MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. met with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) on Thursday to tackle strategies to promote tourism in the Philippines.
Based on a short video clip uploaded on the official Facebook page of state-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM), the tourism sector work plan was the agenda of Marcos’ meeting with PSAC.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. convenes the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group in a meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room in Malacañan Palace on September 29, 2022,” RTVM said in a Facebook post.
However, Malacañang has yet to provide specifics about the plans to enhance the competitiveness of the country’s tourism industry.
According to RTVM, PSAC Tourism Sector Group, including Frederick Go (Robinsons Land Corporation), Roberto Claudio Sr. (Philippine Retailers Association), Rene Limcaoco (Hertz Philippines), Mary Geraldine Polanco-Onganon (Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.), Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar (Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.), and Leslie Vanessa Lim (Robinsons Land Corporation), attended the meeting.
PSAC lead convenor Sabin Aboitiz (Aboitiz Group) and member Joji Gotianum Yap (Filinvest Development Corporation) also joined the meeting via online participation, RTVM added.
Presidential Management Staff Secretary Ma. Zenaida Angping and several officials from the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also participated in the meeting.
Marcos said during his first State of the Nation Address delivered on July 25 that his administration will push for the construction of more international airports and road improvements to attract more visitors and fast-track tourism’s recovery amid the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Marcos made the commitment after recognizing the significance of the tourism sector as a tool for economic growth and a job-generating industry that helps the local community.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority data issued on June 28, the tourism industry employed at least 4.9 million individuals in 2021, higher than the 4.7 million registered in 2020.
With borders virtually closed for the entire 2021, the country in 2021 only recorded a total of 163,879 foreign visitors. This is an 89 percent decrease from the 1,482,535 arrivals in 2020.
