THE local government of Palawan is eyeing an income of up to P19 billion from tourism this year as it aims to develop historical tourism in coordination with the private sector.
“From tourism operators, we estimate 2015 receipts to be around P19 billion,” said Caesar Sammy A. Magbanua, chief of staff of the Palawan governor.
Palawan’s 2013 tourism revenues reached P18.38 billion and arrivals for that year is at 883,019, the Palawan Tourism Council reported.
For 2014 tourism arrivals were estimated to be at 1.2 million, however, comparative revenues for the year have not yet been computed.
There is no tourism arrival target for 2015, but the provincial government expects some 3 million tourists in 2016.
In line with Palawan’s goal to reach the figure this year, a task force was created to organize the “A Salute to Valor: Palawan—70 Years of Freedom” event, to drum up interest in historical sites in the island.
The Palawan Liberation Task Force is composed of the Department of Tourism, the provincial government, the Puerto Princesa City local government, the United States Agency for International Development, the Palawan Chamber of Commerce, the Palawan Tourism Council, and the Rajah Travel Corp.
The task force will be in charge of spearheading the “A Salute to Valor: Palawan—70 Years of Freedom” program.
The said event will take place from April 21 to 23 in Puerto Princesa City, and will include tours of areas of historical significance in Palawan, unveiling of World War II exhibits, and commemoration of war veterans.
Debbie Tan, president of Palawan Tourism Council representing tourism enterprise operators, said eco-tourism has been the biggest draw among the sectors but with the emphasis on historical tourism, the said sector may contribute significantly to boost figures.
In Puerto Princesa alone, the task force expects tourism arrivals to improve by 10 percent from 2014’s 735,000 to the city.
Prime historical tourist destinations to be developed within Puerto Princesa include the World War II Memorial Museum, Plaza Cuartel, Mendoza Park and Ihawig Prison.
The same task force estimates that historical tourism, if fully developed in two years, can rake in P1.8 billion in additional tourism receipts and 200,000 additional tourists.
The tourism council also aims to develop this year the religious tourism subsector for Palawan, as well as traditional areas such as diving tourism agri-tourism and water-sports tourism.
Palawan remains an attractive draw to foreign tourists, with the top sources of foreign travelers cited are Europe the US, Australia and South Korea.