THE Philippine hospitality industry remains in good shape today, primarily due to robust tourist arrivals—both local and international—according to a group of hoteliers in the country.
Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Charter Director Rose Libongco said the accommodation business is doing very well as shown in the continuous development of various lodging facilities nationwide.
“More and more hotels and resorts are being opened and they’re enjoying quite good occupancy,” she said. “So hospitality is really alive and exciting.”
In fact, she said hotel rooms are now being reserved by travelers who will take a long-holiday hiatus next month.
“High season is coming up soon, which is December for Christmas. If you have not booked in a good property by this time, there’s a very good chance for you to be confirmed,” said Libongco, who is also the chairwoman of Virtus Awards.
Travel and tourism play a pivotal role in the improved performance of the hotel and resort sector.
For HSMA President Margie Munsayac, the proliferation of low-cost carriers has encouraged travel within the country, especially among local tourists.
She said more and more off-the-beaten-track attractions—beyond the usual highly visited destinations like Boracay, Palawan, Bohol, Cebu and Davao, among others—are now being developed to cater to different types of travelers.
The vice president for sales and marketing of Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort also pointed out the increase in numbers of millennial travelers, who are always looking for new sites.
“Domestic tourism is very much alive. They’re filling up the rooms of our hotels and resorts,” Munsayac said, adding local travelers now count 65 million.
The influx of international tourists is on the rise, which based on latest data of the Department of Tourism (DOT), summed up to 4,042,049 arrivals from January to August 2016, or 12.59 percent higher than the accumulated arrivals of 3,590,038 in the same period last year.
Korea is still the country’s top source of foreign tourists, with 976,499, a share of 24.16 percent. The United States (14.45 percent) followed with an aggregate 584,149 visitor arrivals; China (11.99 percent), 484,567; Japan (9.08 percent), 367,144; and Australia (3.98 percent), 161,016.
Completing the top 10 list are Taiwan with 157,517 visitors, followed by Singapore,120,241; the United Kingdom, 117,535; Canada, 114,074; and Malaysia, 95,129.
At present, the occupancy rate of hotels and resorts in the country averages between 75 percent and 80 percent.
Compared to other destinations in Asia, the Philippines continues to enjoy guests who stay from seven days to 12 days.
For the month of August alone, the average length of stay of tourists stood at 9.65 nights, as per the DOT report.
While the figures are quite impressive, Munsayac said the tourism agency and the whole hospitality community are not much concerned on the quantity, but quality of the impact of tourists on the industry and the economy.
“We’re more into the money spent in the Philippines. And I think it is growing,” she said.
DOT’s current figures revealed the average daily expenditure of visitors for the month of August is P4,095.32, while the average per capita expenditure is pegged at P39,519.79.
Meanwhile, total earnings gained from tourism activities from January to August this year reached P164.25 billion, or 7.92 percent, compared to P152.19 billion for the same period in 2015.
“So the target right now when we go out and market the Philippines is not really mainly dependent on numbers [of potential visitors], but that the money spent generates revenue,” she said.
Growth prospects continue to be bullish with the Duterte administration’s tourism initiatives in the pipeline, headed by Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo.
This island nation will be hosting two major events next year that will bring it to the center of international attention. First is the staging of the Miss Universe pageant—the third time to be held in Manila—on January 30, 2017.
The 65th edition of this major beauty pageant currently held by a Filipina—Pia Wurtzbach—will be participated in by 190 countries and viewed on television by around 1 billion people worldwide.
The global mileage it provides is seen to bring in economic gains in various sectors of society, including the tourism and hospitality industries.
“The media exposure will be directed towards the US, which is the main market of the Miss Universe television coverage,” Libongco told the BusinessMirror. “Miss Universe will bring some entourage for the contestants in the days close to competition day.”
Another big event set happen in the latter part of next year is the Asean leaders’ summit and accompanying conferences with the grouping’s dialogue partners.
This is in line with the 50th anniversary of the regional organization, wherein the rotating chairmanship has fallen on the Philippines.
“The Asean meetings, which the country is hosting throughout 2017, will contribute more arrivals on multiple occasions,” the HSMA charter director said.
With the hosting of these huge events, the country is expected to surpass its tourism goals this year and beyond.
“We’re looking at more foreign tourist arrivals for 2017 and beyond, as well as domestic tourism numbers,” Munsayac said.
The government is raising the tourist-arrival target for 2017 to 6.5 million from the projected 6 million in 2016, and domestic tourist target from this year’s 70.5 million to 73.3 million next year.
HSMA is an association of hotel and resort sales and marketing leaders, which count 76 members of three- to five-star properties in the country.
When the organization presented the Virtus Awards 2016 on November 15, the organization honored practitioners with a record of success in integrating creativity and dedication into strategies that deliver benefits to guests and a robust bottom line to their properties.
1 comment
Kindly review the VISA REQUIREMENTS of European Citizens. I think that there will be more travelling to the Philippines if the requirements will be similar at least to Japan, Fiji, HongKong, Malaysia, New Zealand ,
Taiwan and South Korea. It should be considered that because of the length of travel, the European citizens need to stay longer. This will mean also more income for the Philippines , visits to new destinations, retirement and potential investments in the countryside. The fact that sending Passports to the Embassies for Visa application is risky, they rather travel to other countries.