Ejercito dares DOT to boost tourism, improve airport access

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism needs to strengthen its efforts to attract foreign visitors, prioritizing concerns such as airport accessibility.

Sen. JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, put that as a challenge on Monday during a Senate hearing on the proposed 2027 DOT budget.

“We are facing a lot of challenges because we are an archipelago. Compared to Vietnam and Thailand, most of our arrivals are by air,” Ejercito said.

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READ: DOT rolls out dashboard tracking Philippine tourism data

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According to Ejercito, the DOT should prioritize improving the country’s airports to make travel more convenient for visitors as part of the government’s efforts to increase tourist arrivals.

“Our airports, for one, have to be more friendly. And I think the new Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] management is trying to fix that,” he said.

He also raised concerns over the use of e-gates at Philippine airports, saying more foreign visitors should be allowed to use them for greater convenience.

Ejercito also called on the DOT to assess the country’s competitiveness, saying: “We should not focus only on promotion, but also let’s look at other aspects that can help strengthen our tourism, such as the prices of hotels, food, and other services in our tourist spots.”

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“Compared to Vietnam and Thailand, our hotels and restaurants here are more expensive, things that can affect our ability to draw in tourists,” he added.

He cited concerns over the cost of accommodations and food, including reports of high prices in popular destinations such as Bohol.

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In response, Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay explained that the agency was also developing tourism products, such as gastronomy tourism, and working with other government agencies to address logistical issues that contribute to higher food costs.

“About food, I think it is a logistical issue. We have to have better cold-chain facilities, better roads, and so on, to transport the items and produce in real time,” she said, adding that the DOT would work with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture to address these concerns.

Meanwhile, Ejercito asked the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) about possible alternative revenue sources should the proposed abolition of the travel tax push through.

READ: Travel tax abolition could hurt tourism infra – Tieza

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Previously, TIEZA officer-in-charge Dr. Mark Lapid said the agency relied heavily on travel-tax collections, with 94 to 95 percent of its operations funded by travel-tax revenues. /atm