Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the 21st Anniversary of the Department of Tourism and 1994 Kalakbay Awards

[Delivered in PICC, Manila, September 27, 1994]

Time for takeoff in tourism

AS WE RECOGNIZE tourism’s indispensable role in speeding up our development, we again challenge the Department of Tourism, which, for the last 21 years, has been the lead agency in developing and promoting our tourism assets and resources.

This task remains crucial today, now that we have gathered fresh momentum that would put the Philippines soon in step with its dynamic neighbors in Asia-Pacific.

Much has been done, but much more must be accomplished to effect this transformation. We will continue to rely on more effective teamwork within the tourism sector and the vast international network to which it belongs to accelerate our thrust into the future.

Sunrise industry

Last year, as the Department of Tourism celebrated the completion of its second decade, you and I took time to recall how tourism was again becoming a sunrise industry.

Tourism has contributed to enhancing the physical landscape, generating additional income for the economy, creating tens of thousands of jobs and cementing better relations with the other members of the global community.

From a mere trickle of visitors in the sixties, arrivals in the country exceeded one million as the seventies came to a close.

But in the turbulent and trying eighties, the Philippines sadly lost much of its luster as a destination. We became mired in great and seemingly insurmountable difficulties, while our competitors surged ahead.

But although tourism appeared to be caught in a downward spin, our industry did not throw in the towel, but geared up for the next round. It showed great resilience. It not only managed to survive but went on to grow remarkably.

While we can say that the worst is over, I say to you the best is yet to come, if we persist in our combined efforts to improve on our performance.

Together let us seize the opportunities, passing up no challenge to turn the tide in our favor.

I have in fact come to expect a growth rate of at least 20 percent in tourist arrivals since the successful Miss Universe pageant hosted by our country. Even if this is a tall order, I do believe that Philippine tourism can remain robust in the face of globed slumps in some areas of tourism.

Not just sun and beach

In 1993 foreign visitor arrivals reached 1.4 million, accounting for some P50.5 billion in tourism receipts.

By the end of this year, according to forecasts by the Department of Tourism, we expect to reach 1.6 million foreign arrivals who will infuse an estimated P66 billion into our economy.

Our target for 1995 is two million. Given the record of the past two years, this appears doable.

The positive results we have posted can be attributed to the fact that we have such dedicated practitioners exemplified by those we honor tonight who work tirelessly to advance the cause of tourism.

Tourism, after all, is not just sun and beach. In the final analysis, people are tourism’s most precious resource—the quality of the service they render, the warmth they exude, the smiles they shower on our visitors, and their unsurpassed hospitality to our guests.

Let us make good use of the auspicious conditions that are before us. Tourism, whether domestic or foreign, cannot but be the first beneficiary of the breakthroughs we have recently achieved in our political and economic life.

Our economy is well on its way to full recovery. The insurgency problem has been largely laid to rest and our peace process is progressing. Adequate reforms have been installed and new ones are being pursued to guarantee political stability and economic liberalization under a working constitutional democracy.

Our stock in the international community, in recent memory, has never been higher.

Outside of our shores, the perception is that we have finally gotten our act together, and are ready not only for takeoff but also for the big push and the long haul.

Out there, in my travels these past two years, I have noted a remarkable shift in attitude among officials of governments and leaders of the private sector.

A helping hand

They now express willingness to extend a helping hand. They show a keen desire to participate in the building of new partnerships, in trade and industry, in small and medium enterprises, in exploration of natural resources and environmental protection, in transportation and communications and in infrastructure development.

And they want to join us in building up our tourism.

Here I must cite the Memorandum of Understanding signed between our Department of Tourism and Air France, one of the world’s largest carriers and the first European airline to service the Manila route, during my visit to Paris earlier this month.

In essence, this accord commits Air France to extend the widest possible support to the efforts of the Department of Tourism to sell the Philippines as a destination to the French market in particular and the European markets in general.

Air France agreed to help us disseminate promotional materials, organize travel agents and familiarization trips for the media, sponsor fairs, seminars and other trade events.

The joint effort comes at a most auspicious time. For ongoing in Paris is the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, which features a major exhibit of the priceless historical treasures and artifacts recovered from the sunken Spanish galleon San Diego, as well as other events sure to stimulate greater interest in our country among the people of Europe.

Thus there is every hope that tourists will be coming to our shores in bigger numbers in the months ahead. Many more events in the Philippines in early 1995 are likely to stimulate our tourism.

It has not escaped my attention how, in so many countries big and small, tourism and travel have played such a vital role in economic development, in social amelioration, in cultural exchange, and in enhancing relations among nations.

Need for social reform

The Government has adopted a social reform agenda which the executive, the legislative and people’s organizations are discussing today at a social summit precisely because we know that we can no longer rely on growth to trickle down to the common tao.

Our social reform agenda and today’s summit recognize that in aspiring to growth, we must also aspire to equity and democratization. For there can be no equity in growth if we do not undertake social reform.

In the yardstick of economists, growth is conventionally measured by such statistics as gnp, trade and investment, tourism infrastructure, inflation and interest rates, high technology and the like.

But in real life, these are only the indicators and symptoms of development. They mean little if they do not translate into real changes in the quality of life of people.

In real life, we are reminded that it is possible to have “growth without development.” For it is possible for GNP to grow year after year, while the lot of the many continues to deteriorate into further poverty and misery.

We are resolved to put our people in the frontline of national development—both as active participants and as beneficiaries.

And to do this we must translate our action program into basics. And the most basic of these is meeting our people’s minimum basic needs.

Let me repeat them, so we never forget: health, nutrition, water and sanitation, income security, shelter, peace and order, basic education and literacy, and political participation.

Priority to tourism

Today I repeat my pledge to you, as your President, that I will remain our country’s number-one salesman. I will marshal our resources at hand to hasten the expansion of tourism in all directions. You can rely on me to shout the message that the Philippines is back in business at the gateway of Asia-Pacific—at the mainstream of global tourism—and that there it intends to stay for keeps this time around.

The Ramos Administration will back your efforts in the private sector to the hilt.

We will favorably consider providing additional incentives to attract larger investments in tourism facilities where these are called for.

And where our marketing activities prove inadequate, together we will find ways and means to enhance them.

In sum, we will do everything our neighbors are doing—and more—to boost tourism. We have what it takes, and the time is now.