BGC, Seda Vertis North, and The Linden Suites.

The Southern Luzon Cluster features Acuatico Beach Resort and Hotel, Acuaverde Beach Resort and Hotel, Anya Resort Tagaytay, Bayleaf Cavite, Club Balai Isabel, Hacienda Isabella, Pico Sands Hotel, Quest Hotel Tagaytay, Seda Nuvali, Summit Ridge Tagaytay, Taal Vista Hotel, The Farm at San Benito, Timberland Highlands Resort, and Twin Lakes Hotel.