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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Aligning tourism with development

The decision to allocate the bulk of the infrastructure budget to the tourism sector is a welcome development, a sign that the administration has begun to understand the need for a multifaceted approach to making the Philippines an attractive destination to foreigners. In a statement on Monday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said that much of the P182.2 billion infrastructure program would be used to build airports, roads and bridges to make tourist destinations more accessible. The projects include the P8.1 billion for the construction of access roads to airports and roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ports leading to destinations like Boracay, Palawan, Bohol, Cebu, the Bicol Region, as well as areas in Mindanao and Northern and Central Luzon.

The statement also mentioned the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) plan to develop a new P1.2-billion airport on Panglao Island in Bohol and a P1-billion airport in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Also, the National Parks Development Committee will have P36.7 million to improve and maintain Rizal Park and other satellite parks across the Philippines. DBM’s statement mentioned other budget items, but the amounts were minor in comparison.

Budget Sec. Florencio “Butch” Abad said, “The Aquino administration has envisioned a sustainable and well-designed tourism program for the country. A robust tourism sector can fuel up the economy so we can provide more jobs in local communities, as well as raise our national profile as a premier tourist destination.”

We agree. But time will tell whether the allocations are big enough to make an actual difference.
The government aims to boost tourist arrivals to 4.6 million tourists this year and to sustain growth annually until arrivals reach the 10-million mark by 2016, when President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd finishes his term. The Philippines is now far behind its neighbors in number of tourists. Other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore each already attracts more than 20 million tourists annually. And tourist arrivals in other countries like Vietnam and Cambodia are climbing fast.

Security and development
Infrastructure spending that benefits tourism is an important step, but other measures need to be taken, particularly in security. For instance, the kidnapping of two European birdwatchers in Tawi-Tawi threatens to derail the government’s programs for the tourism industry. Presidential Spokesman Abigail Valte has said that the incident would not affect tourism in the Philippines. While face-saving and damage-control statements are tools to help minimize the damage caused by security incidents, the government must not engage in wishful thinking.

Besides increasing police presence in troubled areas and tourist spots, policymakers should take even greater steps to accelerate economic development, which creates alternatives to a life of crime for local bandits. Tawi-Tawi is one of the most depressed provinces in the Philippines, the poorest in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The poverty incidence in Tawi-Tawi is 78.89 percent as of 2006, according to the government. Other ARMM provinces do not fare much better than Tawi-Tawi in poverty incidence—Maguindanao has 61.96 percent, Lanao del Sur 52.53 percent, Sulu 46.46 percent and Basilan 31.70 percent. The ARMM provinces and many areas in the South have much to offer tourists—if only they were safe to visit.

Actually, many parts of the country, even in Metro Manila, need to have more police presence. Take for instance Intramuros, one of the main tourist attractions in the capital. Finding a uniformed policeman inside the Walled City is a challenge, if not sometimes impossible. Perhaps the police should also receive a bigger budget so that they can patrol more areas, particularly those on tourist maps. An alternative would be for officials to train and employ some of the illegal settlers in Intramuros as tourism patrolmen and guides. Doing so would generate jobs and could make tourists feel safer. Surely, there are many more ideas out there.

Fortunately, as said earlier, the government is on the right track in linking infrastructure spending, tourism and economic development. More than words announcing new plans, though, we hope to see effective execution of the government’s programs. Last year, President Aquino referred to tourism as the “low-lying fruit.” But in the same year, the government was criticized for underspending in infrastructure projects. Sec. Abad and others in government have promised to do better this year. For the country’s sake, let us hope they do.

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