Press Release
June 12, 2008

PHILIPPINES TO GRAB LARGER CHUNK OF BILLIONS OF TOURISM DOLLARS
Senate passes Tourism Act

The Senate's approval on third and final reading of the Tourism Act of 2008 brings hope for relief to millions of Filipinos reeling from inflation that reached 9.6 percent in May.

"We must realize that prices will continue to go higher and our people will either have to tighten their already tight belts or depend on hand-outs from government, like the one-time 500-peso power subsidy. Pero trabaho ang kelangan ng tao, hindi minsanang limos - ito ang tinutugunan ng Tourism Act. Papabilisin nito ang pagsusulong at pagpapalago ng turismo para dumami nang husto ang mga may trabaho at lumago pa ang kita ng mga maliliit na negosyante," said Senator Richard Gordon, principal author of Senate Bill No. 2213.

He welcomed the passage of the bill in the Senate, saying that it has the potential to bring in billions of revenues to the country. And by sending a signal to the whole world that we have a new tourism bill, we are creating landmark change in getting tourists into our country.

Gordon also envisions more job opportunities for Filipinos as more tourists arrive in the country. He noted that "every tourist that comes in means one more person with new money that can buy our goods, and use our services.

He further explained that the Tourism Bill will completely re-tool the government's tourism bureaucracy and make the country's tourism industry compete on the same level as other Asian countries.

"The important feature of the Tourism Bill is that we can now uplift the regulatory capability of the Secretary of Tourism as well as uplift our marketing capability. We can now have more resources to market our tourist destinations as well as upgrade and enhance our tourism assets. In other words, we can now have Tourism Enterprise Zones dedicated to establishing tourism enterprises with tax incentives," he said.

Gordon also believes that the country needs to have fundamental reforms in the tourism sector. These reforms at the heart of the Tourism Act of 2008 are, namely: (1) to regulate and uplift the standard of tourism services, (2) to strengthen the promotional capability of our tourism industry, (3) to create infrastructure such as hotel development and beach resorts, (4) to encourage private sector participation, (5) and to facilitate faster cooperation among various agencies and institutions to ensure competitiveness and increase market share, and (6) to increase the people's purchasing power.

"With the faithful implementation of the Tourism Act of 2008, the country can have a better institution to regulate and promote tourism and install the necessary infrastructure to make our country truly world-class. We can have more jobs for our people, who will no longer have to find for their future in foreign shores, but right here in their native Filipinas," he noted.

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