PH can expect 3.5M visitors in medium term
Site: http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110130-317524/Firms-seen-to-benefit-from-tourism-boom
MANILA, Philippines—There’s no way for local tourism to go but up given the Philippines’ strong niche in outdoor, medical, education and retirement tourism, according to regional brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.
In a special report dated January 18, CLSA said it saw this upbeat outlook benefiting publicly listed companies like SM Investments Inc., Ayala Land Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc., Alliance Global Group Inc., Megaworld Corp., Robinsons Land Corp., Belle Corp. and Cebu Air Inc.
The report, written by CLSA head of research for the Philippines Alfred Dy, said the ongoing global economic recovery coupled with improving access to tourist hotspots should entice foreigners to visit the Philippines in the coming years. It also noted that the Philippines was hosting two big events this first quarter: the World Slasher Cup (January 17 to 23) and the Hot Air Balloon Festival (February 10-13).
CLSA noted that the Department of Tourism was aiming for six million tourists by 2016, which should rake in revenues of about $13 billion (equivalent to 3.8 percent of gross domestic product). The report said this could be the reason why major companies were now making significant investments in the tourism space.
“In spite of recent negative events, we believe that prospects for the sector continue to be positive,” the report said.
Even if the government does not do anything in the future to improve the attractiveness of the Philippines as a tourist destination, CLSA projected that tourist arrivals would likely hover in the 3 million to 3.5 million range in the medium term. But the report pointed that President Aquino was in fact pushing the DOT to come up with a new campaign slogan. It added that the upcoming 12 public-private partnership (PPP) projects in infrastructure worth $10 billion should further improve access to and within the Philippines.
Aside from the government, the private sector is also doing its part to make the Philippines a more attractive tourist destination.
Mainly due to its topography and warm climate, the report said the Philippines was ideally suited for outdoor tourism. “The variety of experiences the Philippines offers is truly amazing. Almost any tropical delight one fancies is available: tiny white sand-ringed islets and extensive beaches; spectacular reefs teeming with brilliant fish darting through coral gardens; azure waters to windsurf, sail, swim, and relax in; spectacular drives through farms, mountains and along seaside cliffs; caves to explore; hiking and trekking; world-class white-water rafting and big-game fishing; and mountains and volcanoes to climb,” it said.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Reaction:
This prediction offers great news! The Philippines may be seen moving forward this year and I do hope that this will come true. It seems that the "Big Companies" are excited with this news and are answering the expectation with investments, I'm pretty sure they include a huge amount of money. Because there are investments, I'm pretty sure big projects are to follow and of course, jobs for the people of the country. To me, this is the best news out of everything else. I think this because, while earning dollars from tourism is also good, I think it is better if we improve our standard of living first. As a firm believer of the saying, "In order to help others, we must first help ourselves" or something like that, I believe that with jobs available for the people, we might be able to improve our economy more as time passes by.
However, while this news is welcome to anyone, especially businessmen, I am skeptic about it because after those recent events such as the hostage incident, I was pretty sure the lack of security in the Philippines had scared away the tourists (I haven't updated about it, so this is a guess). But, if these incidents did not scare away the tourists, then I am glad. However, no one is to say that it is never going to happen again, so I do hope that while everyone is investing in this rise in tourism, the police force, or whomever are in charge of security, will also do well in preparing for it, such as improved training, better equipment, etc. Because even if the first few incidents did not scare away the tourists, more incidents such as those, will most probably chase them away. Also, I do hope that our country will protect itself from diseases that could come our way due to this rise in tourism. Safety measures and necessary precautions must be taken and strictly implemented. Hopefully, those in charge of security and health care will not be negligent because an incident has not yet occurred, as is usually the case here, as I have observed.
INCREDIBLE!
ReplyDeleteYour views are great! You truly understood your article. Carry on!
score:25/25
FEATURED