President Benigno S. Aquino III said his administration is aggressively focusing on developing the country’s tourism sector because it could immediately boost the economy that eventually will benefit the Filipino people.
“Gusto nating i-promote ang tourism dahil madaliang mapapalaki natin ang ating ekonomya sa pamamagitan nang pagpasok ng mga turista,” the President said during the Pulong Bayan ng Pangulo and kick-off event for the 26th anniversary celebration of the Edsa People Power Revolution in La Consolacion College, Manila on Thursday.
“Kapag dumagdag iyong trabaho, siyempre iyong diretso involve iyong nasa hotel, iyong tour bus operator, etc. Tapos iyong iba pa, iyong gumagawa ng mga souvenir, iyong entertainers. Yung mga ganun na magbibigay nang dagdag oportunidad,” he said.
To develop the country’s tourism sector, the President said, the government is investing heavily on building infrastructure for the tourism industry particularly airports, road networks, and bridges.
The government is already planning for the upgrade of the Kalibo Airport, the Caticlan Airport and many other airports, the President said.
The President added that the government, through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), could intervene in the projects being undertaken by local government units (LGUs) on tourism-related infrastructure.
The government target is to have around 10 million tourist yearly arrivals in the country by the time the President step down from power in 2016.
Traditionally, the Philippines has only 3 million tourist arrivals each year way below the figures posted by its neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.
For instance, Malaysia has 22 million tourist arrivals every year while Thailand has 14 million.
(www.president.gov.ph)
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