Published on Wednesday, 24 April 2013 00:00 [ Malaya.com.ph
]
DOT
Undersecretary Daniel Corpuz, in his presentation at the 3rd Philippine
Healthcare & Retirement Summit at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City, said
foreign tourist arrivals in the first
quarter of the year has breached the 1.2-million mark, putting the country well
on its way to hitting the 5-million mark this year.
He said the
opening of secondary gateways to foreign
carriers while rehabilitating and expanding existing airports will allow for
more visitors from Japan, Korea and China.
The country
also expects the arrival of 33 new aircraft in the first quarter of 2014 which
will fly in more visitors from the
Middle East, Australia, and Asean.
Another impetus is if the country graduates to category 1 in the US
rating.
Corpuz said
the Philippines, once positioned for sun and
beach – now has three new market segments to expand its tourism
portfolio: meetings, incentives, convention and exhibitions or MICE; dining and
marine sports and; English as secondary language. Corpuz said the country
attracts some 200,000 students from China and Korea annually.
By 2014,
Corpuz said DOT would also focus on
cruises and the retirement and medical tourism.
According to
Corpuz, the Tourism Industry Economic Zone Authority is now identifying tourism
zones for masterplanning where the retirement, health and wellness facilities
could be located He said the DOT has formed a technical working group to craft a roadmap to ensure the competitiveness of the country as a
retirement and medical tourism destination even a s it leverages n the
availability of skilled professionals and institutions. The Philippines he said
can highlight its strength in certain fields of specialization like surgery
(cardio, orthopedic) oncology, ophthalmology; dermatology and cosmetic surgery
as well as dental care and standard medical treatments like checkups and
diagnostics.
According to
Veredigno Atienza, general manager of the Philippine Retirement Authority, the
Philippines can position itself as retirement for fast-growing markets like
China, Taiwan and Korea and even South Asia like India .
Atienza said
Malaysia’s My Second Home Program has been successful because of South Asian
retirees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and even from Iran.
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