THAILAND: Thailand Approves New Phuket Airport For 10 Million Additional Tourists

Phuket International Airport
Thailand’s Maya Bay, the beach made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio, officially closed to tourists for four months on June 1, becoming the latest addition to a growing list of destinations that have become victims of their own appeal.

Others include Boracay, in the Philippines, which is almost six weeks into its six-month hiatus, and Koh Tachai, another Thai island, which stopped receiving visitors in May 2016, although it has since reopened.

How, then, do officials in Thailand hope to combat the problem of overtourism led by a sharp increase in the number of Chinese travellers? By investing in infrastructure to facilitate yet more arrivals, of course.

Airports of Thailand, which became the world’s most valuable airport services company earlier this year, recently approved second airports for Chiang Mai and Phuket.

With a combined budget of 120 billion baht (US$3.7 billion), construction on both is expected to begin next year, with completion slated for no later than 2025.

Any one of the 3.5 million passengers who passed through immigration at Phuket International Airport in the first four months of this year might welcome the news.

That figure represented a not insignificant 19 per cent rise on the same period in 2017, according to a report by hospitality consulting firm C9 Hotelworks.

But Phi Phi Leh, home to Maya Bay, Koh Racha Yai and Koh Khai Nok – all favourite destinations for Chinese tour groups and individuals from Phuket – may be less accommodating to an additional 10 million visitors a year.

The economic rewards for such investments are obvious the tourism industry accounted for 9.2 per cent of Thailand’s GDP in 2016, a contribution that is expected to grow to 14.3 per cent by 2027, as detailed in a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

However, even high-ranking officials have expressed concerns over the country’s aggressive approach to tourism.

Science and technology minister Suvit Maesincee said: Our strategy was more for less, not less for more, so we invited a lot of tourists from China. I think in the near future we need to change from volume to value.

We are trying to push for CBT or community-based tourism to disperse tourists away from popular sites beyond Bangkok, Chiang Mai or the beaches to promote the unseen Thailand, said Jiraporn Prommaha from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, speaking to travel industry publication TTG Asia.

Building additional airports at two of the country’s most popular entry points might not seem an obvious strategy for the dispersal of tourists, but who are we to judge!


Tourism Observer

THAILAND: Crowded Maya Bay Closed To Tourists For Rejuvenation Because Of Overtourism, New Phuket Airport For 10m More Tourists

News of a second airport in the Thai hot spot might be welcomed by tourists.

However, environmentalists and overwrought destinations are likely to be less than enthusiastic.

Thailand’s Maya Bay, the beach made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio, officially closed to tourists for four months on June 1, becoming the latest addition to a growing list of destinations that have become victims of their own appeal.

Others include Boracay, in the Philippines, which is almost six weeks into its six-month hiatus, and Koh Tachai, another Thai island, which stopped receiving visitors in May 2016, although it has since reopened.

How, then, do officials in Thailand hope to combat the problem of overtourism led by a sharp increase in the number of Chinese travellers?

By investing in infrastructure to facilitate yet more arrivals, of course.

Airports of Thailand, which became the world’s most valuable airport services company earlier this year, recently approved second airports for Chiang Mai and Phuket.

With a combined budget of 120 billion baht (US$3.7 billion), construction on both is expected to begin next year, with completion slated for no later than 2025.

Any one of the 3.5 million passengers who passed through immigration at Phuket International Airport in the first four months of this year might welcome the news.

That figure represented a not insignificant 19 per cent rise on the same period in 2017, according to a report by hospitality consulting firm C9 Hotelworks.

But Phi Phi Leh, home to Maya Bay, Koh Racha Yai and Koh Khai Nok – all favourite destinations for Chinese tour groups and individuals from Phuket – may be less accommodating to an additional 10 million visitors a year.

The economic rewards for such investments are obvious, the tourism industry accounted for 9.2 per cent of Thailand’s GDP in 2016, a contribution that is expected to grow to 14.3 per cent by 2027, as detailed in a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

However, even high-ranking officials have expressed concerns over the country’s aggressive approach to tourism.

Science and technology minister Suvit Maesincee said: Our strategy was more for less, not less for more, so we invited a lot of tourists from China. I think in the near future we need to change from volume to value.

We are trying to push for CBT - community-based tourism to disperse tourists away from popular sites beyond Bangkok, Chiang Mai or the beaches to promote the unseen Thailand, said Jiraporn Prommaha from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, speaking to travel industry publication TTG Asia.

Building additional airports at two of the country’s most popular entry points might not seem an obvious strategy for the dispersal of tourists, but who are we to judge!

Thailand's Maya Bay is taking a break from tourists.

Starting this month, the world-famous tourist destination, part of the Phi Phi Islands in the Andaman Sea, will be closed for a much needed but unpredicted rejuvenation.

Thai authorities are giving the short strip of sand on the island of Ko Phi Phi a chance to recover from the strain of thousands of daily visitors.

Environmentalists say years of increasing tourism has caused damage to Maya Bay and its surroundings.

We are a beautiful country but we have to protect our natural resources, says Thon Thamrongnawasawat, an advisor to Thailand's national parks department.

We have significant information that all the boats that come in and out really impact the coral reef.

We won't close it to tourism forever but have to do something to save our sea, and we have to start at Maya Bay.

Even if you've never seen the 1998 film with Leonardo DiCaprio, Maya Bay has become a bucket list destination for travellers, gap year students and holiday makers.

Thailand has increased in popularity too with 467,000 visits by UK tourists in 2016.

Most of those who visit Maya Bay only stay for a couple of hours. They have a paddle, a stroll and a selfie - but it's not quite the paradise they'd imagined.

A tourist from Cologne thinks what you see and what you get are very different.

The beach in the film is very relaxing, there are no people to be seen, and you get this idea of a very lonely place in the middle of nowhere.

Then you come here and you think you're in Times Square in New York with lots of people or Tourists.

The beach is stunning but definitely not relaxing.

There's the constant sound of the speedboat engines, their propellers churn up the water and it's hard to get a patch of the sand to yourself.

The area is generally clean but there are still some pockets of litter which tourists leave behind.

Tourism is one of Thailand's biggest sources of income so Maya Bay is being shut during the relatively low season, until 30 September.

Its Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation issued a notice saying it realised the deterioration of the ecosystem in the area of Maya Bay.

When it reopens later this year, it's thought the number of people allowed to visit the beach will be reduced.

It is hectic though beautiful.

I didn't realise how busy the beach would be but shutting it temporarily is a great idea. It's crazy how many boats there are. I'm just glad I got to see it said a tourist at Maya Bay


Tourism Observer

PHILIPPINES: Thousands Loose Livelyhood As Duterte Closes Boracay To Tourists

Plans to temporarily shut down the beach resort, and turn locals jobless for at least six months, come after a Macau company presented the Philippine president with a US$500 million casino proposal.

Twelve years ago, a young Filipino holidaymaker fell so deeply in love with the white-sand island of Boracay that she decided to open a restaurant there to live the paradise dream.

As a result of the boom in tourist arrivals, especially the cash-rich Chinese, her business has been on such a right track that she now runs several restaurants with 50 staff on the island that is world famous for its crystalline beaches and nightlife.

But her paradise dream has slowly morphed into a nightmare since representatives of the Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment Group, including its founder Lui Che-woo, met Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last December to wow him with their vision of a US$500 million integrated casino resort there.

Two months later, the firebrand leader visited the island and declared it was a cesspool that needs to be shut down to rehabilitate.

He finally approved a six-month closure on Wednesday, effective April 26, triggering an outcry from island residents that the Philippine government is sacrificing the local interests to keep Chinese investments and tourists coming.

With 36,000 workers that will be affected by a closure, of course people are going to feel that the government is not on their side, said the Filipino restaurateur, who declined to be named. If concern about the environment is the reason for closing Boracay, it does not make sense to put up a gargantuan casino.

We believe that such a casino will degrade the environment and character of the island itself. We do not need a casino to attract tourists to Boracay.

National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organisations chairman Fernando Hicap even accused the administration of allowing foreign companies to rake profits at the expense of our local businesses and patrimonial rights.

Shutting down small-time beach resorts in Boracay as entry points for foreign casinos is anti-Filipino, gross puppetry, and a total sell-out not only of our national patrimony but even our beautiful tourist destinations, He said.

Chinese tourists have been an integral source of the Philippines’ tourism industry. Total Chinese tourist arrivals to the Southeast Asian country reached 968,447 last year, a sharp increase of 43 per cent from 2016.

This year, the Philippines has set an ambitious goal to attract 2 million Chinese travellers.

For Boracay, 375,284 Chinese tourists visited last year, almost 30 times more than a decade ago. Chinese visitors outpaced South Koreans to the island last year.

Typically, Chinese tourists spend about 40,000 pesos or US$770 for a three-day trip to Boracay and the impact of the shutdown will be unimaginable, the Boracay Filipino-Chinese Tour Guides’ Association was quoted as saying by Philippine media.

Boracay generates about 56 billion pesos of revenue a year, a crucial sum to keep the Philippine economy growing. Gross domestic product increased 6.7 per cent last year.

The Filipino restaurateur said while Chinese tourists are a boost to Boracay, they often come through pre-packaged tours and are funnelled to hotels and restaurants run by Chinese bosses.

While there have been Chinese guests visiting restaurants, it has not been commensurate with the increased arrivals from China.

And she wishes Chinese tourists would behave better.

We have had cases where Chinese tourists behave badly, smoke inside restaurants and throw litter everywhere.

I have personally seen an elderly Chinese couple allow their grandchild pee in the middle of a busy shopping area. We wish this could be different,she said.

The boss also warned that the Boracay shutdown would trigger a ripple effect, affecting suppliers of food and other products, as well as the transport companies.

These businesses will not be able to continue to pay salaries of the workers. These workers are likely to leave the island. This, in turn, means that restarting Boracay will be difficult because all of the trained manpower will be gone.

It seems the government wants to eject everyone in Boracay so that no one will see what is being done there.

A Chinese man who runs a restaurant on the island was also irritated. There’s definitely pollution here. But Manila is polluted as well, why hasn’t the government shut down Manila yet?

If the island is closed for tourists, I might just sleep my time away here. I haven’t decided what to do with my staff.

Galaxy, listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange, is building its resort-casino on a 23-hectare plot of land. Construction is expected to begin next year and will take three years.

A Galaxy spokesman said it has been the company’s priority to support Boracay’s developments in a sustainable manner.

In keeping with our business philosophy, the resort development in Boracay will be designed to be in line with internationally recognised standards for environmental management, the spokesman said.

We will source local and natural materials as best we can and ensure that our resort design is low density, low impact and will aim to blend in with the existing beautiful landscape.

Asked if Galaxy supports the government’s plan to shut down Boracay, the spokesman said: We absolutely agree that Boracay should be maintained to a high quality and sustainable holiday destination.

As such, we will provide full support in helping Boracay regain and maintain its natural resources underlying our environmental values.

Galaxy secured the provisional licence from the Philippine government’s gaming regulator for its casino resort last month after Duterte imposed a ban on new casinos.

But the regulator said Galaxy submitted its gaming application before the ban.

Sharry Avaricio, manager of a pizza restaurant on the island, is ambivalent about the closure.

If you look at it at the environmental side, this is the best way to let the island rehabilitate. But for staff like us, we don’t have any options but to go, she said.



Tourism Observer

PHILIPPINES: Boracay Island To Close To Tourists Over Cesspool Sewage

Philippines government has announced its popular holiday island Boracay will be closed to tourists for six months over concerns that the once idyllic white-sand resort has become a cesspool tainted by dumped sewage.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the shutdown to start April 26, his spokesman Harry Roque said late Wednesday on Twitter, without providing further detail.

The decision jeopardises the livelihoods of thousands employed as part of a bustling tourist trade on the island that each year serves some two million guests and pumps roughly $1 billion revenue into the Philippine economy.

Experts said the measure also appeared to contradict the government's own pro-development policy for the island, including the recent approval of a planned $500 million casino and resort on Boracay.

The threat of closure first emerged in February when Duterte blasted the tiny island's some 500 tourism-related hotels, restaurants and other businesses, accusing them of dumping sewage directly into the sea and turning it into a cesspool.

Officials have warned the island's drainage system is being used to send the untreated sewage into its surrounding turquoise waters.

The environment ministry says 195 businesses, along with more than 4,000 residential customers, are not connected to sewer lines.

But within weeks of Duterte lashing out at the local businesses, the Philippines gave the green light for Macau casino giant Galaxy Entertainment to begin construction next year of the casino and resort complex.

The casino contradicts all the efforts now of cleaning up and making sure Boracay goes back to the state where it doesn't violate its carrying capacity.

He added that the area has seen plenty of development because local government units and the national government agencies did not do their job of enforcing rules on land use, environmental impact assessment.

The impact of Wednesday's decision was already being felt, with domestic airlines announcing they would scale back the number of flights to the 1,000-hectare (2,470-acre) island.

There will be no income and we have bills to pay so I don't know how I will survive says a hotelier.

Officials have said they are willing to take a hard line enforcing the closure.

Government says hutting down the tourist trade could involve having ferries suspend their Boracay services and making the beaches off-limits, and stationing police there if necessary.

An iron fist is needed to bring it back to its previous condition. It will be a temporary thing, Leones said.

The Boracay Foundation Inc., a business industry association on the island, had asked the government to shut down only those violating environmental laws.

It's unfair for compliant establishments to be affected by the closure.

Miraflores said that even before the ban was announced, its shadow had hit some businesses hard in Boracay.

Tour guides have already complained that they have no more guests. There's already a huge effect, she said, adding the quays and jetties were less crowded than before.

Some couples who scheduled their weddings on the island up to a year or two in advance had cancelled their reservations even before the ban was announced.

With the tour agents also besieged with client calls on whether to pursue their planned trips.

With more than 500 hotels, Boracay employs 17,000 people, apart from 11,000 construction workers working on new projects.

Businesses in Boracay have started laying off workers less than three weeks before the scheduled 6-month closure of the resort island to tourism and as government agencies prepared contingency plans.

A hotel chain has laid off 280 mostly newly hired workers in anticipation of no guests, especially foreign tourists, during the closure.

We will decide later on our remaining employees, said the hotel official who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to issue a statement.

Business groups expect more establishments, especially the small and family-operated ones, to trim the number of workers and cut overhead costs.

A small family-operated inn in Sitio Angol in Barangay Manoc-Manoc will be sending home all its five staff members to their hometowns in Aklan while the closure is ongoing.

We cannot pay for their salaries but we will continue remitting contributions for the Social Salary System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and PagIbig Fund, the hotel manager said.

He said they still had to continue paying for electricity and water services even without guests.

An owner of a delicatessen said they had to let go of three casual workers because of the closure. They still have to discuss plans for their remaining staff.

Some business operators will absorb their hotel or resort staff in other businesses so they can continue working. Others said they would continue supporting their workers despite the closure.

We have decided to keep them even if we are closed because they have been with us for many years and they have helped us build and developed our resort, said Ruth Tirol-Jarantilla, owner of the Sea Wind Boracay resort.

The closure of the island will affect the more than 73,500 island residents, including 17,328 registered employees and 9,365 unregistered workers.

Agencies under the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council in Western Visayas will still finalize their contingency plans and measures this week.

Johnson Cañete, Western Visayas director of the Department of Labor and Employment, earlier said the agency was preparing to assist the more than 17,000 registered workers who will be dislocated.

The proposed compensation package included a P500 insurance and compensation amounting to the regional minimum wage of P323.50 per day from 30 to 90 days.

Workers on the island were earning more than the minimum wage.

A souvenir vendor and masseuse can earn from P700 to P900 per day during the peak months for tourists.

Business groups have lamented the lack of clear plans and guidelines on how government will address the dislocation of thousands of workers and the losses of business operators especially those with bank loans and high overhead costs.

Some business operators are initiating a community support program for residents worst hit by the closure.

Our priorities are our sick relatives whose healthcare and maintenance (medicines) are dependent on Boracay tourism income and our students whose studies may be interrupted by the sudden closure, said Vicky Aguirre-Salem.

She said they were asking schools in Iloilo and the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan to allow students from families dependent on Boracay’s tourism industry to pay in installments.

They are also soliciting school supplies and uniforms to defray expenses of these families.


Tourism Observer

PHILIPPINES: Moscow And Manila Sign Tourism Plan

A travel and tour operator in Russia expressed high praise for the Philippine tourism destinations, and underscored the growing number repeat-customers among Russian tourists.

In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said, Svetlana Muromskaya, owner of VAND International, has visited the Philippines 11 times and noted how the country has been attracting a growing number of Russian tourists.

Our clients have very good opinion of the Philippines. The people, especially, are very nice. Fifty percent of Russians who go to the Philippines become repeat clients.

They go back after a year or two,Muromskaya said during a meeting with Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo.

Under the DOT’s National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022, the DOT is seeking an increase in Russian visitor arrivals from 25,000 in 2015 to 71,000 by 2022, the last year of Duterte’s term of office.

More than 28,000 Russians visited the Philippines in 2016, up 11.6 percent from 2015, despite the European Union trade sanctions that have impacted the Russian economy.

Before the ruble crashed in 2014, visitor arrivals from Russia in the Philippines were growing by 30 percent annually, which earned it a place in the DOT’s list of high-growth target markets.

From January to February 2017, visitor arrivals from Russia grew almost 30 percent to 9,152 ​arrivals, data from the DOT showed.

As this developed, the Philippines and Russia on Thursday signed a historic Joint Action Program of Tourism Cooperation, which was one of nine bilateral agreements inked by the two countries.

The Russians are coming, though they are very particular about safety and security in any prospective destination. The agreement signifies Moscow’s confidence in the Philippine government’s capability to resolve peace-and-order issues, Teo stressed.

The bilateral tourism agreement states that both parties will exchange, on a regular basis, information related to the safety of tourists in the country.

Both countries signified to carry out continuous monitoring of any situation connected with the safety of tourists, according to the DOT news statement.

The Joint Action Program, a follow-through of the two countries’ first agreement signed 11 years ago also in Moscow, is, likewise, expected to increase the tourist flow between them, as both parties agreed to assist each other in establishing contacts between Philippine and Russian national tourism organizations.

Once implemented, the program is expected to spur tourism exchange in education and training, as well as exchange of information and experts among tourist organizations of both countries.

Teo also disclosed that the Russian government is exploring the possibility of organizing a Russian language training program for Filipino tourism industry workers.

We will continue to promote the Philippines as a must-see destination, and I am confident that tourist influx into the country will continue, the DOT secretary said.

The interest is there, as evidenced by international events being held in the Philippines, like the Iron Man and the Miss Universe pageant. Promoters are approaching us, asking the Philippines to host these prestigious events again, she added.

DOT officials said Russians are mostly attracted to beach destinations in the Philippines, such as Boracay and Palawan, and usually stay about 10 days in each destination, especially when winter peaks in Russia.

Data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization in 2015 ranked Russia as the world’s sixth- biggest outbound market in terms of expenditure, spending $35 billion in travels abroad.

Russians spend more than others and they stay for an average of two weeks with their families in the Philippines, Teo added.

Teo is part of President Duterte’s official entourage in Russia, but the Chief Executive had to cut short his trip after clashes between the military and a local rebel group broke out in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

Duterte responded by declaring martial law on the entire island-region of Mindanao. The DOT regional offices in Mindanao have been instructed by Teo to make sure tourists were kept out of harm’s way.

PHILIPPINES: Air Juan To Fly From Manila Harbour To Boracay, Coron, Puerto Galera And Subic

Seaplane services will allow tourists to travel straight from Manila to some of the Philippines’ top beach resorts.

Local aviation company Air Juan will use its nine-seat Cessna Caravan Amphibian aircraft to provide direct daily seaplane services from Manila Harbour to Boracay, Coron, Puerto Galera and Subic. A dockside check-in facility means that passengers only need to arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled departure time.

“This direct daily service allows travellers to reach their resorts much faster, which means they can spend more time enjoying the destination and less on the road,” said Tina Di Cicco, Air Juan’s chief marketing officer.

“Currently, getting to these destinations from Manila means either a long drive through traffic or a combination of sea and land transportation. With our direct daily service, the travel time to these destinations is cut by as much as six hours.”

She added that the new services would help “decrease congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport”.

Air Juan’s seaplane services land directly at most resorts in Coron, Palawan, including Two Seasons Coron, Busuanga Bay Lodge, Huma Island and El Rio y Mar, and at the Diniwid Beach Resort in Boracay. Subic and Puerto Galera are now 20 and 30 minutes from Manila by seaplane, respectively.

Air Juan also offers private charter flights to island destinations across the country.

PHILIPPINES: More Chinese Tourists Visit Philippines

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo will be traveling to Macau next week to meet Chinese businessmen and invite more Chinese tourists to visit the Philippines.

"I will be meeting with foreign investors and Chinese tourists. I would be asking them to come to the Philippines," Teo said in a chance interview.

She made this statement after an arbitral tribunal ruled that China's nine-dash claim on the disputed South China Sea has no basis.

Teo did not elaborate but said that she was invited by these businessmen to meet which signifies the Chinese market's interest in the Philippines as a tourism destination.

"They would like to come to the Philippines. This is a group of Chinese going to meet in Macau and they would like me to be there," Teo said.

The Department of Tourism earlier assured that tourism as an industry will be able to insulate itself and that the territorial row and sea ruling will have no negative impact on tourism inflow in the Philippines.

Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr., in a previous interview, said that partners in both the Philippines and China continue to work closely to ensure two-way traffic is not disrupted.

He also said the department maintains a consistent strategy of maintaining "an optimum mix of source markets" to withstand or help compensate for a possible decline in arrivals from one market.

Another tourism official assured that a large number of Chinese tourists to the Philippines will still be visiting the country as it is set to welcome a cruise ship — Legend of the Seas — carrying some 2,076 Chinese tourists on September 23 and 24.

Tourism Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy Czarina Zara Loyola said the cruise ship will call port to Manila and Boracay.

Data from the DOT showed that China is the third top tourism market with 285,348 visitors or a share of 11.33 percent of the 2.51-million foreign tourists that visited the Philippines from January to May 2016.

China also posted the highest tourism growth of 80.79 percent.

UAE: OFWs ‘are ambassadors’ For PHL Tourism

With limited funding to further promote Philippine tourism overseas, the country is leaning on the strength of itsapproximately 12 million citizens worldwide to entice more international tourists to visitthis archipelago of 7,100 islands.

VernaCovar-Buensuceso, the Department of Tourism’s director for Market Development, told The Filipino Times the Middle East remained a significant source market for the Philippine tourism industry. Although the number of arrivals from the region was smaller than that from other countries, tourists from the Middle East stayed longer and had more disposable income, she said.

Covar-Buensucesosaid most Arab tourists visiting the Philippines do so accompanied by an extended family. They typically stay for three days in five-star hotels in Manila and spendmore days at another destination like Palawan, Boracay, Ilocos Norte, Bohol or elsewhere, to explore and to shop.

Saudi Arabia, where more than a million Filipinos live and work, remains the top Middle East source market for the Philippines, followed closely by the UAE, from where the country received more than 17,000 visitors in 2014.

“The UAE is a growing market for us. Last year, we grew it by 12 percent. They (Emiratis and expatriates from the US, UK, Australia, Europe and India) usually stay in Manila for three days and spendanother three days at another destination (in the Philippines),” said Covar-Buensuceso, who was among the top Filipino officials who came to the UAE for the 22nd Arabian Travel Market held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center from May 4 to 7, 2015.

Investing in exposure

Organized by Reed Exhibitions, more than 400 exhibitors participated in ATM, each paying at least EUR350 per square meter of space at the travel fair, which is considered the largest in the region.

Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka had the largest floor space in the show and the largest amount of promotional material.The Philippine Department of Tourism had a 150-sq.m. booth for the four-day event, which cost approximately PhP2.645 million (about Dh216,862).

Covar-Buensucesosaid that’s just about what the government could afford on its tourism promotion budget.She said travel shows like ATM were proven venues to generate interest.

The Philippine DOT delegation was joined by representatives from 24 trade partners in the aviation, hospitality and travel industries all over the country.Among them was Boracay Foundation, Inc., which seeks to promote ethical ecological tourism in the world-famous beach resort of Boracay in Aklan.

Pia Carmela Miraflores, executive director at the Foundation, said their goal isto protect the natural environment of the island, especially its marine resources, by planting coral under the sea.

Miraflores confirmed that the number of Arab tourists visiting Boracayhad witnessed a significant increase in recent years. Arabs visitors were also active in promoting biodiversity and protecting natural resources there, she said.

In Cebu, another popular destination among tourists, Shangri-La Hotel’s representative at ATM told TFT there had been a lot of interest among Arabs to visit the Philippines, booking as early as now for the Eid holidays in July.She said OFWs could pay local resident rates at the hotel, which were about 40 percent lower than published rates.

All OFWs are PHL ambassadors

Acting Consul General Giovanni Palec said all OFWs should consider themselves ambassadors of the Philippineswith a mission to uplift the image of their country overseas.

“It is implied that every Filipino is an ambassador of goodwill for his or her country. Any action that you take is a reflection on our country. If you do good, that’s a positive recognition for us. If you get into trouble, it puts us in a negative light,” Palecsaid in an interview.

He said Filipinos in the UAE had successfully transitioned from low-paid jobs to key managerial positions.This, the diplomat said, would make it easier for Filipinos to convince Arabs and other nationalities in the region to consider visiting the Philippines.

“Fortunately for many Filipinos in the UAE, through hard work and determination, they have transitioned themselves to more key roles in various employment sectors,” he said.

Covar-Buensuceso said that although her agency hada limited promotional budget overseas, Filipinos themselves and their international friends made up for it, which was evident when the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign was launched.

“We may have limited budget, but we have ways of doing things. The “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaignwas positioned and focused on the social media. In the beginning, we only had three memes on whyit’s more fun in the Philippines; now we have 80,000. OFWs are contributing a lot of content with pictures,” she said.

“So natutuwa kami. Even if our budget is not that big, we still generate a lot of impact overseas,” she added.

The Philippines welcomed about 4.8 million tourists in 2014 with Koreans, Americans, Japanese and Chinese accounting for the majority.This year, the country is aiming to attract more than 6 million tourists.

“Filipinos are really well received anywhere. In the UAE, most of them hold frontline positions. Can you imagine if everybody talks about how beautiful the Philippines is… that will really help. We have millions of overseas Filipinos around the world,” said Covar-Buensuceso.

“We’ve also seen OFWs who are investing in resorts and restaurants (back home). They may also have foreign investors behind them. They are now investing in the Philippines, which is a good sign for all of us,” she added.

PHILIPPINES: Tourism Road Projects In Panay Island Underway

At least P464.57 million worth of road projects leading to tourism destinations in Panay Island are underway.

Engr. Wenceslao Leano Jr., acting Regional Director of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Western Visayas (DPWH-6), said these tourism infrastructure projects are currently being constructed in Aklan, Antique and Capiz provinces.

Many of the infrastructure projects specifically involve upgrading of roads leading to world-famous Boracay Island in the town of Malay, in Aklan.

Such projects, for instance, include the P138.27- million widening of the Kalibo-Nabas section of the Aklan West Road in Tangalan municipality. There is likewise the construction of the P78- million Kalibo Cimcumferential Road. These are two major roads from the capital town of Kalibo to Malay, where geographically, Boracay Island is located.

Leano said DPWH-6 is also widening major road networks in Capiz province, which altogether, comprise of major road arteries serving travelers in Iloilo province bound for Boracay and Capiz’s provincial capital, Roxas City. The latter is also dubbed the Philippines’ “Seafood Capital.”

The road infrastructure projects in Capiz include the P89.35-million widening of the Dao-Sigma road section and the P79-million widening of the Cuartero road section, both of which belong to the new Iloilo-Capiz Road network.

In Antique province, the DPWH-6 is upgrading the Sitio Apong Road in Simbalom town, a construction project which costs about P80 million. This road leads to such tourist spots as the Sibalom Natural Park, where mountain climbing aficionados can trek up the mountains and where one may also find a virtual world wonder, the giant floral specie known as Rafflesia speciosa.

The road tourism infrastructure projects on Panay Island are part of the Convergence on Tourism Infrastructure Program jointly implemented by the regional offices of the DPWH and the Department of Tourism since 2012.

What is needed in panay island is the expressway in Y configuration to maximize the tourism potential of the island and the travel of goods and commerce will be accelerated. If in northern Luzon they have the TPLEX, why panay could not be since the potential is great compared to the TPLEX in the long run especially when it comes to tourism.

PHILIPPINES: Philippines Boosts Tourism After A Successful 2015,

This has been a good year for tourism in the Philippines. In the first eight months of 2015, tourist arrivals increased by almost 10 per cent.

The APEC summit hosted by the country in November also boosted the figure considerably. Tourist numbers during the APEC week reached more than 11,000, exceeding the Government’s target of 10,000 visitors.

The integration of ASEAN nations into a single economy is also projected to boost tourism in the region, as travel restrictions among member states will be eased. Figures from the Department of Tourism show that the Philippines now ranks fifth among ASEAN's ten member states - coming in behind Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

In order not to play catch up, plans are underway to boost the country's reputation as a favoured destination, and part of it includes improving open-sky policies.

"We’re still getting some of the signatories for some of the open sky policy for the border control uniformity of the border control,” said Aileen Clemente, President Philippine Travel Agencies Association. “The whole idea is to ensure a seamless way to travel across ASEAN and the advantage is that we would be able to attract more tourists who see ASEAN and its different countries as one destination."

A major issue holding back development of tourism in the Philippines is infrastructure. The capital’s main Ninoy Aquino International Airport held the title of the world's worst airport from 2011 to 2013. It lost its title only after major renovation was carried out, but the airport is still ranked eighth worst in Asia.

Tourism officials are also pushing through plans to upgrade the country's provincial airports, the gateways to islands such as Palawan and Boracay. Adventure tourism for activities such as diving are being looked into.

Undersecretary of Tourism Development, Benito Bengzon, said the Department of Tourism has been studying the country's marine sanctuaries to help it find ways to preserve dive sites and promote eco-tourism.

"Specifically we continue to focus on the diving market and we feel that the Philippines, because of its 7000 islands, can be very competitive in this particular segment as the entire country is practically within the so called coral triangle,” said Mr Bengzon.

The Department of Tourism projects that by year's end, around 5.2 million foreign visitors will visit the Philippines in 2015. The figure is considerably lower than the target of 10 million foreign visitors the Department aims to attract in 2016.

It admits that having to boost tourist numbers by almost five million people within a year will take some doing, but it is looking forward to the boost that ASEAN integration will bring.

PHILIPPINES: Philippines’ Tourism Sector Bullish On 2015 Asean Integration

The Philippines’ tourism area is getting up to speed with its neighbors and is more hopeful on its prospects with the ASEAN incorporation moving into full swing by 2015, tourism authorities said on Friday.

“We are truly getting up to speed as far as institutionalization in the tourism business. We must be at standard with the abilities of our ASEAN neighbors,” said Cesar Cruz, president of the Philippine Tour Operators’ Association (Philtoa) which heads a three-day travel exchange article called the Philippine Travel Mart from Sept 5 to Sept. 7.

The Philippine Travel Mart, where explorers can discover travel and occasion bundles and aerial shuttle tickets on special, is commending its 25th celebration in the not so distant future.

The vision of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) joining which tries to make a solitary business and generation base through the free stream of products, administrations and subsidizes by 2015 is clear amid the travel deal held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Separated from the nation’s best and rising traveler ends of the line, a few goals in other ASEAN nations were likewise introduced to prospective explorers.

As a feature of the Philtoa’s backing for the ASEAN mix endeavors, it introduced explorers bundles it called “twinnings” where they can pick one of their most loved Philippine goals and pair this with an alternate end of the line in an alternate ASEAN nation.

“They can pick Boracay and Bali or Cebu and Singapore,” Cruz said in a meeting. This, he said, their gathering is doing in backing of the thought of the “borderless” travel.

Anyway Cruz sees a few issues once the ASEAN incorporation goes on full swing before the end of 2015.

“With our passage level abilities, the Filipinos will be falling behind our Asian neighbors since we have quite recently begun our K to 12 framework,” he said.

K to 12 project, which has added two years to the nation’s essential instruction cycle, was actualized in 2013 through a law marked by the President.

Be that as it may he said there are solutions for the tourism business. “We are starting short courses for tourism experts just to fill in the crevice,” he said.

Philtoa, an association of 352 visit administrators in the nation, additionally plans to set up a tourism institute in Makati that will offer short tourism courses.

Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez who went to the occasion on Friday said the tourism business is getting to be more hopeful, particularly with the ASEAN mix completely acknowledged by one year from now.

“The demeanor of the Filipinos towards tourism has changed totally. There is an ability to learn and perform better than we did before and that incorporates our capability to make up for lost time,” Jimenez said.

The tourism division has started to consider the focal points of incorporating in the showcasing its neighbors in the district.

“The world doesn’t simply go in only one particular spot. The individuals go to a locale, particularly on the off chance that they have originated from a far spot. What is useful for Philippine tourism is useful for ASEAN tourism,” he said.

“We will cross over any barrier. In the event that we need to grin more extensive, we will,” Jimenez said.

Prior, Jimenez affirmed that his specialty would be propelling a battle “Visit Philippines Year 2015″ to benefit from the accomplishments of the prior “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

The tourism division in the Philippines has turned into a genuine business, developing into a Us$4.8 billion (S$6 billion) industry starting a year ago.

PHILIPPINES: Travellers Return To Philippines From China

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

CHINESE group tours and chartered flights are making a comeback to the Philippines after China ‘quietly lifted’ the travel advisory against the South-east Asian nation in May.

While China made no official announcement, it finally allowed the Philippine embassy to issue group visas to Chinese travellers eight months after it had issued the travel advisory in September 2014 over safety concerns.

Ramon De Veyra Jr, officer in charge, North Asia division, International Promotions Department of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), noted that from five chartered flights from China in April, there are now 20 chartered flights in operation and the number is still increasing.

From various points in China, these charters bring group tours to destinations including Kalibo, Legazpi City in Bicol and Laoag in Ilocos Norte.

De Veyra said that the TPB now hosts two to three fam trips monthly for the Chinese media and travel trade. TPB also plans to tap the luxury market, with consumer outreach plans already in the works.

With the travel advisory lifted, Cesar Cruz, president, Philippine Tour Operators Association, said that the Philippines “can now market and promote openly” in China.

He commented: "Chinese tourists can really compensate for the decreasing arrivals from certain countries including Russia and South Korea, the country’s biggest source markets, which for the first time posted decreases last year.

“They are a boost to Boracay, their main destination, and Cebu and hopefully, Manila,” he said, adding that the return of the Chinese tourists is likely to be felt more during the high season between December and February.