DOT to gather tourism-related stats
By Cris Evert Lato, Marian Z. Codilla
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 14:36:00
10/22/2008
CEBU CITY, Philippines - To make local communities feel the impact of tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will gather data related to job generation and employment starting 2009.
The aim is to get accurate statistics in different sectors in the tourism industry, which can be used to plan effective tourism promotions.
“The only data we have is our (tourist) arrivals. When we say tourist arrivals, what do we mean by that? That is the limitation of our data today. We cannot make it relevant to the lives of every Filipino,” DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said Tuesday.
Durano said the DOT has been working with United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) to improve the department's statistical capabilities.
He said they will “overhaul” the way they collect tourism data using 2009 as the base year. The data will include employment and livelihood, and the contribution of tourism in economic growth.
“The arrivals do not tell us what they (tourists) are doing in the country. They come to the country. That's good. But at the end of the day what is important is what they do. It's through their activities that they spend,” Durano said in a press conference on the first day of the 6th International Tourism Forum for Parliamentarians and Local Authorities.
The forum, held at the Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort and Spa, was attended by 210 foreign and 120 local participants.
UN-WTO secretary general Francesco Frangialli said it will be easier to explain to the “head of state, ministry of finance or governor of Central Bank” the importance of tourism if data on employment and economic contribution are present.
Frangialli said 903 million people traveled abroad last year which generated a total of $856 billion worth of revenues.
In the Philippines, Durano said DOT has signed a three-year technical cooperation project with Japan International Cooperation Agency to assist local government units to effectively plan tourism promotions using accurate statistics.
The project will focus on eight provinces located in central Philippines supra-region, where 90 percent of the tourism activities in the country happens.
These are Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Iloilo, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Antique and Aklan (including Boracay).
“This will be part of their ODA (Official Development Assistance) for the country. The first phase is to negotiate the terms of reference, what is the objective, the responsibilities of both parties and comes the funding,” Durano said.
The project will start in 2009.
One of the sectors, that the project will focus on is the employment sector of the tourism industry.
Tourism industries are labor intensive and require large number of labor groups that are either trained or low-skilled, said consultant Marion Libreros of the UN-WTO.
Libreros said there are no data, that measure the work force.
She said the lack of data would affect how problems of the workforce would be addressed or what policies should be considered for the employees.
She cited the quality of the jobs of those in the tourism sector.
She cited the quality of the jobs of those in the tourism sector.
“Jobs in the tourism industries often do not meet the expectations of employees, who tend to look for better jobs elsewhere, and therefore, on the first opportunity, they leave to take up more decent jobs,” Libreros said.
She said current statistics on employment does not tackle the needs of the employees.
The data gathering project is expected to address this problem.
Meanwhile, Durano said that despite the global slowdown, the DOT would not adjust the five million tourist target for 2010.
He said they still expect five to seven percent growth rate this year, less than one to three percent from the normal eight percent year-on-year growth of the industry.
-Philippine Daily Inquirer
I am convinced that our country has a lot of undiscovered potentials when it comes to Philippine tourism. A lot of people also see that, like DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano. But of course, there will be those who do not see the advantage of having a really magnanimous tourism industry.
Last year, I was able to study and learn how the tourism industry works and how it can urge a huge economic growth. My tour 101 professor once told us that in other countries, the tourism sector is one of the biggest contributors in terms of the country’s revenues. And I was thinking, why can’t we use our tourism capabilities to gain larger profit for our country? I mean, Philippines is not bad at all. We have the most amazing beaches. We have Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Antique, and numerous others that are yet to be exposed.
My professor also told us that the tourism industry is such a dynamic one. It is a service business and a labor intensive industry.
“No holidays for those who are working for the industry; they are always ‘on call’,” said my tour 101 professor.
What does this statement imply? More job opportunities for Filipinos. More jobs mean lesser unemployment. Lesser unemployment means fewer incidents of recession. And the list of positive effects goes on and on. Sadly, the government doesn’t pay much attention to the tourism sector. That’s why the said industry has a slower growth rate compared to others. And that’s also the reason why people don’t want to believe that tourism can actually boost our developing economy. The data gathering is a feasible plan because it showcases the Philippine tourism industry and its capacity to generate money and employment. =)
6 comments:
ok yung gagawin na ganito kasi mas uunlad ung country natin. known tayo for our beaches, dumadayo mga turista para bisitahin mga famous beaches sa Philippines and sa ganitong way, tataas yung economy natin, mababawasan yung unemployment sa country and mas uunlad yung buhay ng mga tao.
This project by the Department of Tourism would be a great improvement not only in promoting our country’s tourist destinations but also the people employed in the area under discussion and the related livelihood as well. When it comes to the employment sector of the tourism industry, I think there should be really intensive training for the workers as it also helps our economic industry progress and grow abruptly, thus, less unemployment problems arise. Moreover, it would be a great deal for our guests knowing that our country has plenty of amazing tourist destinations plus well- trained and skilled employees that are willing to serve them.
Sa ganitong paraan, lalo tayong makikilala at ito ay makakatulong sa ating pagunlad. Pero kung aabusuhin natin ang ating mga likas na yaman, tulad ng pagtapon ng basura sa babayin dagat at pagputol ng mga puno ay wala tayong patutunguhan. Dapat tayon magisa sa pagunlad ng bansa.
I visited Phuket before and it was packed with a lot of Europeans. Maybe twice as much as the ones we see in Boracay. But without any bias, I can say that the beaches of Boracay is far more prestine than Phuket's. Terrorism, chaotic government and the like just give the Philippines a bad reputation which refrains our tourism to boom. Hopefully, the Filipinos would be aware of the country's asset (tourism).
The department Tourism is doing their best to promote our beautiful country and its beautiful destination spots. During the International Nine-ball Championship that was held here in Manila last November 2006 and 2007, I've seen a lot of "WOW Philippines!" advertisements on the television. I must say I'm glad because the ads were shown in a lot of international channels like, ESPN, Star Sports, etc. Eventually, this idea will attract more and more foreigners if we keep on airing ads like this on international channels.
Post a Comment