Tourism masterplan underway

TAGAYTAY — The Department of Tourism (DOT) will present the draft of the country’s tourism masterplan for the next six years by the middle of the month.

Alma Rita Jimenez, Tourism undersecretary for Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation, said the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2016 to 2022 was already reviewed and would soon be available for discussion with the Tourism Coordinating Council, as well as tourism stakeholders.

“It is supposed to be up for consultation but we had a few delays because we scrutinized it, as we’d like to find out the commitments given to us,” Jimenez told reporters on the sidelines of the CALABARZON Tourism Summit.

Jimenez clarified the roadmap would not be immediately finalized after the discussion with industry players.

“We have to dovetail it with the Philippine Development Plan of NEDA ( National Economic and Development Authority). It also needs the approval of the Cabinet and the President,” Jimenez said.

Under the new NTDP, the DOT is targeting to increase international tourist arrivals to 12 million by 2022 from 5.36 million in 2015.

The Tourism official said the new roadmap was not totally reinvented from its predecessor, NTDP 2011 to 2016.

She said the new masterplan would delve more deeply into each destination’s tourism targets.

“The biggest tweak we’ve made was instead of motherhood statement on the results, we actually defined outcomes – increase in tourist arrivals, receipts, number of destinations developed,” Jimenez said.

“Our consultation will show we have really drilled down the numbers,” she added.

She also emphasized the new administration’s thrust to develop the destinations in poor and underdeveloped provinces to promote inclusive growth.

Jimenez said only 65 percent of the programs and projects under the previous NTDP had been completed.

She said this was due to the plan’s dependence on DOT’s relationships with local government units and convergence with other national agencies.

“This one is more realistic, more grounded and does not depend on the outcome of others to be able to accomplish anything,” Jimenez said.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo conveyed her gratitude to the participants of the recently concluded Travel Blog Exchange Asia Pacific 2016. Held in Manila for the first time, TBEX is the world’s largest annual conference for travel bloggers, writers,...