Building and enhancing tourism infrastructure
Alot of people are not aware of this but once you travel abroad, a fee you pay called Travel Tax is making you contribute to maintaining and enhancing our country’s tourism infrastructure. Whether you pay it by lining up at the airport or through online payment (via an airline’s website), the fees collected will be forwarded to various government agencies.
We found out about this when we decided to research what this tax is all about. We learned that there is a law – Republic Act 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009 – that mandates that half of the proceeds from travel tax collection be forwarded to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA). Meanwhile, 40 percent goes to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the remaining 10 percent is given to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
The operative word here is “infrastructure” so it means that half of the travel tax collections goes to building support tourism infrastructure, enhancing the physical structures of government-owned tourism assets and developing Tourism Estate Zones (TEZs) for the benefit of tourists.
We went to one government-owned tourism asset and talked to TIEZA’s COO Pocholo Paragas, a youthful looking guy who is an expert in business development during his previous work in the private sector. He brings this expertise to a government agency tasked to oversee tourism infrastructure development.
“With an efficient travel tax collection – especially when we introduced the Online Travel Tax Payment System (OTTPS) last April 2018 – we were able to lay down the foundation for the dynamic Philippine tourism industry by providing much needed infrastructure in tourism destinations in the country,” Paragas said.
In fact, one of the biggest accomplishments of TIEZA as the infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT) is the Boracay rehabilitation. TIEZA allocated more than P1 billion to implement the Phase II of the Boracay Water Drainage Project.
“We are fully committed to complete long-term engineering solutions which will permanently address the problems that beset Boracay,” said Paragas.
With the success in Boracay, the agency aims to strengthen its Asset Rehabilitation Program.
“We want to improve the agency’s owned and managed properties’ marketability and performance,” he said. There were short-term repairs conducted and longterm rehabilitation plans laid down for the following six operating assets: Banaue Hotel and Youth Hostel, Club Intramuros Golf Course, Light and Sounds Museum, Balicasag Island Dive Resort, Zamboanga Golf Course and Beach Park and Gardens of Malasag Ecotourism Village.
“This is the first major rehabilitation program in a decade,” Paragas said.
One of the tourism assets of TIEZA is the Club Intramuros Golf Course (CIGC). We learned that the CIGC is one of the oldest golf courses in the Philippines and one of the first public golfing facilities in Asia. Known before as Muni Golf Link, it was originally a moat that surrounded the city made into a sunken garden then converted into a golf course during the American Colonial period. By the 1950’s, a driv- ing range was built and by the 1960’s, a re-routing expanded the course to 18 holes.
During the time of President Fidel Ramos, renowned golf architect Andy Dye was commissioned to redesign the 23-hectare golf course who transformed the flat and shapeless course into a challenging layout. Under TIEZA, it is currently undergoing its first major rehabilitation in 20 years.
CIGC’s facilities have undergone much needed repair. The team has also consulted an expert in agronomy and turf grass management for the maintenance of the course’s greens.
“Soon, TIEZA will implement big ticket projects such as the San Juanico Bridge lighting and the rehabilitation of the Banaue Rice Terraces which aim to spur tourism development and preserve heritage,” said Paragas.
Today, TIEZA is establishing itself as a builder of tourism infrastructure to boost the country’s tourism potential and in the process contribute to economic growth. All of us travelers are part of these exciting times because the tax we pay will ensure new tourism infrastructure that are more sustainable, eco-friendly, and significant.