BE fair—this was the message of Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo to other governments issuing travel advisories at the recent World Tourism Forum (WTF) Ministerial Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.
In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Teo made the call on behalf of countries like the Philippines that rely on tourism for billions of dollars in income.
Speaking at the Istanbul International Convention Center, the DOT chief stressed the need for tourism leaders to band together to compel the ministries of foreign affairs and embassies to be more realistic and considerate in issuing travel warnings.
“I call on the [Tourism] ministers here to have a collective stand on travel advisories, most especially for small island destinations. This is necessary in order to influence the Ministries of Foreign Affairs to rethink the issuance of such notices so we can safeguard the local people who are dependent on tourism,” she stressed.
The economies of small island destinations suffer when “unnecessary or exaggerated” travel notices are issued by foreign governments, Teo added.
Some foreign governments continue to tag certain Philippine destinations, such as Mindanao, for instance, for being unsafe places for their respective citizens in which to travel. While there is one region in the southern island that may be a magnet for terrorism and kidnapping activities, this is not true for the rest of the provinces of Mindanao, which, unfortunately, also bear the brunt of these blanket travel advisories.
Prior to her speech, Teo met with Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avci, who committed to support her call. “If such incidences [of unfair travel advisories] occur, we will stand together with messages of support. This would be our best response to terrorism,” Avci said.
The governments of the Philippines and Turkey also signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation that will foster better tourism relations between the two countries.
Teo, likewise, sat down with the executives of Turkish Airlines to explore the possibility of establishing new air routes to the Philippines. At present, the carrier flies daily between Istanbul and Manila, and has a code-sharing agreement with Philippine Airlines.
She also met with the largest tourism and travel operators in Turkey to make a pitch for the Philippines. In 2016 there were 7,884 visitor arrivals in the Philippines from Turkey, up 30.83 percent from the 2015 figure, according to data from the DOT. In contrast, there were some 4,000 visitor arrivals in Turkey from the Philippines, a slight dip from 4,296 arrivals in 2015, according to government tourism statistics from Turkey.
Turkey hosts annually the WTF Global Meeting, and it was during the ministerial meeting on February 17, where Teo urged delegates to be proactive in the face of growing demands on the global tourism industry.
She cited the need to explore and promote new destinations, especially those that have barely been visited; the urgency to improve the travel connectivity to rural and local destinations, service centers, and gateways and hubs; and the importance of a harmonious working relationship between the government and the private sector in formulating tourism policies and programs.
The DOT said there were some 3,000 delegates and 10,000 guests in this year’s WTF Global Meeting. First established in 2015 under the auspices of the president of Turkey, the WTF is an Istanbul-based organization that fosters exchanges between governments, the private sector and the media to help develop the global tourism industry.
According to its web site, WTF also holds regional meetings three times a year in different cities around the world. The next summits will take place in Qatar, Jordan, India, Russia, Vietnam and the United States.
Image credits: DOT