“A little different, but the fun remains”

Food, beaches, hidden getaways, and cultural heritage — these are just some of the things that the Philippines is known for. Over the past decade, we have been successful in putting our country on the map thanks to the different marketing and promotion efforts led by the Department of Tourism (DOT). But with the current COVID-19 health crisis, how can we truly say that it’s still more fun in the Philippines? The Red Circle has had the opportunity to speak with the Honorable DOT Secretary herself, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

High hopes take an unexpected turn

Philippine tourism was reported to have been experiencing its best year ever. The Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) in 2019 alone amounted to Php 2.48 trillion or 12.7% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a 10.8% increase from the previous 2018’s GDP contribution of only Php 2.24 trillion.

Employment in the tourism sector also increased dramatically by 350,000 or 6.5% from its 2018 figures of 5.36 million, bringing its total workforce in 2019 up to 5.71 million.

“At the outset of 2020, we were very optimistic. Our initial target for 2020 was at 9.2 million foreign tourist arrivals and Php 661 billion in revenues. In January 2020, we saw tourist arrivals at 787,307, which was an 8.84% increase from the previous year and revenues increased by 9.1%,” shared Sec. Puyat.

While tourism eyed to continue its momentum in 2020, it was put on a standstill by COVID-19. Sec. Puyat detailed that the tourism sector experienced a 40% decrease in tourist arrivals and revenue last February and another 83% decrease last March. Since then, it has remained at zero because of the travel restrictions in the country and the rest of the world.

DOT’s efforts amid the crisis

The tourism industry was immediately affected by the COVID-19 crisis, especially once the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was announced. According to Sec. Puyat, the DOT coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard, military, and other government agencies in staging sweeper flights to help stranded domestic and foreign tourists get to airports. Accommodations were also secured until they were able to get a flight out. As of writing, about 40,000 tourists have received assistance from the Department. For the first time, a 24/7 DOT hotline — 1DOT or 1386 — was also developed to answer the queries of stranded tourists.

By the end of June, the DOT together with LGUs also identified 1,354 establishments nationwide, comprising 87,137 rooms that have been used for accommodation by frontliners, BPO workers, and returning OFWs and for quarantine facilities.

Discovering the world of digital tourism

The virtual world is a big part of adapting to the new normal. With COVID-19 continuing to pose risks, the Philippine Harvest online was launched in partnership with Grab Philippines. This made DOT’s annual Philippine Harvest, a trade fair to help promote local products from all over the country, accessible online. App users now have the opportunity to see and purchase local products and produce from different parts of the country.

Sec. Puyat shared that sellers who are part of the fair’s online leg have experienced a tremendous increase in sales, as people continue to inquire and purchase from them non-stop. “We would like to thank Grab because [they] offered this for free. It’s such a big boost because normally when you’re in an app like this, local producers have to pay at least 30% to be able to be included in an app with this high visibility, but Grab gave it to us for free.”

The Department also expressed its gratitude to inclusion tech startup Talino Venture Labs for granting them a free partnership in providing digital solutions for DOT-accredited MSMEs and all accommodations and restaurants via Safepass Express and Eat-In Express.

Safepass Express is an incident management platform for physical establishments that will automate space capacity planning, contact tracing, and protocol enforcement. The DOT itself also uses Safepass Express to track the people entering its building, as well as those inside. On the other hand, Eat-In Express is an application for restaurants where people can order online before going to the restaurant, you can also order online, or when you’re there.

To help keep the Philippines in the world’s radar, Wake Up in the Philippines digital campaign was set up. It features each of the 16 regions, 360-degree underwater, virtual tours, instructional cooking videos by renowned Filipino chefs, and a number of online activities that one can find in DOT’s social media pages and microsite.

To further educate and equip its employees and stakeholders with skills relevant in the new normal, the DOT hosted a series of online courses and webinars on “What is COVID-19?”, digitalization, e-commerce, Filipino Brand of Service during the time of pandemic. “We will continue this even when there is a vaccine. We find this very successful because we were able to reach so many of our stakeholders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. We’ve had at least 1 million viewers already, and those who’ve had certificates reached 7,500,” shared Sec. Puyat, feeling proud of this accomplishment.

Philippine Tourism in the new normal

As the Philippine government continues to ease restrictions of the community quarantine to help revive the economy, many sectors are starting to get back on their feet, including tourism. Sec. Puyat is quite optimistic about how tourism will be bouncing back. “We are very grateful that a lot of our tourist spots are already under a modified GCQ, which means that tourism is already allowed. [However], we have to get the concurrence of the local government units as different tourist spots have [only] been opening up their hotels for their locals first. It’s like a dry run to test first how [the situation] is because there are new safety and health protocols.”

Boracay as well as El Nido, Coron, and San Vicente in Palawan have already started conducting these dry runs with their respective locals. New protocols include the provision of a unique QR code where personal and accommodation information are recorded which can also be used for contact tracing, an active COVID hotline, and onsite RT-PCR testing. Bohol and Baguio City are also being eyed for reopening, but their respective local governments are still assessing its feasibility.

Sec. Puyat and the rest of her Department are looking at a new strategy or approach to help the tourism sector recover. “We have a lot of tourist spots and islands that are practically COVID-free, so we can look at the concept of a travel bubble or travel corridor. Countries that have zero or low incidents of COVID can fly directly to islands which also have zero or low cases of COVID. You don’t look at the Philippines as a whole, you look at it now per island.”

The DOT is actively communicating with different LGUs to discuss their efforts in slowly reopening domestic tourism and eventually to international tourists coming from countries that have very low COVID cases.

Making the Philippines safer and more fun

The Department collaborated with the Tourism Congress of the Philippines in developing the Tourism Response and Recovery Plan (TRRP), which serves as the master plan of the tourism industry in the next two to three years. TRRP deals with business recovery and continuity plans with tourism stakeholders, providing fiscal assistance for tourism industry players, and increasing tourist confidence to travel to and around the country.

“Our approach to reviving tourism in the country is gradual but precise, slow but sure. This is to ensure that the safety and health guidelines are implemented. There was actually a survey that the DOT conducted with the Guide to the Philippines and Asian Institute of Management. It showed that 77% of the respondents still want to travel in the absence of a vaccine,” explained Sec. Puyat.

The survey also revealed that tourists are still eager to travel to places like Boracay, Siargao, Baguio, and El Nido, but with heavy consideration of health and safety protocols, availability of medical facilities, and proper procedures and responses to various scenarios. While the DOT’s main role is focused on promotions, training, accreditation, and such, Sec. Puyat is leading the department as it works with the private sector to help increase tourist confidence and attract interest.

The DOT is also eyeing the passage of the bills such as Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, an extension of Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which grants it Php 10 billion working capital, and the ARISE PH Bill where it has the potential to receive a funding of Php 58 billion. With these bills, the tourism sector can secure financial assistance, use IT to upgrade establishments with new health standards, tourist tracking system, and emergency response, strengthen marketing promotions and programs, educate and train for alternative livelihood programs, and implement other programs to mitigate the economic effects of COVID-19.

The Department has also secured an agreement with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investments (BOI) in providing incentives to businesses that need to upgrade and modernize tour establishments, MICE facilities, and tourist transport. This is to ensure compliance with health, safety and wellness protocols, and allow tourism and tourism-related investments. The investment incentives to be granted are: An income tax holiday for a period of three years; and, Duty-free importation of capital equipment, but of course VAT is not included.

The renewed vision for Philippine tourism

The DOT is doing everything it can to prepare for the reopening of tourism under the new normal. Sec. Puyat recognizes the challenges that come with this, especially when it comes to the fear that COVID-19 brings. 

“What’s important right now is to regain tourist confidence in going to the country’s tourist spots, and to increase the confidence of residents in accepting tourists. Of course, provinces may be hesitant in accepting people from the outside. This is why we will work closely with the LGUs, Department of Health (DOH), with all the private stakeholders to make sure that health and safety protocols are in place,” she said.

The Department also sees the reopening of tourism as a way to help its stakeholders, especially for those who lost their jobs because of the pandemic. However, there must be a balance between the state of the economy and the people’s health and safety. This is why the Department will coordinate with LGUs for dry runs that will follow all the necessary protocols, such as contactless and digital transactions, testing, physical distancing, wearing of masks, and proper hygiene. 

This is a step toward the DOT’s renewed vision for Philippine tourism. “The Philippine tourism industry is a major driver for social and economic growth. We envision it to continue being fun but to also focus on sustainable tourism. It is [also] an industry that values the health and safety, not only of our tourists but also of our stakeholders, also of our employees,” said Sec. Puyat. 

While the tourism landscape will forever be changed after this pandemic, the factors that made the Philippines a rising global destination remain — breathtaking destinations, the best dive sites in the world, and fantastic food. More than that and even with this pandemic, the hospitality and warmth of the Filipino people will always be there.

Secretary Puyat remains hopeful for our country’s tourism. “Our long-running tagline, ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines,’ has been quite successful in capturing the spirit of the Philippine tourism experience, and I believe it will continue to ring true in the future. Things may be a little different, but the fun remains,” she concluded.