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Banaue Rice Terraces, Philppines

Pnoy challenges tourism industry: Make PH a tourism hotspot

Banaue Rice Terraces, Philppines
Banaue Rice Terraces, Philppines

PASAY CITY, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Friday challenged tourism industry stakeholders to go the extra mile to ensure the Philippines cements its position as a tourism hotspot.

Speaking at the Philippine Travel Agencies Association’s 21st TravelTour Expo 2014 at the SMX Asia, the President said, “We cannot be satisfied with what we have achieved so far. The goal now is not merely to maintain our growth, but to cement our position as one of the world’s vacation hot spots.”

He said his administration had undertaken steps to ensure visitors find their travels smooth and worry-free. Among these are reforms in civil aviation such as liberalizing airspace through the Pocket Open Skies Policy, and rationalization of taxes on foreign carriers.

Government also continues to make massive investments in infrastructure—from construction and rehabilitation of roads leading to tourism clusters, to upgrading airports and ports in key areas, the President said.

Aquino challenged to stakeholders in the industry to go beyond their achievements.

“It is not just about sustaining the appeal of already favored destinations; it is also about discovering and marketing hidden destinations. It is not just about getting tourists to visit the Philippines once, but getting them to return. The possibilities ahead are limitless now that the world knows that it is indeed more fun in the Philippines!—and each one of us is asked to do his part to realize these possibilities,” he said.

“Thus, I pose a question to all of you today: have we, as a nation, gone the extra mile to make our tourists the happiest visitors to the Philippines—the most fun place on earth?” he added.

He reminded them as well that the success of any business balances profit with customer satisfaction, and that the collective goal goes beyond making sales and booking trips.

“What we want is for both domestic and international tourists to become advocates of the Philippines—visitors who will return again and again to explore every corner, every peak, every shoreline of our archipelago, and encourage their friends and family to do the same. To achieve this, we need all of you to become advocates of our country—first, to go above and beyond your normal responsibilities, to do everything you can towards the resounding success of each and every trip, even as we in government continue to do our part,” the President ended.

 

Criselda Cabangon David, a happy mother of two kids, is a full-time Sociologist at the City Government of Lucena, Quezon Province. She is currently the Managing Editor of Ang Diaryo Natin Sunday News, a weekly local community newspaper in the Philippines and an active member of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.