GMA, Bush visits seen as rays of hope for tourism
May 25, 2003 | 12:00am
WASHINGTON – President Arroyo’s successful state visit to the United States and President George W. Bush’s reciprocal trip to the Philippines in October are rays of hope in an otherwise bleak year for Philippine tourism, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon said.
The bonanza of publicity in the coming months will keep the Philippines in the news and hopefully attract more visitors to compensate for losses suffered as a result of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the global war on terrorism that have generally kept people from traveling, he said.
Gordon estimated foreign tourist arrivals this year at between 1.5 million and 1.6 million from 2.1 million in 2002. There has been a huge increase in domestic tourism, but revenue earned in pesos cannot compensate for the dollar shortfall, he said.
He pointed out that in April alone, the Philippines lost about $40 million in tourism revenue, which translates to over P2 billion. "Did we earn P2 billion last month from domestic tourism? I don’t think so," he said.
An air of uncertainty is buffeting foreign tourism throughout the world. "It has become a world of tremendous change that we all still have to adjust to," Gordon said.
Gordon sees the Bush visit as a terrific endorsement for tourism. "People will be telling themselves ‘Hey, if Bush is going to the Philippines, then it must be a great country to see,’" he said.
At a meeting between Arroyo and Bush and their Cabinets last Monday, Gordon said he complained about US travel advisories being too broad and open-ended and was given assurance that the system would be reviewed to see if it could be improved.
He suggested the advisories be event- and location-specific and follow the same general alert status the Department of Homeland Defense uses to advise citizens of possible terror attacks – Low, Guarded, Elevated, High and Severe.
America should be wary of the ramifications of its actions, because like it or not, many countries follow the US lead and a travel warning snowballs into a ban, Gordon said.
He is a firm believer in advertising to sell tourism and points out that since his department started advertising 15-second spots on CNN and BBC for Asia and Europe, there has been a seven percent increase in the number of foreign visitors annually.
"I am not a miracle worker. But I cannot just stand by and accept the cards dealt me. I have to look for ways and means to put the message across that the Philippines is a great place to visit," he told The STAR in an interview.
Gordon is trying to encourage former US service personnel to take their families on sentimental journeys to such places as Subic, Clark and Olongapo. About 2,000 of them are scheduled to visit from October in groups organized by the travel firm Military Historical Tours.
In addition, Gordon is urging an estimated three million Filipino-Americans to influence their friends to visit the country. He has invited the San Francisco-based National Association of Filipinos Overseas to hold its convention in Manila every second year, starting in October.
Another venture he is marketing is the so-called ConTours or conservation tourism. This envisages bringing tourists to remote places such as Donsol in Sorsogon to see whales, dolphins and other marine life and to Bukidnon for whitewater rafting and visits to underground rivers.
"In Donsol, the draw of jobs and income from tourism will stop people in the area from killing their main attraction – whales. In this way, everybody wins," he added.
He said he is trying to attract foreign investment with tax breaks and other privileges to develop potential tourist areas provided the environment is protected.
The bonanza of publicity in the coming months will keep the Philippines in the news and hopefully attract more visitors to compensate for losses suffered as a result of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the global war on terrorism that have generally kept people from traveling, he said.
Gordon estimated foreign tourist arrivals this year at between 1.5 million and 1.6 million from 2.1 million in 2002. There has been a huge increase in domestic tourism, but revenue earned in pesos cannot compensate for the dollar shortfall, he said.
He pointed out that in April alone, the Philippines lost about $40 million in tourism revenue, which translates to over P2 billion. "Did we earn P2 billion last month from domestic tourism? I don’t think so," he said.
An air of uncertainty is buffeting foreign tourism throughout the world. "It has become a world of tremendous change that we all still have to adjust to," Gordon said.
Gordon sees the Bush visit as a terrific endorsement for tourism. "People will be telling themselves ‘Hey, if Bush is going to the Philippines, then it must be a great country to see,’" he said.
At a meeting between Arroyo and Bush and their Cabinets last Monday, Gordon said he complained about US travel advisories being too broad and open-ended and was given assurance that the system would be reviewed to see if it could be improved.
He suggested the advisories be event- and location-specific and follow the same general alert status the Department of Homeland Defense uses to advise citizens of possible terror attacks – Low, Guarded, Elevated, High and Severe.
America should be wary of the ramifications of its actions, because like it or not, many countries follow the US lead and a travel warning snowballs into a ban, Gordon said.
He is a firm believer in advertising to sell tourism and points out that since his department started advertising 15-second spots on CNN and BBC for Asia and Europe, there has been a seven percent increase in the number of foreign visitors annually.
"I am not a miracle worker. But I cannot just stand by and accept the cards dealt me. I have to look for ways and means to put the message across that the Philippines is a great place to visit," he told The STAR in an interview.
Gordon is trying to encourage former US service personnel to take their families on sentimental journeys to such places as Subic, Clark and Olongapo. About 2,000 of them are scheduled to visit from October in groups organized by the travel firm Military Historical Tours.
In addition, Gordon is urging an estimated three million Filipino-Americans to influence their friends to visit the country. He has invited the San Francisco-based National Association of Filipinos Overseas to hold its convention in Manila every second year, starting in October.
Another venture he is marketing is the so-called ConTours or conservation tourism. This envisages bringing tourists to remote places such as Donsol in Sorsogon to see whales, dolphins and other marine life and to Bukidnon for whitewater rafting and visits to underground rivers.
"In Donsol, the draw of jobs and income from tourism will stop people in the area from killing their main attraction – whales. In this way, everybody wins," he added.
He said he is trying to attract foreign investment with tax breaks and other privileges to develop potential tourist areas provided the environment is protected.
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