By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
DESPITE a number of cancellations by tour groups to Cebu and Bohol due to the clashes between the Philippine military and the Abu Sayyaf in Inabanga, Bohol, on April 20, the Department of Tourism (DOT) remains confident it will meet its 8 million visitor- arrivals target for 2017.
This, after the agency reported visitor arrivals in the first two months of 2017 reached 1.2 million, up 10.88 percent from the same period in 2016. Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr. told reporters that even if just keeping with this trend, “we can easily exceed 7 million to 7.2 million visitor arrivals”.
The DOT said the arrivals report was preliminary and details on the breakdown of market sources were still not available.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo and Bengzon met with industry stakeholders from Central Visayas on Thursday to find out the situation on the ground, especially with regard to cancellations of trips by foreign tourists. Teo informed them that she has already written the Japanese and Chinese embassies about recalling their travel advisories to the Philippines, adding that she urged its ambassadors to help spread the word that it is safe to travel to the country.
She told reporters later that she also spoke with United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, who will also assist in announcing that the Philippines is a safe country for tourists.
Other measures to be undertaken by the DOT to counteract the negative publicity on the
Philippines and the Central Visayas—arising due to the Inabanga clashes, Teo said—would be the invitation of foreign media for familiarization tours to Bohol and Cebu, and the increased promotion of these provinces in foreign travel fairs and expos abroad, such as the upcoming Arabian Travel Mart.
“We will be meeting with McCann [Worldwide Group] today to flesh out promotion materials that we can use to encourage visitors to the Philippines and, particularly, to these two provinces,” Teo added.
Speaking with the BusinessMirror after attending the meeting with Teo, Alejandra Clemente, chairman of Rajah Tours Philippines, said the incident in Inabanga cost her tour agency about P30 million alone from the cancellation of 380 Japanese tourists. “Unfortunately, when the Japanese cancel, it’s difficult to talk to them to change their minds. We just have to accept it.”
Bengzon added that about 150 Korean tourists, likewise, canceled their trip to Bohol. At an estimated $50 per day spending in the country for about five days, for instance, the opportunity losses from the canceled tour group could reach about P1.86 million. But, he stressed, “we get 3,600 Korean tourists every day, so compare that to the 150 cancellations, [the amount is insignificant] although we’re not minimizing these cancellations.”
The DOT official pointed out, though, that despite these few cancellations, there were a number of tour groups that “pushed through” with their trips to Cebu and Bohol. He said there is a “high-profile TV personality from Japan currently shooting in Cebu”, although he was not at liberty to mention his name due to security concerns.
Bengzon added that there are 80 persons in an “English as a Second Language” tour group that is “confirmed” to go to Cebu in the fourth quarter of the year. Also, he said, Philippine Airlines will be bringing in media and tour operators from Nagoya for a familiarization trip to Cebu and Bohol this July. He noted that the senior officials meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also pushed through this week.
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