2011 will be a greater year for travel and tourism — Lim

By JACKY LYNNE A. OIGA

January 23, 2011, 1:30am

Subterranean River

MANILA, Philippines – For Philippine tourism, 2010 was a good year.

But for 2011, its going to be even better.

The Department of Tourism (DoT) will implement a more dynamic approach in developing tourism products not only to entice foreign visitors but encourage domestic tourism as well.

“Our plans for 2011 will focus on the formulation of the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) which will serve as a framework for Local Government Units (LGU) in the development of their local tourism plans,” Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said.

The NTDP will also serve as basis for the identification of tourism infrastructure programs by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Lim added that the DoT will upgrade and develop new tourism standards in partnership with the German Technical Cooperation, an international administration that specializes in tourism product and services development.

“Aggressive marketing and promotions will also be undertaken in key source markets using the traditional mode and new media. We are anticipating visitor arrivals to grow by 11 percent or to hit 3.74 million, so a lot of work should be done,” said Lim.

Furthermore, Lim is optimistic that 2011 will be an even better year for tourism, “As it is, the economic recession in key markets has already diminished and there is now greater interest and propensity for travel and tourism.”

The proclamation of President Benigno S. Aquino III as the 15th President of the Philippines in June last year paved the way for a new DoT administration headed by Sec. Alberto Lim. Then, there was the department’s rigorous effort to strengthen tourism ties with the Chinese after the hijacking incident in Manila. And of course, who would forget the much publicized ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’ brouhaha that resulted in the resignation of former DoT Undersecretary Vicente Romano III.

Despite all these, however, the DoT is pleased to report that 2010 has been a good year for Philippine tourism attributing to the continued growth of visitor arrivals on a monthly basis from January to October 2010. “From January to October 2010, tourist arrivals reached 2.84 million amounting to a 15.5 percent increase from the same period in 2009,” Lim told the Manila Bulletin.

Also, the tourism chief shared that new tourist accommodation facilities have opened up such as the Renaissance Hotel and Microtel, among others. New tourism products have also been developed by the private sector and local government units.

Source: Manila Bulletin