The Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China have signed an implementation programme to push for the bilateral tourism cooperation between both countries.
The agreement was signed by Philippine tourism secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and People’s Republic of China culture and tourism minister Hu Heping during the three-day state visit of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, Jr in Beijing.
Frasco shared: “This implementation programme with China will generate massive employment opportunities and investments across all sectors of tourism throughout the Philippines. Our governments will work together on increasing tourist arrivals, resuming and adding direct flights to key and emerging destinations, joint promotional activities, and inviting tourism investments in infrastructure, among others.”
Under the five-year cooperation, both countries will encourage and support the exchange of their respective administrators and tourism professionals to strengthen the mutual development in the field of hotels, resorts, cruise, port, tourism products, and other related industries and competency standards.
Both parties will also make joint measures to guarantee the rights, interests, and safety of tourists visiting each other’s country.
In addition, local tour operators and travel agencies will take part in the implementation programme by jointly advertising both countries’ tourist offerings, and conduct collaborative workshops and training sessions on cruise/port development, tourism products and lake development, understanding the tourism market and industry, search and rescue operations for first-aid measures as well as security measures.
Both the Philippines and China are expected to support each other’s tourism departments and enterprises in holding travel fairs, tourism exhibitions and other promotion initiatives, to inform the travelling public about their products and services, at the same time, cultivate awareness of environment protection and sustainable development in the growth of their respective tourism industries.
“We will also encourage investments in tourism infrastructure and support tourism enterprises of both countries to cooperate in the development of tourism projects in accordance with the current laws and regulations in each other’s countries,” said Frasco.
Officials from both countries will meet at least once a year, or whenever necessary, to further discuss the implementation covered in the agreement.
