By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Duterte administration is working to attract at least P414.14 billion in private-sector investments in the country’s tourism destinations to boost visitor arrivals to 12 million by 2022.
In a news briefing by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), COO Guiller B. Asido said that, according to the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of 2016-2022, these private-sector investments will “cover needs of travelers, such as accommodation, transport units [and] aircraft acquisition”. He noted, for instance, that there is an estimated shortfall in the number of hotel rooms at 120,000.
Under the NTDP, the Duterte administration is also hoping to attract 89.2 million domestic tourists and generate revenue of some P4 trillion from domestic and foreign travelers by 2022. It also targets the employment of 6.5 million people, which will raise the share of tourism jobs to 14.4 percent of total employment, and reach 702,000 poor beneficiaries.
Asido added the total public-sector outlay needed to develop tourism destinations and support the growth in tourist arrivals is P810 billion from 2016-2022. This will support the construction of vital infrastructure, such as roads, ports and bridges, to improve access to tourism destinations; expand capacity of secondary international airports; and market-competitive tourism destinations, among others. Other government agencies, such as the departments of Public Works and Highways, Transportation, and Tourism, and local government units, etc., are supposed to fund this public-sector outlay.
Thus, the total cost of public and private investments needed to attain the Duterte administration’s tourism goals is P1.22 trillion from 2016 to 2022. The amount is 430 percent higher than the P231.8 billion in public and private investments eyed under the NTDP from 2012 to 2016. Also, under the old NTDP, the Aquino administration targeted foreign visitor arrivals to reach 10 million by 2016.
Of the estimated total public outlay, Tieza is supposed to invest P16 billion from 2017 to 2022, “to support infrastructure, such as access roads and utilities, as well as land acquisition costs in support of the TEZs,” said Asido.
At present, the government agency’s flagship TEZs are San Vicente, Palawan; Rizal Park Complex in Manila; Mount Samat Shrine in Pilar, Bataan; Bucas Grande in Socorro, Surigao del Norte; and Panglao Bay Premiere (South Palms) in Bohol.
It also oversees private TEZs, which include Resorts World Manila in Pasay; Ciudad de Victoria in Bulacan; Queen’s Castle in Cebu; Bravo Golf in Negros Oriental; Hijo Plantation in Tagum, Davao del Norte; and Kingdom Global City in Davao.
Tieza Deputy COO Joy Bulauitan, however, clarified that the government agency only “grants and administers the [fiscal and nonfiscal incentives] for these private TEZs. We will not put up the infrastructure for them.”
The Bureau of Internal Revenue finally issued Revenue Regulations 7-2016, which extended fiscal and nonfiscal incentives for TEZs, in fulfillment of Republic Act 9353, or the Tourism Act of 2009.
In a previous interview, Asido estimated Tieza will be able to generate about P70 billion in investments into economy this year with the grant of fiscal incentives to TEZs. (See “Tax perks to yield P70-B tourism investments—Tieza” in the BusinessMirror, January 15, 2017.)