Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.
And keep your eyes open for potholes. “We still have to address the road congestion, or the lack of reliable transportation… in most out-of-town destinations,” Cesar Cruz, president of the Philippine Tour Operators Association, told attendees at an annual business conference also attended by Domingo Enerio, chief executive of the government’s Tourism Promotions Board, and former tourism secretary Narzalina Lim. “Security and safety need to be improved… There are so many things that need to be done,” he said.
The country’s goal is to get 10 million tourists each year by 2016. But to reach this ambitious target, double the five million visitors expected this year, arrivals would have to grow by 26 percent per year from 2014, said Lim.
The country only managed a growth in arrivals of about 11 percent yearly since 2010, and is now about 16 percent behind its full-year 2013 target, she added. Domingo Enerio, chief executive of the government’s Tourism Promotions Board, agreed his task was a tough one, but added: “We still sincerely believe that we can do it.” AFP
Photo via www.gobaguio.com: Burnham Lake, Baguio City
