Panayam kay Sec. Christina Garcia-Frasco ng Department of Tourism ukol sa patuloy sa paglago...

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Panayam kay Sec. Christina Garcia-Frasco ng Department of Tourism ukol sa patuloy sa paglago ng domestic tourism ng Pilipinas  For more news, visit:  ►https://www.ptvnews.ph/  Subscribe to our DailyMotion Channel: ►http://www.dailymotion.com/peoples-television-incorporated  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ►http://www.youtube.com/ptvphilippines  Like our Facebook pages: ►PTV: http://facebook.com/PTVph  ►Rise and Shine Pilipinas: https://www.facebook.com/riseandshinepilipinas  Follow us on Twitter:  ►http://twitter.com/PTVph  Follow us on Instagram: ►https://www.instagram.com/ptvph  Watch our livestream on:  ►http://ptvnews.ph/livestream/ ►https://www.dailymotion.com/PTVPhilippines  Watch our News Programs, every Mondays to Fridays  Rise and Shine Pilipinas - 6:00 - 7:00 am | 7:30 - 8:00 am Balitang Pambansa - 7:00 - 7:30 am | 12:00 - 12:30 pm | 6:00 - 6:30pm | 9:30 - 10:00 pm PTV Sports - 8:00 - 9:00 am Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon - 12:30 - 1:00 pm Sentro Balita - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Ulat Bayan - 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm PTV News Tonight -  10:00 pm - 10:30 pm  Saturday & Sunday: ►Sentro Balita Weekend - 1:30 - 2:00 pm ►Ulat Bayan Weekend - 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm

Transcript

00:00Tourism is an important sector that promotes the economy of a country.

00:06That is why we will discuss the government's efforts to improve the tourism of the Philippines

00:12together with the Secretary of the Department of Tourism, Secretary Cristina Garcia-Frasco.

00:18Good afternoon, Sec. and welcome to the program.

00:21Good afternoon, Joey and Weng. Happy New Year.

00:25Happy New Year.

00:26Happy New Year to all our countrymen who are watching right now.

00:29Ma'am, let's start with updates from the agency.

00:33Last Tuesday, there was a full cabinet meeting for the first such meeting for 2025.

00:41And the President mentioned that even though some projects of many agencies lost their funds,

00:48we can bring the budget for the projects of the agencies closer to the NEP.

00:57So, what were the projects of the DOD that lost their funds?

01:03And how can we solve this?

01:06The most affected by the change from the NEP to the GAA would be the budget for branding and promotions

01:16of the Philippines to our markets all over the world.

01:20Because of the NEP, the budget is around Php 500 million.

01:26But when the GAA was released, it has been reduced to Php 100 million.

01:36The challenge of a very limited funding for branding and promotions

01:44is the difficulty of making sure that the presence of the Philippines

01:49in the consciousness of potential travelers in markets around the world is always there.

01:55When we say branding and promotions, this is the promotion of the Love the Philippines campaign.

02:01So, how do we promote tourism in our country?

02:07Because we know that within the Philippines, we can see posters, TV ads, print ads.

02:14But outside, how do we promote the Philippines?

02:18Joey, what will be affected by this is not just the Love the Philippines campaign,

02:23but our destinations itself that are ultimately the recipients of the promotions

02:29that are being done by the Department of Tourism.

02:32We anticipate that it will affect tourism arrivals

02:35considering that the lesser opportunity that we have to market the Philippines,

02:41the lesser chances that there are to reach as many markets or as many people as we wish.

02:46On the other hand, because we continue to promote the Philippines all over the world,

02:54in various jurisdictions, we have continued our global campaign for Love the Philippines.

03:00This has already reached the United States, Europe, many areas of Asia, even the Middle East, and the like.

03:09And we are executing the Love the Philippines campaign and the promotion of our islands,

03:15destinations, and tourism products by way of traditional marketing, ad placements.

03:21We also have executions with globally recognized multimedia platforms

03:29as well as social media.

03:31Our billboard executions are also included.

03:35I'm excited about this question because we can already feel the significant progress

03:39of tourism recovery in the country after the pandemic.

03:42So how big is the tourism revenue of the country in the past year, in 2024,

03:47and how big is it compared to 2023?

03:51Well, the good news is that Philippine tourism was able to garner an all-time high

03:58in visitor revenues from our international tourists at around over Php 760 billion.

04:08This represents an over 9% increase from our 2023 visitor revenues

04:16and a 126% recovery from the Php 600 billion visitor receipts in 2019.

04:25Of course, this is not due to the large number of visitors.

04:28There are fewer visitors but the revenue is higher.

04:33And that is really the most important thing that we need to pay attention to.

04:39How much is our country's tourism revenue?

04:45How much is it going to our fellow countrymen?

04:49Our small and medium enterprises, our tourism stakeholders,

04:53our employees, direct and indirect, in tourism?

04:56The answer to that is very encouraging

04:59because we can see that in comparison with our Asian neighbors,

05:05the tourism spend per capita in the Philippines by our international visitors

05:10is over Php 2,000, which ranks us very high in terms of spending.

05:18On the other hand, the Php 760 billion in international visitor receipts

05:24shows that economically, our recovery in Philippine tourism performance

05:30has already exceeded our pre-pandemic numbers.

05:33I understand, though, that we are comparing how many have arrived in the Philippines,

05:40how many have arrived in other countries, especially in ASEAN.

05:45And we understand that this comparison is made

05:48because that has always been the traditional way of measuring tourism performance.

05:54But let us consider the other numbers that directly affect the lives of the Filipino people.

06:04Revenues as well as tourism employment.

06:08As for tourism employment, there is good news from the Philippine Statistics Authority

06:14which conducted a labor force survey in the first quarter of 2024

06:19and found that tourism employs directly and indirectly over 16.4 million Filipinos.

06:30All of these people benefit from tourism

06:35and the related services that feed into tourism, as well as their families.

06:40You yourself said, ma'am, in the year-end assessment of the DOT,

06:44that it's quality, not quantity.

06:47Because just like what we read and what was recorded,

06:52it is based on tourist arrivals.

06:54But as you said, there are other important numbers like tourism employment,

07:00revenue, among other things.

07:02Joey, let me be clear that we are firm in our commitment

07:08to ensure that we continue to increase tourism arrivals in the country.

07:12But I think it is also important to highlight the challenges that the Philippines faced

07:19which then led to our numbers not reaching the targeted projections for 2024.

07:28The 7.7 million arrivals, the 5.9 million arrivals.

07:35Nobody could have anticipated that geopolitics would ultimately seep into arrivals from China

07:49considering that the electronic visas for the Chinese market were suspended.

07:57And this is in stark contrast to the policies of our ASEAN neighbors

08:02where either the Chinese visitors don't need visas from China

08:07or the visas are allowed on arrival.

08:09So this is a huge challenge.

08:11Because originally, our project was for upwards of 2 million Chinese tourists.

08:18By the end of 2024, there were only a little over 300,000.

08:23So this negative recovery has greatly impacted our ability to reach the targeted projections.

08:31On the other hand, our budget for promotions was vastly reduced.

08:37In 2023, the budget for branding and marketing was 1.2 billion.

08:44In 2024, it was reduced by 1 billion.

08:47So only 200 million.

08:49And so in the wake of these challenges and many other matters beyond our control,

08:56we pursued, we diversified our tourism products,

09:00we focused on our top source markets,

09:02and we made sure that the tourism spending was high.

09:05You mentioned the geopolitical issue, Sec, in relation to Chinese tourists.

09:11So does the closure of POGO hubs here in the country have an effect on the entry of Chinese tourists?

09:21Well, I can only speak to the raw data that has been provided to us on the basis of the arrivals themselves.

09:32And without drawing conclusions,

09:36the clear difference between the Chinese arrivals in the pandemic, which exceeded 1 million,

09:42and the Chinese arrivals as of 2024, which is a little over 300,000,

09:50would show that the barriers to entry into the Philippines,

09:54including and chiefly the suspension of the electronic visa,

09:58gravely affected the Chinese market for the Philippines.

10:02Sec, if we cannot capture or recapture the Chinese market,

10:06what other countries can we tap?

10:09Because I understand among the tourists that come in are from South Korea,

10:13obviously from the United States.

10:15Who else can we encourage to come to the Philippines?

10:21Well, South Korea continues to be our number one source market.

10:26And so we are doubling down on our efforts to ensure that our tourists from South Korea will be added.

10:35Including our tourists from the United States,

10:39especially with the new direct flights that have been mounted from the US

10:46that include San Francisco to Manila, Seattle to Manila, and the like.

10:51Japan is also included there,

10:53because the tourism statistics from Japan coming into the country are very encouraging,

11:02and we have a lot of tourism products that are attractive specifically to the Japanese market.

11:08Of course, we are very grateful that tourists from Australia are now trooping to the Philippines

11:15in appreciation of our award-winning islands and destinations.

11:20And of course, what we see as a large opportunity for the Philippines is India.

11:27And we are grateful that the President has directed that an electronic visa

11:34or electronic travel authority option may be explored for the Indian market,

11:42and we are hopeful that the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration

11:46can mount that for this year.

11:49Very interesting what Sec mentioned about Japan.

11:52Because during the holiday season, a lot of Filipinos went to Japan.

11:56And it's reciprocal, there are a lot of Japanese who want to go.

12:00Actually, we were in Cebu last week.

12:02We encountered a lot of Koreans and Japanese in our visits.

12:07Anyway, ma'am, for example, there are fewer tourists coming,

12:11but we have a lot of domestic tourists.

12:14So that's one of the things that contributes to the revenue.

12:17How is domestic tourism for us now?

12:20You know, I really feel that domestic tourism is not given as much credit as it should.

12:27The reality is that the contribution of our domestic tourists to the tourism of the Philippines is huge.

12:36As a matter of fact, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council,

12:43the Philippines is number one in terms of the domestic tourism market in the ASEAN.

12:50They value domestic tourism for the Philippines at over US$66 billion.

12:57And with that, we are very optimistic for the further growth of the domestic tourism market,

13:03especially now that the focus of the Department of Tourism

13:06is to provide equal opportunities to our islands in the Philippines

13:11and our various destinations across all of our regions for tourism development and promotions.

13:18And we are working with our fellow government agencies to improve infrastructure, connectivity,

13:23as well as the convenience of going around the Philippines, not to mention tourist safety.

13:29Sec, we cannot deny that the Love the Philippines campaign contributed much in drawing in foreign tourists.

13:38So what are the contents of this campaign compared to the previous tourism campaigns in the past?

13:46What are the key or salient features of this campaign that attracted tourists to our country?

13:56The Love the Philippines campaign is a call to action.

13:59First, for our fellow Filipinos to love their country as we all should.

14:05And second, for tourists from around the world to discover the many reasons to love the Philippines.

14:12There are four brand pillars of Love the Philippines,

14:16and the intention being that we provide tourists the opportunity to get to know the Philippines

14:23not only from the lens of fun and adventure, from which we have traditionally proceeded

14:29in terms of marketing the Philippines, but also, and importantly, from the lens of our Filipino identity.

14:37We have not yet told the whole world who we Filipinos are, what our culture is,

14:45how delicious our food is, how happy we are to travel to the Philippines.

14:51When you are received with a distinct love and warmth that is so Filipino.

14:57So the components of the Love the Philippines campaign include promoting our award-winning island destinations

15:05as well as our emerging destinations, highlighting our immense biodiversity,

15:13because the Philippines is one of only 18 megabiodiverse countries in the world.

15:19We are also heavily promoting our festivals, our culture, our heritage, our indigenous communities,

15:27our traditions that continue to this day and would provide purposeful and experiential travel to our visitors.

15:35And importantly, we are also promoting our gastronomy, especially that from one region to another,

15:44the Filipino cuisine is so delicious and so diverse.

15:48There is a saying in Chinese,

15:54you cannot be considered as part of the Han ethnicity or Chinese if you haven't been to the Great Wall.

16:04So it means that you are not Filipino if you don't know the tourist destinations.

16:10Yes, there are a lot.

16:12So the infrastructure development efforts of the DOT are not needed.

16:17So can you share with us the sustainable infrastructures that have been given priority?

16:22Yesterday, our guest was Secretary Jimmy Bautista of the DOT.

16:26He said that many airports here in the Philippines will open for international travels.

16:31So what is your priority?

16:34First of all, thank you very much for bringing up the matter of infrastructure.

16:39Because that is the foundation upon which the Philippines can arise as a tourism powerhouse.

16:47We really need to pay attention to the improvement of tourism infrastructure in the Philippines if we are to be globally competitive.

16:56And that includes, of course, improvement of our gateways from our airports to our seaports and to land transportation.

17:04It also includes accessibility to our destinations, our tourism roads across our provinces, cities, and municipalities.

17:13And of course, measures of connectivity by way of flights coming in and out and the like.

17:20And so we are thanking our President because the privatization of the IAEA airport,

17:30and which we anticipate will increase the volume of arrivals and also improve the experience of coming into the country.

17:39We're also grateful for all of the forthcoming PPPs in our island destinations.

17:44That includes Bohol, Dumaguete, Lagindingan in Mindanao, of course, all the way to Bicol as well, and to include several other gateways.

17:57We also see that our seaport infrastructure is very important.

18:02Especially now that the Philippines has been awarded as Asia's leading cruise destination and best port of call.

18:11And which is why we are very eagerly anticipating the construction of cruise ports across our destinations by the Philippine Ports Authority.

18:22As for the tourism road infrastructure, the Department of Tourism has consistently advocated that it is very important that we have good routes

18:34to our waterfalls, beaches, and other mountain resorts and the like.

18:41We also became mayors before becoming secretaries.

18:44And from there, I realized and I saw for myself how important it is to provide accessibility.

18:50Which opens up economic opportunities.

18:53And for the tourism road infrastructure program, we have worked with the DPWH,

18:57where under the President's administration, over 500 kilometers of tourism roads have been constructed.

19:05We are quite concerned, however, considering the reduction in the budget for tourism roads for 2025.

19:14So for 2024, over Php 15 billion was devoted to the construction and rehabilitation of tourism roads.

19:22However, for 2025, this stands at only Php 6 billion.

19:27So the activities and projects of different departments should be synergistic.

19:32Like as Sec mentioned, DOTR, DPWH, DOT.

19:36We also asked for an update, Sec, regarding the rehabilitation efforts and projects of DOT, like the one in Siargao.

19:45How is that?

19:48We continue to cooperate with our local government units through our infrastructure arm,

19:55the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority or TIESA.

20:00And there are ongoing projects that cover our critical island destinations,

20:06especially in ensuring the safety of our tourists and the quality of the tourism experience.

20:15I think what you mean with Siargao pertains to the power situation.

20:21Since the outage in the island, I have been closely working with Sec. Lotilia of the Department of Energy,

20:30as well as with the local stakeholders of Siargao through our regional office,

20:37where we articulated the necessity of managing the power situation so that the power outage does not decrease.

20:46And we are now also in talks with the DOE on exploring renewable energy options that TIESA can extend to the island

20:55in order to ensure that their electricity is more sustained there.

21:01On the other hand, our assistance continues to our LGUs in terms of the construction of tourist rest areas.

21:09We already have 32 constructed or ongoing.

21:14And for 2025, we are targeting around 60 more tourist rest areas for the Philippines

21:22that provide restrooms for our tourists,

21:26Pasulubong Center for our small and medium enterprises to sell local goods,

21:31and a convenient lounge for our tourists,

21:35including our tourist first aid facilities.

21:39Because it is very important that if there is an incident involving a tourist,

21:45there is medical assistance that can be accessed right away.

21:49So we're working with the Department of Health to provide immediate and quality emergency assistance to our tourists.

21:58This includes island destinations such as Bohol.

22:02We also have La Union, that's forthcoming.

22:06And of course, we are also including Boracay and several other islands.

22:12Diving is one of the most popular tourism products of the country,

22:18with the Philippines having recently defended its title for the sixth year in a row as the world's leading dive destination.

22:27With that, we are giving priority to the expansion of our dive tourism destinations.

22:34We already have 120 dive sites in the country.

22:37And the construction of additional hyperbaric chambers for these destinations to address any issues related to diving.

22:47With that, this year, we will have five new hyperbaric chambers in our dive sites

22:56that include Malapascua, under the jurisdiction of Daan Bantayan, where you can dive with the whale sharks.

23:06There in Cebu.

23:07Correct.

23:08We also have hyperbaric chamber forthcoming for Boracay, as well as for Kamiguin.

23:17And as you can see, we also have forthcoming for Negros Oriental,

23:22specifically in Dawin, which is a very popular dive destination.

23:27And we are targeting Oriental Mindoro as well.

23:30Actually, I went to a dive shop before, and there were foreigners who told us that the Philippines is beautiful.

23:36And if you're a Filipino and you're not diving, you're missing a lot in your life.

23:40That's what they said.

23:41It's true that our dive sites are beautiful.

23:43Anyway, the government's priority is digitalization, right?

23:48So what are the initiatives for 2024 that you want to bring or improve for 2025?

23:57We thank the administration that digitization is a priority,

24:02because it's very important to be globally competitive as a tourism nation.

24:09With that, the Department of Tourism launched the first-ever Tourist Assistance Call Center.

24:16This call center is capable of receiving calls from tourists for any query or request for assistance that they may have,

24:26whether it's questions pertaining to our destinations or questions pertaining to medical or other related issues

24:35that we can then endorse to either the LGU or the government agency involved.

24:41With the launch of the Tourist Assistance Call Center, the 151 Tour,

24:46we've already received thousands of calls from 70 countries, 70 nationalities.

24:56So this goes to show how important it is to give attention to the convenience of our tourists

25:05so that they feel safe and they feel that they can have someone to turn to while they're in the country.

25:10In addition to that, together with the Tourism Promotions Board, we have launched the Enhance Travel Philippines mobile application.

25:19The Travel Philippines app provides an opportunity for those that are not in the country

25:27or are excited to explore the Philippines by providing information about all of our regions,

25:35whether it pertains to the physical destination or the tourism products, the experiences, and the like.

25:42Upcoming events, festivals, and such are already there for the year,

25:48and that also includes information that will allow them to contact our tourism stakeholders directly.

25:55Information on our accredited tour guides, travel agencies, tour operators, and the like.

26:02And this travel app has already garnered over 70,000 downloads, if I'm not mistaken, to date.

26:09That's important because what tourists are planning is not only where they will go in the Philippines,

26:17but also to maximize their cultural experience while they're here in the Philippines.

26:24For our fellow Filipinos, what are the initiatives of the DOT to make it known as meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions, or tourism destinations of our country?

26:38Like last year, DENR had the APNC DRR, and then we're hosting ASEAN in 2026.

26:47So, meetings destination at the same time, obviously, tourist destination.

26:52So, what are our initiatives?

26:54Well, the Philippines is emerging as a preferred MICE destination in Asia,

27:02and this is quite evident with the major international events that we hosted last year.

27:09This includes the United Nations Tourism, the very first regional gastronomy tourism forum for Asia and the Pacific,

27:18as well as the joint conference meetings of the UN Tourism Commission for Southeast Asia, as well as other regions.

27:31This convention and UN tourism event brought about, through our collaboration with them,

27:41brought in delegates from over 40 countries,

27:47and it also resulted in the issuance of the Cebu Call to Action on Gastronomy Tourism,

27:54where the Philippines provided its policy frameworks together with our neighboring countries for the sustainable development of gastronomy tourism.

28:06In addition to that, we were also very happy to host the World Travel Awards Gala Ceremony for Asia and Oceania,

28:17which also brought together nations that received awards,

28:21and with the Philippines having garnered no less than eight very prestigious awards at that gala.

28:28We also hosted the International Health and Wellness Tourism Congress,

28:34where we invited our stakeholders and buyers from many jurisdictions around the world

28:42to discover the health and wellness tourism offerings of the country.

28:46With this, we have also hosted, for the very first time in 30 years since the SeaTrade Cruise Group started mounting these conferences,

28:58we hosted the SeaTrade Cruise Global Conference in the Philippines.

29:03This brought together cruise executives, owners, and stakeholders from all over the world.

29:09Our President attended during the opening ceremony,

29:13and all of these cruise tourism stakeholders of whom were unanimous in their expression of optimism for cruise tourism in the country,

29:22because our policies are driven towards easing entry for cruise tourists in the country.

29:32With this, we launched, together with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration,

29:37the Cruise Visa Waiver Program,

29:40wherein, since you are just staying for a few days in the country,

29:45you may avail of a group visa waiver through the Bureau of Immigration online.

29:51We anticipate that this will further increase the number of cruise tourists to the country and benefit our island destinations.

29:59That's great news, Sec.

30:01So, in our return, we will talk about what to look out for,

30:06and the D.O.T.'s program for 2025,

30:09together with Secretary Cristina Garcia-Frasco.

30:13Stay tuned, Bagong Pilipinas will be back, now.

30:23Welcome to Bagong Cine!

30:30For our next food crawl, let's head to the southern part of the Philippines.

30:35Eat's Fun goes to Cotabato City,

30:38together with certified foodie Leslie Ordinario,

30:42to taste the crown jewel of the Bangsamoro region.

30:46This is how you eat pastin. Let's go.

30:49Eat's Fun, this Sunday, at 10 a.m.

30:54It's so good.

30:55Only here on BTV.

31:00There are those who say that the Philippines is a rich country pretending to be poor.

31:06Maybe that's not true.

31:07We are actually a rich country which does not realize that we are rich.

31:12My friends, join me in our food crawl.

31:15Let's go.

31:34Bagong Pilipinas will be back, now.

31:37This year, Secretary,

31:38how will the DOT look at the full recovery and targeted growth of international arrivals in the country?

31:47The Department of Tourism is committed to continue its relentless efforts

31:53to give opportunities to our destinations in the Philippines

31:58to be visited by our tourists, to be promoted and developed

32:03with all the fundamentals necessary.

32:06And it's the priority of the Marcos administration.

32:09For 2025, our focus in tourism will not only be limited to tourism promotions.

32:17It will continue with tourism development and will include tourism investments.

32:24We are working with the private sector to ensure that our room keys in the Philippines

32:31with the construction of new accommodations, resorts, and hotels.

32:36And we are very grateful that the Philippine Hotel Owners Association has committed to work with us

32:42in implementing the Philippine Hotel Infrastructure Strategic Action Plan

32:47that we launched to address the growth in room keys.

32:50We will also continue to pay attention to our programs

32:56that will highlight the culture of the Filipino.

33:00And that is through the continuation of our Philippine Experience Programs.

33:05These are heritage, culture, and arts caravans that we brought to 11 regions so far

33:11where we pay attention to the various components of the destination

33:18including their beaches and mountain destinations, their dive destinations,

33:24their heritage and pilgrimage destinations, and of course their festivals, traditions,

33:31songs, dances, indigenous rituals and traditions, and their gastronomy.

33:37So we fully intend to bring the Philippine Experience Program to all regions of the country.

33:43We will also have additional tourist rest areas,

33:49clean, beautiful, and fragrant restrooms for our tourists all over the country

33:56with 10 constructed, 22 ongoing, and 60 more forthcoming for various LGUs in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

34:08We will also be constructing the tourist first aid facilities in various islands in the country

34:15to improve the tourist experience.

34:18And we are adding the hyperbaric chambers for diving across our islands.

34:23And of course, we are also making sure that our assistance to our local government units

34:31in terms of funding for tourism infrastructure continues.

34:34With that, we will begin to see tourism infrastructure arise

34:41that were the product of our Tourism Champions Challenge.

34:46This initiative is in partnership with the DOT and TIESA

34:51where our President himself gave 255 million in total funding assistance

34:58to our LGUs that proposed tourism infrastructure.

35:02This also spans across the entire country.

35:06The Philippines will also have an opportunity to be featured on the global stage

35:12at the Osaka World Expo 2025, wherein the Philippines is mounting a pavilion with a theme woven

35:22featuring the weaving traditions and weaving communities of the country

35:26and all of the regions of the Philippines and the highlights of these destinations

35:32including the sites, the products, and the like.

35:35We are also very excited that on the aspect of gastronomy tourism,

35:40the Philippines has been awarded the privilege of hosting the Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025.

35:48And this will be held in the city of Bacolod.

35:52So this is very exciting because it will give opportunities to our local chefs, farmers, suppliers, and the like

36:02an opportunity to promote their slow food practices and the sources of these gastronomic delights.

36:12And in addition to that, we are also very excited to expand our cruise tourism portfolio.

36:19Our drive is to add to the 40 existing cruise tourism destinations in the Philippines.

36:27Together with that is the expansion of our Dive Tourism Program.

36:31In the Philippines, we have exceptional dive destinations.

36:36But the beauty of this is also that after you dive, you can still discover a lot.

36:43That's why we launched the Philippine Dive Experience,

36:46wherein we will give a sustainable tourism component,

36:50the dive activity, there will be coastal cleanup and the like,

36:54and we will give tourists the opportunity to discover what is the heritage of that place,

36:59what is the delicious food, what are the communities that are surrounding the dive area.

37:04That will also be mimicked by our Gulf Tourism Experience Program,

37:10where we will be heavily pushing for the promotion and development of our gulf tourism destinations in the country.

37:18And with that, we are further diversifying our tourism products

37:24so that our tourists will spend more, they will stay longer, and that they will keep coming back.

37:31Because currently, we can see that the tourists who go to the Philippines,

37:37they stay an average of 11 nights from the 9 nights in 2019,

37:42and 70% of them or more are repeat visitors.

37:46That's what's important, Sec, is repeat visitors and their expenses while they are here.

37:52So, thank you very much for sharing your information, Secretary Frasco.

37:58Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

38:08Meanwhile, it is clear that before and now, the Department of Tourism is making great efforts

38:13to implement various programs, like other agencies.

38:18For our 7th Night, Ma'am, Mission to Accomplish,

38:21what else do you want to achieve for the prosperous tourism of the country?

38:29For me, having been a local chief executive, infrastructure is really important.

38:36Because if we cannot improve the quality of the infrastructure of the Philippines in terms of tourism,

38:44it is very difficult to compete with our neighbors in the ASEAN, at least, and with the rest of the world.

38:52And so, our wish list is that our airport infrastructure continues to improve,

39:00the airport experience continues to be enhanced,

39:05the development of our regional airports will increase so that more domestic flights can be mounted in our island destinations.

39:17And, of course, we are also very eager for the implementation of the VAT refund mechanism.

39:26The President has already signed the VAT refund mechanism law,

39:31and we are now working with the Department of Finance to implement this

39:36to make the Philippines a very attractive shopping tourism destination.

39:42We are also eager to ensure that the electronic visa system for the Philippines is launched properly,

39:52and that it can be implemented in the same manner that our neighbors have done.

39:58And, globally, same with our neighbors globally.

40:04And so, this is a huge challenge for us.

40:08Unless and until we have removed our barriers to entry in terms of the ease of obtaining a visa,

40:16it's very difficult in terms of attracting more tourists to come to the country.

40:21I hope that SEC's wish list can be accomplished.

40:25And it looks like it can be accomplished.

40:28But for now, we are mission accomplished.

40:31Thank you very much again to the Department of Tourism Secretary, Christina Garcia-Frasco.

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