By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
AN agreement for direct air services between the Philippines and Mexico will likely be signed soon, following Tuesday’s adoption of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) further strengthening both countries’ cooperation, especially in the area of tourism.
In an interview with Rolando Canizal, assistant secretary for Tourism Development Planning of the Department of Tourism (DOT), he said: “The MOU on tourism will soon be complemented by an air- services agreement. Once negotiation is completed, this will hasten the development of two-way traffic for both countries.”
He added that the Philippines and Mexico are active members of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group, and the Organisation of Economic Development and Co-operation, “where both countries are advocating for increased air connectivity and travel facilitation.”
An airline industry source said round one of air talks between the Philippines and Mexico was already held in May in Acapulco, but “round two is needed for real details on frequencies, etc.” According to the web site of the Mexico’s Embassy in Manila, there is an existing bilateral agreement on air transport between both countries, which was signed in Washington in 1952.
No date has yet been determined for round two of the air talks, but the source says, it should be “soon.” At present, there are no direct flights between the Philippines and Mexico.
Meanwhile, Canizal said the MOU on tourism cooperation between both countries “will enable us to work with the Mexico Secretariat de Turismo (Sectur) to exchange information to better understand the market needs and preferences of Mexican outbound tourists, as well for Mexico to know more about the Philippines tourist destinations and products.” Sectur is Mexico’s counterpart of the Philippines’s DOT.
The MOU was signed in Malacañang by Philippines’s Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. and Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu on behalf of Sectur. The MOU signing was witnessed by President Aquino and Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto.
From January to September 2015, visitor arrivals from Mexico jumped 18.6 percent to 2,407. “Though the numbers [of visitor arrivals from Mexico] are small at the moment, the double-digit growth rate has been consistent in the past years,” Canizal said.
Similarly, there are about 2,000 Filipinos who visit Mexico annually, according to Philippine Ambassador to Mexico Catalino Diem Jr. as reported by Notimex, the official news agency of Mexico, on October 8.
Because of the Galleon Trade between Mexico and the Philippines from the 16th to the 19th century, there is also an estimated 200,000 Mexicans of Filipino descent in southern Mexico, according to a published report in 2007.
As stated in the MOU, both countries, represented by DOT and Sectur, believe that tourism is important “in developing their respective economies and in advancing a deep understanding between their people [and] is an excellent instrument to promote goodwill and to enhance the relations between their countries,” because of tourism’s “sociocultural and economic dynamism.”
Both tourism agencies will cooperate specifically in the areas of tourism research and development, education and training, promotional programs, tourism investment, among others.
The MOU further states that cooperation activities that are developed may be carried out by: “encourag[ing] mutual visits by their respective nationals and residents; encouraging the healthy growth of the tourism industry in both countries; exchanging experiences on matters relating to the organization, management and business operation of tourism activities in their respective countries; exchanging publications, research studies, and other information and data on tourism legislation and statistics existing and prevailing in their countries; promoting academic networking and exchanges between higher education institutions of both countries including student/faculty internships, curriculum enhancement/upgrading for comparability and equivalency, and development of joint degrees on tourism; exchanging experiences on topics related to official standards and certifications on tourism; exchanging experts and information or technology; training personnel; developing joint comparative studies on training programs and skills improvement; implementing joint promotion programs involving collaboration on advertising; developing tour packages; producing, distributing and exchanging brochures, and other collateral materials; promoting closer cooperation between their respective tourism organizations, tourism agencies, private sector or any other bodies connected with tourism; encouraging the arrangement of study tours for specialized experts in the field of tourism; encouraging the public and private sectors in their respective countries to invest and participate in tourism programs and to devote special attention to the development and implementation of mutually beneficial projects relating to tourism investments;” among others.
The cost of projects developed under the cooperation agreement will be shouldered based on what is “mutually decided by the participants, subject to the availability of their respective budgets,” the MOU read.