HEADLINE: MANILA- Govt urged: open borders, economies

A global organization of tourism stakeholders and investors called on governments on Thursday, April 21, to reopen their countries’ borders and economies to help the tourism sector and the world economy in general recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) made the call as it projected 120 million new jobs to be generated by the sector across the globe over the next decade.

“The pandemic rewrote the rule book on how we live and how we travel. It showed how totally inter-reliant we are. Businesses and governments need each other to make travel happen. And our whole sector relies on the communities who host us,” WTTC president and chief executive officer Julia Simpson said.

She noted governments should “look at science and reopen their borders.”

Simpson also lauded Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for spearheading the country’s efforts to “reignite” travel in the region.

“Here in Asia-Pacific, the reopening is just beginning. And I have to say I congratulate the Philippines and Minister Bernadette, a nation that showed determination and courage to reignite travel in this region,” Simpson said on Thursday during the 21st WTTC Global Summit at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City set on April 20 to 22.

Also at the event on Thursday was WTTC chairman and Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald.

Citing their latest economic impact research, Simpson said that over the next decade, the travel and tourism sectors would have an average annual growth rate of 5.8 percent.

Over the next decade, she said they are also seeing 126 million new jobs to be created by the sector.

Simpson bared that after being set back by the pandemic in 2020, the tourism sector bounced back last year.

In 2019, the global tourism sector accounted for $9.6 trillion of the global economy, equivalent to 10 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), but 2020 saw a “massive” 50 percent loss in value.

Last year, it advanced 22 percent globally, and recovered $5.8 trillion. “This year, we are regaining ground. Our data shows that by the end of 2022 we will have recovered to $8.35 trillion,” she said.

She also pushed for the full integration of a traveler’s health status into digital travel documents, saying a single system for the world would benefit everyone.

 

Ads by:

Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT

.

Travel rediscovery

In her speech at the opening of the conference, Romulo-Puyat said a brighter tourism industry is on hand after the “disastrous” effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.

She said the Philippines is “crucially positioned” in the age of what she called travel rediscovery.

“We saw a significant shift in tourist behavior and preference and we seized this opportunity to shift the status quo to regenerative tourism, which seeks to leave a destination in a better state than it was before,” she said.

“We urge those among us with the capacity to organize and provide the necessary framework in encouraging the onboarding of all sectors to this advocacy of sustainability,” she added. “A new age of travel and tourism is upon us, and it is up to us to drive the change towards a better and more hopeful future.”

 

Ads by:

Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT

Puyat admitted that while the pandemic had “disastrous” effects on the industry, it gave the environment a chance to regenerate.

The secretary also reiterated the country’s stance on the Glasgow Declaration of climate action in tourism.

“With nature revisited, and sustainability reinforced, we move for the normalization of standards we have put in place for a safe, seamless, responsible, and fun travel,” Puyat said.

She said the department was also able to develop guidelines to “institutionalize” the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We took advantage of this hushed period to reimagine the industry and recalibrate our goals to rebuild a sector that will be more resilient, more inclusive, and more sustainable,” she added.

As global tourism destinations gradually reopen, budget carrier Cebu Pacific said it is set to resume its flights to key international spots.

Cebu Pacific said it would resume flights to Bali, Hanoi and Sydney to bring the number of its international destinations to 16 by end-June.

Next month, Cebu Pacific intends to operate twice weekly flights on the Manila-Hanoi-Manila and Manila-Bali-Manila routes.

Thrice weekly flights to and from Sydney, Australia will restart in June.

 

Ads by:

Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT

“We fully support the Department of Tourism’s initiatives to restore tourism,” Cebu Pacific chief commercial officer Xander Lao said.

Since the start of the year, Cebu Pacific has resumed flying to six international routes – Bangkok, Fukuoka, Jakarta, Dubai, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh.

It also currently flies to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul (Incheon), Nagoya, Tokyo (Narita), Osaka and Guangzhou.

On the domestic front, the airline has also resumed more direct local flights from major hubs Cebu and Davao.

“We are happy to keep enabling every Juan to safely fly across our largest Philippine network. We are hopeful we can continue contributing to the economic and tourism agenda in and out of the Philippines,” Lao said. – With Richmond Mercurio