Tourism restoration is nice for everyone

Current efforts to revitalize the travel industry are encouraging – both for those who have lost their jobs in the hotel and resort sectors and for the communities that are home to popular tourism destinations.

The tourism sector is without a doubt one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic. Its contribution to the Filipino economy declined significantly due to the mobility restrictions that hampered both local and global travel.

The multiplier effect of tourism is hardly quantifiable. It brings in foreign exchange revenues from tourists who support our international reserves, directly creates jobs through employment in hotels, resorts and restaurants, and encourages growth in other areas such as land, air and sea transportation.

The lifting of travel restrictions between the “NCR Plus” bubble and the rest of the country will initially allow the economy to recover faster, as tourism plays an important role in distributing wealth across the country.

Economic and tourism activities should flourish within established health protocols without endangering communities and jobs. This is possible through massive vaccinations, testing, and social distancing measures that may be required through 2022 or 2023, depending on how quickly we can achieve herd immunity.

I am certain that the government, through the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, will extend recreational travel between the NCR Plus bubble and the modified general quarantine areas of the community beyond June 15, 2021 to protect themselves and theirs Families when visiting destinations in the province. Local government units must do their part to prevent overcrowding in tourist destinations.

Easing such travel restrictions makes sense as the NCR plus bubble accounts for more than half of the country’s gross domestic product.

The National Capital Region had the largest share of the gross domestic product in 2020 with 32.3 percent, followed by Calabarzon with 14.3 percent and Central Luzon with 10.4 percent. These three regions accounted for over 57 percent of our GDP.

The NCR Plus bubble, which includes Metro Manila and the four neighboring provinces of Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, and Bulacan, has the highest concentration of the country’s wealth. Thus, blocking mobility between the NCR Plus bubble and the rest of the country would certainly hinder economic recovery. The challenge is to relax the restrictions while ensuring that everyone is following government-mandated health protocols.

The lost contribution of the tourism industry to the economy as a whole was felt to a large extent last year. The World Travel & Tourism Council found in its annual Economic Impact Report that the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out $ 37 billion, or 41.4 percent of the annual contribution of travel and tourism to the Philippine economy in 2020.

The WTTC, which represents the global private travel and tourism sector, says the impact of travel and tourism on the country’s gross domestic product has fallen “from a staggering $ 90 billion” [22.5 percent] in 2019 to $ 52.8 billion [14.6 percent] just 12 months later, in 2020. ”The travel restrictions resulted in the loss of 2 million tourism jobs across the country from over 9.5 million in 2019 to less than 7.6 million in 2020, or a decrease of 21.1 percent.

The easing of travel restrictions between the NCR Plus bubble and the changed community general quarantine areas is the first step in revitalizing tourism in the Philippines. We can seek further relaxation of the restrictive rules than what the Ministry of Tourism began last week.

I agree with the Ministry of Tourism’s initiative to immediately vaccinate 40,000 tourism workers on Boracay Island and about 70,000 on Bohol to encourage travel among Filipinos. It is also time to create a Covid-19 passport, similar to the so-called Green Lane proposed by the Ministry of Tourism, to make traveling faster and easier, especially for a whole family. The Green Lane or Travel Pass can also expedite the entry of foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as part of an economy reopening effort.

The Covid-19 passport, which shows a vaccination or a negative virus test, similar to the one created in Europe, will complement our offer to reopen tourist destinations to leisure travelers. It’s also a step closer to restoring jobs and livelihoods that were lost during the pandemic.

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