On Monday, a lawmaker called for a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation, and whole-of-society approach to reviving tourism and accelerating its full recovery from the effects of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a resolution issued on Monday, Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas urged the government to collaborate with various stakeholders in implementing measures aimed at catalyzing the country’s tourism sector recovery and assisting affected Filipinos in regaining their livelihood.
“It is our country’s natural beauty—our beaches, mountains, and other natural wonders—along with our innate hospitality as Filipinos that has made the Philippines a top tourist destination.” Only through mutual aid and assistance will we be able to rebuild stronger in our next steps toward the New Normal. “We must work together to rebuild this critical pillar of our economy,” Vargas said.
He added that a “integrated tourism recovery roadmap” is also necessary, given the importance of the tourism industry to millions of Filipinos, noting that the tourism industry generated 5.71 million jobs and contributed 12.7 percent of the country’s GDP in 2019.
Vargas suggested that policy and program solutions, such as financial and wage subsidies for micro, small, and medium-sized tourism enterprises, increased investments and capital support, and comprehensive technical and fiscal assistance to local government units for tourism promotion, be investigated as soon as possible.
Vargas acknowledged that the government’s efforts to combat the pandemic through vaccination and public cooperation had yielded positive results.
The government has relaxed restrictions on movement and public gatherings, allowed more businesses to open, and promoted both international and domestic travel.
“There has been a generally steady improvement in the state of our tourism sector,” Vargas said, adding that the DOT (Department of Tourism) is optimistic about a strong recovery for this important pillar of our economy, particularly in 2022.
Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joey Salceda urged the government to direct the full resumption of all restricted tourism activities, as well as the promotion of more foreign direct investments (FDI).
Salceda made the suggestion in response to the February jobs report, which showed that the number of unemployed Filipinos increased from 2.93 million in January to 3.13 million.
Inflation, he said, continues to be a threat to jobs in FDI-driven industries such as business process outsourcing (BPO) and electronics.
“We really need to open up,” Salceda said, “because the fundamentals will be a little less rosy due to inflation.” “This means that growth will occur not because prospects are better, but because we removed previously existing legal impediments, such as tourism restrictions imposed by Covid-19 or our FDI rules.”
Salceda warned that as inflation rises, firms will be less certain that their investments will be profitable, dampening the incentives to invest.
“Of course, due to FDI restrictions and Covid-19 rules, we have not maximized our investment horizons.” “Let’s open up so that we can create jobs,” Salceda said.
He stated that there should be a “rollback of tourism restrictions,” given that tourism accounts for 12 to 14 percent of GDP.
He stated that the release of the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan, as well as the implementing rules and regulations of the amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Act, and Foreign Investment Act, would “unleash previously untapped, restricted, or hesitant foreign investment.”
“That will also create jobs,” he added. ###
