PCCI seeking $20 B investment in 20 tourism sites

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business organization, is encouraging investors to “put their money where their mouth is” as the group seeks to raise $20 billion worth of investments over the next decade for 20 local sites that have high potential of being world class tourism destinations.

PCCI director for tourism Samie Lim said the business group is embarking on a 10year program that seeks to attract 20 million foreign and 100 million domestic tourists that will generate a total of $150 billion tourism income for the country after its duration.

“Businessmen say we want this and that, but you have to put your money where your mouth is. We want to raise $20 billion in investments in tourism enterprises,” Lim said.

“Where will we do it? In 20 destinations that are as good as Boracay, so we don’t put all our eggs in just one basket. Apparently, people just think that Boracay is the Philippines and Philippines is Boracay, but we have more than 7,000 islands, therefore, we should have more than one world class destinations,” he said.

The 20 identified sites will be the focus of investment promotion by the PCCI, which has 100 chapters across the country, over the next 10 years.

According to Lim, the PCCI, with the help of the government and tourism stakeholders, has initially identified 40 sites in the country that are capable of being world class destinations.

The number has been trimmed down to 20 to include only those that have the highest potential based on factors such as access, accommodation, attraction, activities, and arrival.

“First thing these investors would ask is where should I invest the money. We’ve been working with local chambers and local government for them to tell us why their areas should be promoted,” Lim said.

“We will validate the first 10, and we will go to the next 10, hopefully after one year. We intend to finish the first 10 this year. We would like to keep the next 10 confidential first,” he added.

For Luzon, part of first 10 destinations that will be subjected to further evaluation are Clark (Subic, Bataan, Zambales, and Tarlac), Palawan (San Vicente, Puerto Princesa, and El Nido), Bicol (Legazpi and Naga), and Ilocos (Laoag and Vigan).

In Visayas, Bohol, Iloilo/ Guimaras, Dumaguete, and Leyte have been identified, while in Mindanao, the areas include Davao/Samal Island and Cagayan de Oro/Bukidnon.

“We will now go on familiarization tour on all of these areas to evaluate and check,” Lim said.

Last year, PCCI said the tourism industry has been the third biggest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product, with 20 percent of the total income generated by the industry contributed by Boracay.

“So we do this, we put our money where our mouth is, we will be able to attract 20 million foreign tourists and we will be able to attract 100 million domestic tourists and that will bring us $150 billion in income in the tourism industry alone. It will be one of the biggest industries in 10 years,” he said.