5 new cruise terminals to be developed

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will add five new cruise terminals across the archipelago in a bid to keep the country’s title as the Best Cruise Destination in Asia.

The PPA is developing cruise terminals in Boracay, Coron, Camiguin, Siargao and Puerto Galera, all of which are considered tourist hotbeds of the Philippines.

At present, the country can welcome cruise boats in just five ports, mostly in Luzon. These ports are Currimao in Ilocos Norte, Salomague in Ilocos Sur, Manila, El Nido and Tagbilaran.

“On the part of PPA, we have started building terminals dedicated for cruise operations only, and we are making sure that existing ports can accommodate the gigantic cruise ships that will come in,” PPA general manager Jay Santiago said.

Between October and December, Santiago estimates that more than 40,000 tourists will visit the Philippines via cruise ship by industry giants such as AIDA Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises and Windstar Cruises.

On Oct. 16, World Cruise Awards named the Philippines as the Best Cruise Destination in Asia for 2023, besting India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

As of September, the PPA has facilitated the entry of 46,657 passengers from cruise vessels since cruise tours returned to the country in February.

The agency is currently spending P620 million to deliver the first of its kind at the Port of Jubang in Siargao.

Prior to the pandemic in 2019, the Philippines took in 213,765 passengers from cruise ships, the majority of which called at the Port of Manila.

English teaching for tourism

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is planning to make the country more attractive to foreigners studying the English language.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco “stressed the importance” of the English as a second language (ESL) sector “to the Philippine tourism industry.”

The DOT said the ESL industry currently caters to non-English speaking foreigners from South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand. It also noted Vietnam, Mongolia and Russia are considered “emerging markets.”

Frasco’s “listening tour” with executives and representatives of ESL centers in Cebu on Oct. 12 tackled concerns such as how the Philippines can highlight its “strong presence as an ESL provider.”

The DOT and the institutions also discussed how to “liberalize and digitalize visa policies and other processes involving legal documentary requirements that hinder the country from expanding its ESL offering,” the agency added.

The DOT “sees ESL as a big come-on, especially for non-English speaking markets,” it previously said.

According to the English Proficiency Index by Education First, the Philippines ranks 22nd in the world, tagged as “high proficiency.” It places second in Asia, only behind Singapore which is second worldwide. –  Evelyn Macairan, Ghio Ong