‘Investing heavily in infrastructure to help tourism, economy recover’

MANILA, Philippines — Incoming tourism secretary Christina Frasco has underscored the importance of investing heavily in infrastructure to help the tourism industry and the economy recover.

In an interview aired over ANC yesterday morning, Frasco emphasized that a strong foundation by way of investing heavily in infrastructure is needed, since it would improve connectivity and access to tourist sites across the country.

“That means coordinating closely with relevant government agencies for the improvement of roads, bridges, access, seaports, airports as well as modes of public transportation,” she said.

She stressed that introducing technology and innovation is also important.

“What the pandemic has taught us (is) that you can actually continue to market your products by way of digitalization, by way of mobile applications through online platforms, notwithstanding the restrictions of physical contact,” the incoming tourism secretary said.

“So providing our lesser-known tourist destinations with access through digitalization and introduction of online platforms that can shed light on them, I think, is also very important,” she added.

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is likewise pushing for the improvement of the overall tourist experience, according to Frasco, who ran and won her re-election bid as Liloan, Cebu mayor.

“(Such improvement will) make it convenient (for tourists) to come to the Philippines, travel to the Philippines and to stay in the Philippines,” Frasco said.