June 6, 2011
| The Philippines Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim during a recent press briefing said that key infrastructure projects such as building international airports and developing new destinations will improve the country’s tourism image.
As part of the new National Tourism Development plan the country will strive to double the number of foreign tourists entering the country to 6.3 million while domestic travel is expected to reach 32 million by 2016. “The Philippines has a lot of catching up to do in order to be on par with other Southeast Asian countries,” Mr Lim Said. Mr Lim said that improving access for overseas visitors and flight connectivity by establishing international airports is one of the three key strategies. The Philippines government will hold the bidding for public private partnership (PPP) projects to establish international airports in Panglao in Bohol, Daraga in Albay, Puerto Princesa in Palawan and Cagayan de Oro city. Meanwhile, domestic travel has been the savior for the Philippines, which has performed well with thanks to the low fares of local airlines. The plan for the near future is to develop competitive tourist destinations and products and improve tourism institutional government and human resources. |
