QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco announced that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) for 2023 to 2028. This serves as the administration’s blueprint and the development framework for the tourism industry.

According to Sec. Frasco, this NTDP is the result of consultation among the Tourism Coordinating Council and various tourism stakeholders from different regions all over the Philippines.

“We’re very grateful to our president for articulating very early on his administration his priority for tourism development and this has resulted in convergence among agencies as far as giving full support to the development of the industry,” the Secretary said during a press briefing for the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) on May 16, 2023.

The Plan lays down the seven objectives of the Department of Tourism that focuses on the essential pillars of development, which, in the opinion of tourism officials, would be able to give the Philippines a fighting chance at becoming a tourism powerhouse.

“These objectives involve not simply the promotion of the Philippines which we will continue domestically and internationally, but also more importantly, addressing the essential issues of tourism development including the development of infrastructure, connectivity, as well as digitalization, the equalization of tourism, development and promotion, the enhancement of the overall tourist experience as well as the strengthening of tourism governance,” Frasco explained.

In the same press briefing, it was also stated that Filipinos will be given a chance to land tourism employment through the development of tourism circuits and the continuous promotion of tourism across regions and provinces.

The tourism Secretary was happy to announce that in a few weeks, they will be launching the Philippine Experience program.   

“The Philippine experience will give our fellow Filipinos an opportunity to experience, not just our destinations but also reintroduce them to the heart and soul of the Filipinos through our festivals, food and the like. This is just one of the many programs under the Marcos administration that aims to maximize domestic tourism recognizing its strength to support our economy as well as to usher in more international tourists.”

Frasco expressed her gratitude to President Marcos for approving the NTDP.

“We are very much looking forward to instituting all of the programs and plans under his administration, all towards the goal of ensuring that our fellow Filipinos are able to enjoy gainful employment and livelihood as a result of the success of the tourism industry and to position the Philippines a more primary role in the ASEAN and the world,” the Secretary concluded.

Meanwhile, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy, who is also present in the same press briefing, assured DICT will support the Department of Tourism in its effort in establishing the Philippines as one of the primary tourist destinations around the world.

According to him, DICT is also addressing some of the administrative blocks that can occur with respect to pushing the tourism agenda.

“We will continue to look for ways of improving the digitalization of our infrastructure as well as connectivity to support all the different departments of the government and in this case, the Department of Tourism is one of our foremost agencies that have actually and have very closed coordination with the ICT in delivering the Philippine Experience,” Uy stated. (ARB, PIA-CPSD)