Tourism industry in the Philippines has been able to maintain the positive growth trend amid global crisis, mainly due to the significant increase in domestic tourism.
Tourism Secretary, Ace Durano, has said that the tourists looking for leisure travel in the Philippines are showing interest in the domestic destinations, driving growth in the country's tourism industry, as reported by philstar.
Philippines' domestic tourism has been growing at the rate of 18% per annum since 2005, when it contributed a total of P800 Million to the total tourism traffic. According to the government projections, the country will witness around 3-3.1 Million overseas tourists and 8-8.5 Million domestic tourists in 2009, totaling to nearly 11 Million tourist arrivals. This will represent an increase of 9% from the 2008's figure. During the first two months of 2009, tourists from France increased by 30%, China by 60% and Russia by 40%, as per the government data.
Even the affluent Filipinos are opting for local tourist destinations over the overseas destinations; thereby, diminishing the impacts of recessionary trends on the Philippines tourism industry. Consequently, the tourism industry and various tourism-related businesses in the country are continuously expanding amid recession.
However, tourist arrivals from the US and Japan have considerably dipped since 2008, but the Philippines tourism industry was the least affected, as the rising number of domestic tourists and the steady number of visitors from Russia, China and France offset the decline.
The government of Philippines is collaborating with local governments to boost the tourism industry, as it is considered a key industry for generating jobs and opportunities throughout the nation.
The commitment made by the country's President was strengthened in the "super regions" concept, developing Central Philippines as the tourism hub by upgrading several airports as well as the Republic Nautical Highway System. Moreover, the domestic tourism will also take a boost from the opening of new Ro-Ro ferry routes, bridges and roads that are aimed at spurring the inter-island trade. Less travel time, low transportation costs and improvement in distribution of basic goods are also likely to play a crucial role in fueling growth in the domestic tourism.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, "At present, physical infrastructure and environmental consciousness are the major constraints before the tourism industry in the Philippines. Now, the increasing demand for domestic destinations is calling for the expansion of infrastructure; thereby, ensuring the sustainability of the tourism destinations and landmarks in the Philippines."
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