Posted on January 06, 2015 11:46:00 PM
By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter
VISITOR arrivals in 2014 totaled about 5 million, according to a preliminary government estimate, well short of the target and calling into question some of the more ambitious goals set for “Visit the Philippines Year” in 2015 and beyond.
Speaking at a news conference to launch the Philippine Travel Agencies Association’s (PTAA) 22nd Travel Tour Expo on Tuesday, Mr. Enerio said the 10 million-visitor target for 2016 would be “difficult to achieve” but will not be lowered “to inspire us to work for that particular target.”
“Point-blank, it will be difficult for us to hit that [number] unless we double our numbers (from 2014),” he said. For Visit the Philippines Year in 2015 the target is 8.6 million visitors.
The 2014 visitor total estimate missed the Department of Tourism (DoT) target of 6.5 million. The official visitor numbers will be released in February.
Arrivals are one of only three key metrics being tracked by the Department, Mr. Enerio said. “One is the arrivals in which we are lagging behind and the other one is in terms of revenue of which we are able to generate in excess of some $4.7 billion last year [which] is above target [$4.6 billion] and the third is job generation” related to tourism, which he said was above target, though he provided no details.
The tourism receipts target for 2015 is $5.7 billion.
South Korea remains the Philippines’ biggest visitor market with an estimated 1.1 million arrivals in 2014 followed by the United States with about 700,000 and China (which has overtaken Japan) with between 450,000 and 500,000 thousand, exceeding Japan’s total, according to Mr. Enerio.
Mr. Enerio said that in terms of potential demand, those interested in a visit to the Philippines are “in excess of 10 million already” based on DoT research.
“People would really love to come to the Philippines but they are really unable to come to the country because of the issue… of access,” he said.
He said the problems with access and entry points such as the country’s airports are “temporary setbacks” and in a few years’ time the Philippines will have the “best airport in the region.”
He cited the P1.64-billion structural rehabilitation and retrofitting of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 which started January 2014 is set to be completed by the first quarter of 2015 in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be hosted by the Philippines in November.
During the APEC events the government expects 25,000 dignitaries as well as leaders from APEC member economies, he said.
Other ongoing travel-related construction projects are the Skyway Stage 3, due for completion by April 2017; the North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway connector road project to finish late 2017 or early 2018; and 8,000 hotel rooms being built in Metro Manila between now and 2016, he said.
Mr. Enerio said that airport development in Cebu, Davao, and Subic, among others will generate new opportunities.
“We have to promote and we have to be aggressive. I think this government has been able to establish the importance of marketing ourselves like our neighbors are doing,” he said.
“We have done it before but this is the time when the government has pooled its resources as a result of the Tourism Act enacted in 2009… more and more resources have been given to support tourism promotions both locally and internationally,” Mr. Enerio added.
In conjunction with Visit the Philippines Year, PTAA announced that this year’s Travel Tour Expo which will be held from Feb. 13-15 at the SMX Convention Center will be the biggest yet. The association projected more than 300 exhibitors occupying 16,230 square meters of floor space.
The expo promises “unprecedented deals and treats” from airlines, hotels, national tourism organizations, domestic tour operators, travel agencies and other stakeholders, the PTAA said.
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