ESL institutions could be given incentives -Peza

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) is looking at giving incentives to ESL (English as Second Language) institutions operating in the country, following the stakeholders’ inquiry if they, too, are qualified to enjoy government’s fiscal and non-fiscal perks.

While it can be done, Peza Director General Charito Plaza urged ESL players to submit their letter to the agency so it can be studied and they could come up with theright policies for this specific sector.

“Write us a letter so we could come up up a policy,” said Plaza, during her dialogue with Cebu’s IT-BPM sector. “Write us about all your concerns.”

Included in Peza’s mandate is the granting of incentives to com- panies that register for accreditation, provided they operate in Peza zones. Fiscal incentives exempt firms from paying taxes and other local fees while non-fiscal incentives include services and assistance for firms’ operations and entry into the market.

ESL is a niche market for tourism. As foreign students come to Cebu to learn English, they are also tourists, as they spend money to visit different tourist attractions.

Cebu has always been the goto ESL destination among Koreans and Japanese because of its proximity, with direct flights to these countries and cheaper ESL packages compared to other English speaking countries.

In earlier interviews, DOT consultant and Philippine tourism advocate Robert Lim Joseph specifically cited Cebu as the top choice for ESL among the Japa- nese because it not only has an ample supply of ESL teachers but also because of its rich urban resort setting, being near beaches, mountains, urban nightlife, golf, dive sites, wide choices of good Japanese restaurants and its proximity to other neighboring islands like Boracay and Palawan.

Singapore is the Philippines’ closest competitor as an ESL destination in Asia, while New Zealand and Australia are the popular countries most Japanese students and professionals go to learn English.

An English language course lasting several weeks that includes accommodation and meals costs between $800 and $1,600, less than half the cost of similar programs in the US or Europe, according to ICEF Monitor, a dedicated market intelligence resource for the international education industry.