DOT vows to strengthen Tourism Act implementation

CEBU, Philippines - Strengthening the implementation of Republic Act 9593 (Tourism Act), an act declaring national policy for tourism as an engine of investment, employment, growth and national development, is seen to put the Philippines as the top choice for eco-tourism destinations in the world.

Department of Tourism (DOT) assistant secretary for tourism development planning, Rolando Canizal said that the department is going to monitor the implementation of Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZ) program to encourage eco-tourism investments, as well as the five percent allocation from travel tax that will be allotted for development of eco-tourism specifically for poor and depressed areas in the country.

DOT, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will intensify the development of eco-tourism in the Philippines, while at least P50 million to P80 million budget a year is allocated for this type of program.

At present, DOT has identified top four eco-tourism destinations in the Philippines; these are the provinces of Bohol, Palawan, Cagayan Valley, Davao’s Mount Apo.

Canizal said the Philippines is moving up to initially put the country as the top eco-tourism hub in Asia, and eventually in the world.

Ecotourism is a nature based form of specialty travel defined by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), as “responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people.

Based on UN-WTO (World Tourism Organization) record, nature tourism or eco-tourism generates seven percent of all international travel expenditure. While tourism overall has been growing at an annual rate of four percent, nature travel is increasing at annual rate between 10 percent and 30 percent.

UN-WTO stated that eco-tourism and all nature-related forms of tourism account for approximately 20 percent of total international travel.

In the Philippines, Canizal said although the promotion of eco-tourism and awareness of local government units (LGUs) to develop their natural resources as an attraction, while preserving the environment, is tremendously growing, DOT still has to identify the exact contribution of eco-tourism to the total tourism receipts of the country.

However, Canizal said the Philippines is strongly moving towards capitalizing its natural resources, as eco-tourism has become the trend and in-demand product for world travelers.

Because of this active move to take advantage the fast growing ecotourism market globally, the Philippines has been choose to host the 5th World Eco Tourism Conference this coming November 2013, in Cebu.

Earlier, Lee Choon Loong, regional vice president, Asia Pacific for UN-WTO said that the organization has decided to hold this world conference for eco-tourism in Cebu considering the province’s strength in tourism, as well as its proximity to Bohol, which is the number one eco-tourism destination in the Philippines.

The concept of eco tourism based on the UNWTO agenda is heavily focused on involving the community in the development of tourism, promoting eco-tourism more than a product, but more on supporting the local economy and generates income and open up job opportunities. /JOB (FREEMAN)