The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, and the Secretary of Tourism, Cristina Garcia Fresco, formulated a five-year plan for the years 2023 to 2028 to position the Philippines as a leading tourist destination in the Asian continent and in the world. The purpose of the program is to strengthen tourism and the Philippine economy

The national plan will emphasize the field of culture and heritage, encourage investments in the field of tourism and create new opportunities to promote tourism in the Philippines. The Philippine Ministry of Tourism stated that this year's goal is to reach 4.8 million tourists from abroad. By the middle of May this year, more than 2 million tourists from abroad had already arrived in the Philippines. The ambitious goal is to reach 52 million visitors in 2028

Meanwhile, it was reported that the Philippines Ministry of Tourism is giving great emphasis on promoting the Philippines as an attractive destination for Wellness, medical, spa and leisure tourism in Asia. For this purpose, an agreement was recently signed with Agora Group from Dubai, which is a leading global group in the fields of Wellness Tourism

The Philippines' Minister of Tourism, Cristina Garcia Fresco, declares: "The goal is to expose the Philippines as a leading destination in the world for medical, spa and recreational tourism. Because the Philippines has the natural conditions and resources for medical and recreational tourism. We have the appropriate facilities, the right people, and the support of the government."             i

A notable advantage is the fact that the Philippines is known as a nation where compassion, a warm welcome and concern for others is a dominant elements. Every Israeli knows the dedicated and pleasant Filipino women who take care of our parents in Israel in their old age. Visitors to the Philippines enjoy magical islands and beaches, green mountains, jungles, fine cuisine and wonderful accommodations. In the Philippines there are 63 private hospitals near four international airports. Treatment costs are significantly lower compared to other countries in the Asian continent. The Philippines is also one of the largest countries in the world where English is an official language

Interpretation

The new plan to promote tourism looks serious and promising, but it has one drawback for us: it seems to me that Israel is not located on their business map!

Once we met tourism journalists at the ATM tourism fair in London and compared the media activity of countries whose economy is based on tourism. The owner of the British tourism portal BTNEWS said that the Philippine Tourist Office in London is one of the most active in his country. Unfortunately, in Israel it is not like that

The peak year in tourism from Israel to the Philippines was 2019 with almost 23 thousand visitors. In contrast, more than 200,000 Israelis visited Thailand that year. This gap in popularity is not understandable, because in terms of tourism, the Philippines and Thailand are similar to each other. The flight prices there are similar, the flight duration is similar, the standard of living is similar, the hotel prices are similar, and the beaches and views are quite similar. Basically, the Philippines has a big advantage over Thailand in the variety of landscapes and tourist attractions. So why is the number of Israeli tourists to the Philippines is about only a tenth of that in Thailand? Why are there is no such gap in tourism from European countries?     i

The superficial immediate explanation is that there are no direct flights from Israel to the Philippines, but only connection flights with stopovers in all kinds of countries along the way. Travel companies do not like connections, because many times a few passengers are lost in connection terminals. The trip is ruined for the lost couple and the whole group, and the tourism company suffered great financial damage. Independent travelers also don't like to get stuck for half a day on the way in a stopover.    i

This is the reason why the Thai Tourist Office in Israel tried very hard to influence the airlines to operate direct flights from Israel. I discussed this with all the Philippine ambassadors in Israel, and each of them avoided a firm action and a clear answer.    i

But this is only a partial explanation for the gap in the number of Israeli tourists in the Philippines and Thailand. According to my personal impression, Thailand invests in promoting tourism from Israel, and the Philippines shows less interest in us. The Thai government operates a local tourism office in Israel. They produce frequent lectures on tourist attractions, publish attractive colorful brochures in the Hebrew language, invite travel agents and travel writers for study tours in Thailand, and so on. And the Philippines – almost nothing!    i

The Philippines open an impressive stand every year at the IMTM fair in Israel. But they don't do it specifically for us. I participated in international tourism fairs in London and Berlin, and I saw the same booth with the same info materials in English. I got the impression that they don't invest in us, but when their stand is not in use, they bring here what they originally did for European tourists.    i

A few years ago, the Philippine ambassador to Israel, Neil Imperial, was also involved in promoting tourism and gave honorable attention to journalists. Since he returned to his country, two new ambassadors from the Philippines have arrived in Israel, and each of them ignores requests from journalists (and mine) to be interviewed on tourism issues.    i

To be fair, it should be noted that the Philippine Ministry of Tourism employs an energetic publicist in Israel, Golan Yosifun, but I think his hands are tied due to the lack of a budget for activities.    i

It is common to consider that each tourist leaves about a thousand dollars per week in the destination country. According to this, Israelis left 200 million dollars a year in Thailand, and not even a tenth of that in the Philippines. The Thai Ministry of Tourism's investment in the Israeli market yielded huge revenues and poured oil on the wheels of the local economy. I guess Philippine Tourism Secretary, Cristina Garcia Fresco, knows this too, but it seems she prefers to invest only in the British and German markets.    i

Could it be that they underestimate us?    i