Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jnr called on the country’s Department of Tourism (DOT) to create more jobs within the travel and tourism sectors.
Marcos pointed out the need for more industry professionals given the growing number of both foreign and domestic tourists following his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, 28th July.
For her part, Philippine tourism secretary Christina Frasco thanked the President for recognising the contributions of the tourism industry to the economy.
She said in the vernacular: “We thank President Marcos as his words highlighted the importance of tourism in the national economy, seeing how it generates employment for our citizens.”
A top contributor to the national economy
Speaking at a post-SONA forum held on Tuesday, 29th July, at the Makabagong San Juan National Government Centre in the northern Manila suburb of San Juan, Frasco pointed out how both foreign and domestic travellers spent PhP3.86 trillion in the country last year.
She told the assembly: “This is why the President has directed us to increase the number of employment opportunities in tourism and related fields.”
In her statement, the secretary quoted a recent report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which showed that 6.75 million Filipinos currently have jobs in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
An additional 10 million Filipinos likewise have jobs or employment options that are indirectly related to local tourism.
Given this, the Philippine tourism industry contributed 8.9 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product as of end-2024.
Moving forward, Frasco outlined the DOT’s ongoing commitment to human capital development, citing how more than 322,000 individuals trained under the department’s Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) programme.
FBSE is a flagship initiative that reinforces the country’s global reputation for world-class hospitality and service.
The secretary also highlighted the DOT’s ongoing partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which provides students, out-of-school youth, career shifters, and existing tourism workers access to learning, scholarships, upskilling support, and employment pathways.
These include diploma and vocational courses on tour guiding, culinary arts, front office operations, food and beverage services, lifeguarding, and more.
In closing, Frasco said: “That is why tourism remains a dynamic and very exciting industry. Regardless of what happens, whether there is a climate crisis or emergency, whether there are geopolitical tensions, whether there are challenges in terms of anything that has to do with our economy, tourism will continue to be a stabilising force that provides livelihood and employment to our fellow Filipinos.”
