DoT reassessing tourism income projections due to continued pandemic uncertainty听
THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DOT) could further reduce its projections for inbound tourist arrivals and receipts as pandemic-related uncertainties persist.听
鈥淲e already drafted the reformulated national tourism development plan (NTDP),听however we are now recalibrating again – actually it鈥檚 not a target but rather the scenario of the figures that we would like to look into because of this uncertainty,鈥 Office of Tourism Development Planning OIC-Director Warner M. Andrada said.听听
He said the department is still looking into uncertainties on market responses to the country鈥檚 economic outlook and travel restrictions.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e currently now adjusting the different scenarios that we have initially estimated in our reformulated NTDP,鈥澨齅r. Andrada said.听
The department will return to its consultants to project different market responses to different scenarios, he added.听听
Tourism revenues last year dropped 83% to P81.4 billion after听border closure and other pandemic-related restrictions听prompted a significant decline in foreign visitors听.听
Less than 1.5 million tourists arrived in the country in 2020, down 82% from the previous year.听
Preliminary data compiled by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed tourism鈥檚 direct gross value added accounted for 5.4% of gross domestic product in 2020, down from 12.8% in 2019.听听听听听
The initial NTDP 2016-2022 targeted P3.9 trillion in total revenues and 12 million inbound tourist arrivals by 2022.听鈥 Jenina P. Iba帽ez听
