Investment opportunities in the Philippine infrastructure and tourism industries gained traction as industry leaders and government representatives took part in the 21st World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
The WTTC summit, held last April 23, featured the investment portfolios of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). PPP Center Deputy Executive Director (DED) Eleazar E. Ricote gave updates on the country’s PPP projects and policies.
“The PPP Center remains committed to support BCDA, TIEZA, SBMA and CDC in their PPP initiatives, to harness private sector financing, efficiencies and innovation and pursue these critical infrastructure projects that will sustain, encourage and build up the tourism sector,” DED Ricote said.
Among the highlighted projects were BCDA’s New Clark City, an airport-driven urban center focusing on IT-enabled industries, aviation and logistics-related enterprises, tourism and other sectors. Another is TIEZA’s Clark Tourism Enterprise Zone (TEZ), a tourism bubble, anchored on building premiere shopping outlets intended as a disaster resilient, smart and people-friendly tourism estate. TIEZA is developing PPP projects to attract private investments and fast-track tourism growth. One of the projects rolled out is the Businessman’s Hotel at the Clark TEZ.
The summit participants toured the newly constructed passenger terminal of the Clark International Airport, a PPP project of BCDA with the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corporation as private sector partner for operations and maintenance.
The Philippines is steadily easing into recovery phase after the onslaught of the pandemic. With the reopening of its international borders in February 2022, the nation is back on track toward becoming one of the prime ASEAN tourist destinations and investment hubs. Private sector participation through PPP arrangements is one of the approaches in developing sustainable tourism.
