Marcos to Pinoys: Visit Philippine’s tourist spots this Undas

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos is encouraging Filipinos to visit the country’s tourist spots during All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, saying it will provide income to local economies and contribute to economic recovery.

In a vlog posted on YouTube last Saturday, Marcos underscored that tourism is one of the key sectors in revitalizing the economy, especially in the countryside because it can create more jobs.

“A huge portion of our revenues come from our fellow Filipinos, so I won’t stop encouraging all of you to visit our beautiful tourist spots,” he said.

“Let’s start with All Saints’ Day. One of the reasons why I declared Oct. 31 a special non-working holiday is to give us more time to be with our families and to plan our vacation,” he added.

Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day, was declared a special non-working holiday through Proclamation 79 signed by Marcos last Oct. 18.

The President said the government is finding ways to ease the impact of rising prices of goods, but tourists contribute a lot to such efforts since the money they spend goes to local economies.

“Always remember, visiting the beautiful places in the Philippines will sustain our recovery,” he added in Filipino.

In the same vlog, Marcos vowed to improve access to areas with tourism potential, citing the widening of the runway of Ormoc airport, which was intended to attract more visitors and promote economic activity in Eastern Visayas.

“If a province becomes more accessible, more visitors would come in and more income would come in,” he said.

“My dream is to introduce the Philippines again to the world, show other countries how beautiful the Philippines is, how delicious our dishes are, that Filipinos are nice, skillful and world-class. That’s the Philippines I know, and that’s what I intend to introduce to the world,” he added.

Domestic tourism posted 37,279,282 trips last year, higher by 38.16 percent than the 26,982,233 trips recorded in 2020, according to data from the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon were the top overnight destinations for local tourists last year.

The DOT attributed the growth in domestic tourism to the collaborative efforts of the national and local governments to standardize health and safety protocols and the active participation of tourism stakeholders from the private sector.

Tourism industries employed about 4.9 million individuals last year, 4.6 percent higher than the 4.7 million employed two years ago.

The tourism sector accounted for 11.1 percent of total employment in the country.