EDITORIAL - Tourists

As of last night, the word from the Department of Tourism was that a planned junket to Iceland and Norway from July 14 to 22 by a contingent from the DOT and House of Representatives would not be pushing through.

This is welcome news. In the latest Global Gender Gap Report released last October by the World Economic Forum, the Philippines retained its seventh place globally among the most gender-equal societies and No. 1 in the Asia-Pacific. So there is no excuse for spending precious public funds ostensibly to observe best practices on gender equality. Especially when the DOT would be bankrolling a House junket.

The annual Global Gender Gap Index is in fact one list where the Philippines takes pride of place among the top 10 best. The country could be in the top five or even three out of the 144 economies included last year if not for the delay in the full implementation of the reproductive health law.

Tourism powers economic growth in many countries. Terrorist threats now faced by these countries are treated as challenges to the travel industry that are being confronted aggressively by their governments together with the private sector.

The Philippines, which is lagging behind its neighbors in the travel industry despite being blessed with natural attractions and a welcoming people, currently faces the challenge of selling the country to the world amid the Islamic State threat that the military is battling in Marawi and other parts of Mindanao.

That kind of challenge leaves no room for a lackadaisical approach to tourism development. Several DOT officials have so far shown that they are in way over their heads in their jobs. President Duterte should stop inflicting undeserving individuals on the travel industry at taxpayers’ expense.

The task of the DOT is to lure travelers to the country, not to finance the junkets of its officials, and especially not the junkets of members of Congress and their staff. Tourism offers huge opportunities for economic development and poverty alleviation especially in the countryside. This industry deserves better people to take charge of development.