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The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) disputed a policy report which claimed the country had Southeast Asia’s lowest tourism returns on investment (ROIs).
In a statement released on Monday, 8th September, the DOT called out local journalist Eric Jurado who penned the report, declaring his analysis flawed, misleading, and harmful to the country’s image overseas.
The report which was carried by local publications Esquire Philippines and BusinessMirror uses what is essentially a speculative metric referred to as Return on Tourism Impact which is not recognised by global travel and tourism agencies such as UN Tourism, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and the World Economic Forum (WEF.)
Gross misrepresentation
Furthermore, the DOT declared that the article grossly misrepresents the performance of the Philippine tourism sector, essentially undermining the efforts of those who earn their livelihood from it or businesses related to travel and hospitality.
Per the DOT’s statement: “To malign this sector with baseless rankings is not just inaccurate: it is harmful. It is imperative that we correct the misrepresentation because it sends the wrong signal to investors, partners, and travelers at a time when the Philippines is competing fiercely in Southeast Asia for market share.”
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Tourism Satellite Accounts, the country’s tourism sector contributed PHP2.35 trillion in direct gross value in 2024.
This shows an increase of around 11.2 percent from 2023 and makes up 8.9 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP).
The Philippine tourism sector likewise earned US$12.25 billion in international visitor receipts and US$67.54 billion in combined domestic and foreign tourism spending; thus sustaining 6.75 million direct jobs and providing indirect livelihoods to up to 16 million citizens.
The PSA’s data on Tourism Gross Fixed Capital Formation also shows that the total value of tourism-related investments in the past year is around US$10.32 billion.
The DOT declared: “Tourism is therefore a high-yield engine of jobs, livelihoods, and national growth [and] not the laggard the report portrays.”
A bone of contention
One key point of contention was Jurado’s methodology which led to the comparison between a cumulative multi-year investment figure of US$23 billion with a single-year tourism revenue estimate of US$13 billion.
The DOTalso called out Jurado’s exclusion of the country’s earnings from domestic tourism
It also flagged the exclusion of domestic tourism, which alone generated US$54.24 billion in 2024.
This exclusion essentially understated the DOT’s actual returns for 2024, thus distorting the calculation for an ROI.
The department concluded by saying: “Tourism is a force for good, a source of pride, hope, and livelihood for our people. Attempts to erase these achievements with fabricated or distorted numbers affect the millions of Filipinos whose lives depend on this industry. The Filipino people deserve better.”
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Source: traveldailymedia