President Marcos orders government agencies: Consolidate tourism services

MANILA, Philippines — To lure more foreign visitors to the Philippines, President Marcos has ordered government agencies to consolidate all tourism services, from flight and hotel booking to arranging drivers and tour guides. 

During a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector at Malacañang on Thursday, Marcos cited a story of his friend who opted to visit Thailand instead of the Philippines, noting that all their needs are being taken care of by their service providers, unlike in the country.

“I was talking to a friend and he said, ‘I am going to Thailand.’ And I said, ‘Why go to Thailand? Go to the Philippines where it’s nicer, cheaper.’ But he said, ‘In the Philippines, (I book) the hotel, I have to be the one to arrange for my driver. I have to be the one to arrange my tour guide and if I want to go out of town, I pay each step of the way,’ ” Marcos said.

“So there’s the thing. I guess, consolidate the system. So it’s because when you’re on vacation, you just want to stay at the beach and have a nice time. So I think it’s the facilities that we have to develop,” the President said.

The Chief Executive likewise directed the Department of Tourism to look into the potential of sports development and promotion of Filipino cuisine to attract tourists.

Led by Sabin Aboitiz of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., the PSAC recommended that the country embark on a campaign to showcase its native cuisines as well as host major sporting events to attract more visitors, citing the successful tourism efforts in India, China, Singapore and Thailand.

Other PSAC members present were Lance Gokongwei of JG Summit Holdings Inc., Lucio Tan III of LT Group, Rene Limcaoco of Hertz Philippines and Lourdes Josephine Gotianun-Yap of Filinvest Development Corp.