By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE tourism industry may have merited only one line in the State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Duterte on Monday, but its stakeholders praised the Chief Executive for addressing problems that have been obstacles to the industry’s growth.
In his Sona, Mr. Duterte said: “In the field of tourism, we shall construct more access roads and tourism gateways to service centers and tourist sites.”
Jose Mari R. del Rosario, president of Microtel Hotels and Resorts Philippines, said: “My main tourism concern is the peace- and-order situation in the country. And it’s being addressed. For tourists [international and domestic], having a positive perception for personal safety is of paramount importance.”
With regard to the President mentioning the construction of tourism infrastructure, the veteran hotelier told the BusinessMirror: “It’s long overdue. So even to just continue it is an achievement in itself.” The construction of infrastructure to tourism gateways and destinations was a project started by the Aquino administration in 2011, when the Department of Tourism and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) forged a Tourism Convergence Program that identifies the vital linkages that need to be built for tourists to get to major tourism destinations in the quickest possible manner.
About P60 billion has been allocated for the Tourism Convergence Program from 2011 to 2016, of which some P48 billion has been utilized for road projects to tourism destinations as of August 2015, according to a report from the DPWH. Another P24 billion is supposed to be allocated for the program under the General Appropriations Act of 2016.
Jay Aldeguer, president and chairman of the Islands Group, which includes hotels and tour services, said in a text message: “I noticed that the issues that moved [Duterte] personally and which he was handling directly, he would be more emphatic about while other topics he would just breeze through them. But that’s not to say it wont get the attention it deserves. I think he’s very decentralized in his management style
and gives his team almost blanket authority. For tourism, I’m more curious to see what programs [Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo will embark on.” The Cebu-based tourism entrepreneur also agreed that
priority should be made for the construction of tourism-related infrastructure, “with airport decogestion on top of that list.”
Asked whether the one-line mention of tourism infrastructure in the Sona conveyed the President’s prioritization of the tourism industry as an important engine of growth for the country, former Secretary of Tourism Ace Durano, said: “President Duterte is reputed to be a man of action. As such, I’m more interested in his actions. The to-be submitted 2017 proposed National Expenditure Program will be telling of the priorities of the Duterte administration.”
The Department of Tourism (DOT), in a press statement, said President Duterte’s promise to construct highways and bridges to connect the country’s major islands, and access roads to world-class tourist destinations bodes well for the travel and tourism sector.
“We are elated and inspired by the President’s announcement that topping his list of priorities is the building of highways and roads that can provide easy access to our tourist sites,” Teo said.
She, likewise, lauded the President’s issuance and implementation of the executive order on freedom of information. “Our books are open and available to the public. We will soon be relaunching our official web site, so information on activities and transactions of the DOT and its attached agencies can readily be accessed in line with President Duterte’s policy of transparency and accountability,” she stressed. With a P3.61-billion budget for 2016, up 44 percent, from the 2015 budget of P2.5 billion, Teo vowed to run an efficient and streamlined bureaucracy, making sure DOT’s resources are utilized for the promotion and development of tourism industry. DOT’s attached agencies include its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Intramuros Administration, the National Parks Development Committee, Duty Free Philippines Corp., Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving, Nayong Pilipino Foundation, and the Philippine Retirement Authority.