TIEZA eyes Tourist Development Fund

MANILA, Philippines — The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) is targeting to create a Tourism Development Fund before the end of the Duterte Administration, which will replace imposed travel taxes for tourists, an official of the agency said.

TIEZA chief operating officer Pocholo Paragas told reporters, the agency has drafted and submitted a bill to President Duterte for  the creation of a Tourist Development Fund, two months ago.

“Tourist Development Fund. It’s not a tax, it’s a fund we get for the tourists coming because it will be the same fund used to make their next trip better,” Paragas said.

“What we wanted to do is (create) a tourist development fund because other countries do it that way,” Paragas said.

Paragas said the fund would be used for the improvement and development of infrastructure for the tourists visiting the country.

He cited countries such as Japan and the US where the said scheme is implemented to tourists, but is not gravely felt.

“So what we want to do is put it inside the ticket, so that the people coming in, they don’t feel it,” Paragas said.

“It’s already with the President now. They’re reviewing it. They’re going to do a reply and of course we’re going to do it moving forward. But I’ve also submitted a copy to the Senate and the House,” Paragas said.

Under the draft bill, Paragas said the rate needed to be paid by tourists for the fund maybe lowered moving forward, if the country’s need for infrastructure development is lessened.

“It’s really reliant  on the development of the country. Now if we can get investments coming in, soft loans coming in from all other countries, some from the banking industry, then we can lower it immediately,” Paragas said.

Paragas said a review on the charged rates would be done every two years, under the draft bill.

Moreover, Paragas does not expect the bill to be approved immediately, but targets to make the Tourist Development Fund happen by the end of the Duterte administration.

The TIEZA is the government agency in charge of collecting travel taxes.

Under Presidential Decree (PD) 1183, individuals who are leaving the country irrespective of the place where the air ticket is issued and the form or place of payment are required to pay a travel travel tax of P1,620 for economy class passage and P2,700 for first class passage.

While TIEZA is in charge of collecting travel taxes, Paragas emphasized that the agency only receives 50 percent of the collected travel fees.

Republic Act 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009 provides that half of the proceeds from travel tax collection is accrued to TIEZA, while 40 percent goes to the Commission on Higher Education, and the remaining 10 percent is given to the National Commission for Culture and Arts.

The TIEZA is the tourism infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism. It is mandated to develop, manage, and supervise tourism infrastructure projects in the country.