Does the Philippines need a whole-of-nation approach in the tourism industry? The country's Tourism Secretary, Christina Garcia Frasco, says yes.

During the opening of the 31st Travel Tour Expo and the 9th International Travel Trade Expo 2024 early this month, Frasco explained the importance of having a whole-of-nation approach to bolster the country's tourism industry. 

Why the Philippines Needs a Whole-Of-Nation Tourism Approach

Christina Garcia Frasco said that if the Philippines wants to safeguard its tourism industry's gains, there should be a whole-of-nation approach.

"By adopting a continuous whole of government approach, it is essential for us to deliberately capitalize on (our) strengths and competitive advantage," Frasco said, as Manila Standard reported.

The tourism secretary added that this should be done even if the nation was exploring unexplored opportunities for lesser-known and emerging tourism destinations, which the country wants to promote, develop, and highlight in its tourism portfolio.

The tourism industry in the Philippines is currently in good condition. Last year, the Department of Tourism boasted that the country was able to make significant advances in transforming itself into an Asian tourism powerhouse, according to the Philippine News Agency.

However, Frasco said more effort is still needed. Tourism will remain a vital economic sector of the nation in the upcoming years.

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Philippines Exceeds Tourism Expectations in 2023

In her speech, the tourism secretary praised the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) and thanked other tourism stakeholders for their efforts to bolster the country's travel sector.

"For 2023, we managed to exceed expectations by exceeding our international arrivals of 5.45 million international visitors, amounting to international visitor receipts of over P482 billion, a massive contribution to our economy," said Christina Garcia Frasco.

What the Philippine tourism industry achieved in international arrivals is more than half a million higher than the previous target of the country, which was only 4.8 million.

The 5.45 million international arrivals in the Philippine tourism sector include over 5 million foreigners and 447,082 overseas Filipinos.

Frasco is pretty confident about the country's travel sector. Recently, she said the tourism industry is expected to experience massive growth under the National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028.

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