By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldob / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is giving renewed focus to the 3.5 million Filipinos living in the United States to boost visitor arrivals in the Philippines.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo made this evident as she spoke with various Filipino communities in New Jersey and San Francisco during her visit to the US from August 12 to 15.
In a news statement, Teo said these Filipino-Americans should take time to visit and rediscover their home country. At a community event, dubbed the People’s Ball, in New Jersey, the DOT chief encouraged some 500 Fil-Ams to “invite your American friends and Facebook friends to come see our world-class tourist destinations and experience genuine Filipino hospitality. Remember, there’s no place like home.”
The US continues to be the second top source market for foreign visitors for the Philippines, accounting for some 15 percent of total arrivals in 2015. From January to May 2016, visitor arrivals from the US rose by 7.7 percent to 377,595.
Most of the visitors, however, are Filipinos who are now American passport holders, and come to the Philippines usually during the Christmas season. Teo said visitors from the US are projected to rise significantly in the next few years, as the agency works with the travel and tour operators to entice Fil-Ams, as well as the mainstream Americans, to visit the country. Mainstream Americans are those living in Southeastern and Southwestern US, like Tennessee and Oklahoma, and have no blood ties nor relations with the Philippines.
This year, the DOT is targeting to attract some 867,742 visitors from the US and at least 968,395 in 2017.
New York and New Jersey are key areas where some 337,000 Fil-Ams reside. Teo was invited to their community events and fiesta-like gatherings, which also featured Philippine entertainment celebrities.
Teo also went to San Francisco for the Pistahan Parade and Festival 2016 at Yerba Buena Gardens, attended by some 15,000 Fil-Ams.
“Many of our fellow Filipinos experience homesickness and long to visit our home country, as well as reunite with relatives and friends,” she said.
During her meetings with Filipino communities, Teo spoke more of her plans to speed up the growth of the tourism sector and give more jobs to Filipinos. She discussed a partnership with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) to support local communities by building more infrastructure and developing more products to harness their unique attractions as tourism destinations. Tieza, formerly the Philippine Visitors Authority, is tasked to implement the DOT’s infrastructure projects and facilitate investments in tourism enterprise zones nationwide.
She also spoke of her advocacy for the “one town, one product” concept and the Tourism Promotions Board’s (TPB) support to market the Philippines in the US, in the areas of medical, cultural and culinary tourism. Formerly the Philippine Conventions and Visitors Corp., the TPB is the marketing arm of the DOT.
The DOT, in partnership with the the Department of Foreign Affairs, has an annual project to bring home some 300 Fil-Ams and Fil-Canadians, called the Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tour Directors Tour to the Philippines. Usually held during the lean months between July and September, the tour usually includes a visit to Intramuros, investment forums and a tour of Malacañang, including an audience with the President. There is no word, however, if the project, begun by the Arroyo administration, will be continued under the Duterte administration.
Meanwhile, the DOT chief welcomed the offer of the Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK) Foundation to partner with the agency and provide new income opportunities for rural communities. ARK Foundation volunteers are mostly young professionals and next-generation Fil-Ams.
“To be able to give back to the community, particularly the marginalized sector, is, in fact, the bottom line of our inclusive tourism program,”
Teo stressed.
6 comments
Why would FIL-AMS wanna visit the Philippines when Duterte is encouraging people to kill people “suspected” of drugs. There are a lot of shady people in the Philippines. Malaman lang nilang balikbayan baka sabihin drug addict para lang may dahilan silang saktan ang isang FIL-AM. NOPE I’d rather go to Bali indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam, Cambodia and even Thailand. SKIP PHILIPPINES!
Suit yourself. There are a lot more shady people in other countries especially in your beloved adopted America. And please, just speak for yourself, not for Fil-Ams.
So do you have a visit planned to the Philippines in the near future?! If not then sit down. I visited The Philippines in April and trust me I felt safe knowing I can travel from one city to another without being labeled a druggie by someone just because I don’t agree with them…. Now that vigilantes can kill anyone on the street and label then druggies and get away with it? NOPE i’d rather visit another country. By the way I’m not saying The Philippines was fine before Duterte, all I’m saying is its image is now tarnished.
Go anywhere you want to go. All I’m saying is you don’t represent FIL-Ams. Just speak for yourself and stop insulting the Filipinos. If you go over your statements, you keep on contradicting yourself. Sit down and keep quiet.
You watch too much Noli de Castro-produced Bandila and the other so-called news from our country. He and their network presents only slanted and biased news. For reasons of their own, they have continuously been undermining all efforts of the new Dispensation to remove the Drug cartels in the Philippines.
The tourism board HAS to focus on FIL-AMS because foreigners are probably not gonna wanna visit The Philippines anytime soon. JUST GOOGLE “PHILIPPINES” AND TELL ME WHAT POPS UP. haha, can’t wait to read your reply!