TOURISM in the Philippines is still young and thus very much open to more opportunities and potentials, said an Association of Young Filipino-Chinese Entrepreneurs (Anvil Business Club) official.
During the Anvil Business Club officers' induction at the Marco Polo Hotel last Saturday, June 30, president Patrick Cua said the current trend is of people, especially the younger generation, traveling abroad. However, with the rate and the progress of peso against dollar, it can also benefit the domestic tourism. This will encourage Filipino travelers to first discover and explore the different tourist destinations within the Philippines.
"If the peso is getting more expensive to travel outside, domestic tourism will gain the benefit so places like Davao and in Visayas, we have so many beautiful places. So when people travel, they consume. Just like today, we brought in 100 members. So yesterday they were in the malls, we were going to the restaurants, so that's also helping locally," said Cua.
Chairman Wilson Y. Lee Flores added that this peso and dollar exchange rate should be taken advantage as far as tourism is concerned.
"Hopefully, we can take advantage of the value of peso for tourism because it will mean that the Philippines is much cheaper for [foreign] tourists so maybe it's a good opportunity to compete against Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia with tourism," said Flores.
He added that compared to other neighboring countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the tourism sector of the Philippines is still starting. There would be more room for progress and for development. To provide a clearer picture, Flores said the tourist arrivals in Thailand averages at 40 million per year. Ten million of these are mainland Chinese while 2 million are Russians. In the Philippines, there is only an average of 30,000 Russian tourists a year, said Flores.
"What's good about tourism is it's very democratic, unlike Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) where most are located in the cities. However, in tourism, even those in the barrios and in the far-flung areas can benefit," he said.
