Long weekends to spur tourism — Frasco

With Filipinos facing nine long weekends next year after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. adjusted the roster of regular holidays and special (non-working) days through Presidential Proclamation 90, Tourism secretary Maria Christina Frasco said this would be a perfect time for families to explore tourist destinations in the country.

“The DoT foresees the Presidential Proclamation as an important stimulus to boost the country’s domestic travel figures as this will allow travelers to stay longer in destinations and thus bring direct economic benefits to the local communities,” Frasco said.

This will allow Filipinos, she said, to enjoy at least nine long weekends for the year 2023, providing citizens more opportunities to rest, recharge, and spend longer quality time and trips with their families and loved ones.

In lieu of President Marcos’ vision for the tourism industry to be a major economic pillar for the country, Secretary Frasco said that the DoT has identified the maximization of domestic tourism as one of its seven main objectives.

“The Presidential Proclamation corresponds to the Marcos administration’s thrust to maximize domestic tourism in the country, cognizant of its significant contribution to the recovery of the local economy and the overall growth of the country’s tourism industry,” Frasco explained.

She said domestic tourism has been useful to support the local economy and tourism-dependent communities amid the difficulties brought about by the pandemic.

“When maximized to its full potential, domestic tourism can open up even more tourism livelihood and employment opportunities,” assured the Tourism Secretary.

Since last year, the DoT has noted a steady pick-up in the country’s domestic tourism figures.

Based on data from the Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts, domestic trips in the Philippines in 2021 tallied 37,279,282, or 38.16 percent higher than the trips registered in 2020.

The PTSA also showed the estimated number of domestic trips in the country to be at its highest in 2019, tallying 122,118,141. This number drastically decreased by 77.90 percent in 2020, with 26,982,233 recorded domestic trips.