Press Release
December 14, 2008

LGUs to reap benefits from 'tourism enterprise zones'

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today expressed optimism that the passage into law of the 2008 Tourism Bill now at the bicameral conference panel would generate huge revenues for the local government units (LGUs) as the country is promoted as the premier tourist destination.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate tourism committee, aired his optimism as the Senate-House bicameral conference committee is scheduled to finalize its deliberations on the national tourism bill expected to be ratified before Congress takes its Christmas break next week.

"We are richly blessed with 7,100 of the most beautiful islands in this side of the Pacific. With the Tourism Act soon to be enacted, we would be able to generate funds to promote more tourist destinations," he said.

"Local government units will then take a major role in developing Tourism Enterprise Zones and will reap millions of tourism dollars which will enable them to spur economic productivity and achieve higher levels of economic growth," he added.

The Senate Tourism Act seeks to declare a national policy for tourism as an engine of investment, employment, growth and national development. It also aims to reorganize the tourism department and its attached agencies to effectively and efficiently implement that policy.

Gordon, a former tourism secretary, said the bill would allow the establishment of "tourism enterprise zones" in the country aimed at enticing foreign investors and tourists to visit places rich with history and culture.

These "tourism zones", which will be set up in strategic areas, such as Cebu, Davao, Bohol, Laguna, the Ilokos provinces, Cavite, the Camarines provinces, Sorsogon, Boracay, Palawan and Iloilo, would boost the Philippines as a premier tourism destination not only in the Asia - Pacific region but also to the rest of the world.

"We have many examples of how tourism can make a huge impact on a town. Donsol in Sorsogon grew immensely after catching the eye of Whale Watchers and the Masskara Festival of Bacolod took them from the doldrums when the sugar industry there experienced a reversal," he said.

"With the Tourism Act in place, perhaps we can imagine even some of our more impoverished provinces transformed into tourist havens," he added.

To make this possible, Gordon believed that the country needs to have fundamental reforms in the tourism sector. These reforms are at the heart of the Tourism Act of 2008, namely: (1) to regulate and uplift the standard of tourism services, (2) to strengthen promotional capability of our tourism industry, (3) to create infrastructure such as hotel development and beaches, (4) to encourage private sector participation, (5) to ensure and focus a cooperative approach among various agencies and institutions, and (6) to ensure competitiveness and increase market share.

The Tourism Act was originally presented to the Senate in December of 2005.. It was not passed on third reading in the House of Representatives before the close of the 13th Congress, despite the diligence and persistence that the members of the Senate demonstrated in completing their tasks and passing Senate Bill No. 2138.

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