Credit: 123rf
THE Philippines Department of Tourism (DoT) is focusing on revving up tourism revenue as arrival targets no longer seem achievable.
Arrival numbers were originally targeted at 10 million by 2016, but have since been downscaled to 5.5 million this year and 6.5 million by next year. Despite this, the DoT still expects to meet tourism revenue goals of more than US$6 billion by 2016.
The change in strategy comes as tourism receipt numbers are at an all-time high of US$2.1 billion based on January-May figures, with tourists spending more at $1,200 on average. They are also staying longer, averaging around 10 to 11 days.
Calling it a “paradigm shift”, Domingo Ramon Enerio III, COO of DoT’s marketing arm, Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), said the emphasis is “on foreign exchange earnings, not just on the physical numbers; more on the income side and how we can get more tourists to spend more”.
