The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) has been called upon to be more vocal in fighting for the reopening of domestic tourism which, in pre-pandemic times, has shown to reap manifold more returns than the international market.
In 2019, domestic tourists reached 110 million and tourism earnings from them totalled 3.14 trillion pesos (US$61.8 billion), said tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in submitting to the Senate the proposed 2022 budget for DOT and its attached agencies.
It compares favourably to pre-pandemic foreign tourists totalling 8.26 million and contributing 482.61 billion pesos (US$9.5 billion) in foreign exchange receipts.
Senator and former tourism secretary Richard Gordon told the DOT to be more vocal in asserting the importance of reopening domestic tourism. “I don’t think we should remain locked up. We should open up places that we can corral such as Palawan,” he said.
Gordon noted the “magic of tourism,” citing 2019’s figures of the country recording 110 million domestic tourists – “practically the whole of Philippines” – resulting in considerable contributions to the economy, including tourist dollars, income tax paid by tourism establishments and 5.7 million jobs generated.
Moreover, domestic tourism is likely to bounce back faster than foreign inbound based on DOT’s forecast under three recovery scenarios: upside or mild, medium to harsh, and downside or severe.
For 2022, the domestic market is forecast to recover 61 per cent of its 2019 levels under upside or mild scenario; 49 per cent under medium or harsh, and 35 per cent under downside or severe.
In contrast, over the same period, foreign inbound market is seen to recover 43 per cent of its 2019 levels under upside or mild scenario; 22 per cent under medium to harsh; and 22 per cent under downside or severe.
And as the travel trade concur that the focus should be on reviving domestic tourism, Philippine Tour Operators Association president, Cesar Cruz, said that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) should have a better approach than lockdown and halting leisure travel whenever a Covid-19 surge happens.
“After being in this situation for more than one-and-a-half years, there should be a better approach… I believe that no single tour operator can really make it (if this stop-start lockdown cycles continued),” Cruz said during the Second Tourism and Technology Forum organised by the Tourism Promotions Board.
“At least for domestic tourism, we are pleading the government to review the travel restrictions, the actions to be taken when (a new Covid outbreak) emerges… Please consider what could be the positive effect of tourism, especially on the economy and lives of the people,” Cruz said.
He pointed out that India, for example, is still allowing domestic travel even though parts of the country remain at high-risk for Covid-19; while the focus of tourism marketing in China, Australia and Japan is on the domestic market which has been keeping their travel sectors afloat.
Cruz further highlighted the pent-up demand for travel in the Philippines, as people were eager “just to get out of the house, and even (trips within a) 25 to 50 km radius is enough”, citing a demand spike during the short time that those from metro Manila were allowed to travel to other destinations.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore has been renamed as the Mandai Wildlife Group, which will be the new corporate entity encompassing both the zoological park operations and the ongoing rejuvenation work at the Mandai precinct.
Singapore’s wildlife parks will be located together in the new integrated destination that is being named Mandai Wildlife Reserve. With the parks now under one brand, the group also announced changes to the visual identities of its parks.
While the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari retain their names, River Safari has been renamed River Wonders, and the new bird park replacing the Jurong Bird Park will be named Bird Paradise.
Dedicated to bird conservation, the new park will house one of the largest numbers of threatened avian species under human care. The reserve will also feature Rainforest Wild, which offers explorations within a rainforest setting.
A new Masterbrand Mandai that embodies the passion and commitment for a thriving, biodiverse planet was also unveiled alongside the new corporate identity. Its new tagline, Come to life, serves both as an invitation to come closer to nature and experience the wonders of wildlife at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and a call to take action and protect the planet by making better choices every day.
“Mandai Wildlife Group is committed to the vision of thriving wildlife and human communities living side-by-side, in well-functioning ecosystems”, said Group CEO, Mike Barclay.
“In working towards this vision, our focus therefore goes beyond protecting animals and habitats, to encompassing community support, championing sustainable living and promoting nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change. Our rebranding comes at a critical time when action is urgently needed to mitigate climate change and reverse the devastating decline in the earth’s biodiversity.”
The Group will continue to support field conservation work by deploying its wildlife expertise in the areas of conservation planning, veterinary services, animal care and research.
Aside from the new developments under the new Mandai Rejuvenation Project, Mandai Wildlife Group continually re-invests in its wildlife parks.
Among the enhancements in the pipeline for the existing parks include a new amphitheatre at the Night Safari and a revamped Kidzworld in Singapore Zoo. In complementing the suite of virtual learning journeys and back-of-house guided experiences, the group will also roll out the Ranger Buddies, an expanded programme with phygital activities.
The rollout of the new brand identity and logos, along with additional visual assets, has commenced with a change in the group’s corporate attire and the rollout of new platforms such as the website, social media channels, e-tickets, and key park signages. The complete brand changeover is expected to take place by the end of 2022.