Balikbayans expected to keep PHL tourism alive amid travel advisories

The large number of overseas Filipinos who will be coming home for the Christmas season will make up for the expected negative impact of the travel advisories issued by four countries, including the United States, to the Philippines, according to Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim. Although he admitted that the travel warnings will have "negative consequences" on the country’s tourism industry, Lim said he is confident that the number of balikbayans during the holidays will "compensate" for it. “I’m not anxious because Christmas season is impending, and the influx of Filipinos coming home would be enough to compensate of our loss due to travel advisories," Lim said in Filipino on Wednesday. According to government statistics, there were almost 370,000 American tourists in the Philippines in the first seven months of the year, or 18 percent of the entire tourists the country received. Aside from the US, countries that issued travel warnings to the Philippines were Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. All cited imminent terror threats in the country, particularly in the southern region of Mindanao. Benito Bengzon Jr., spokesman of the Department of Tourism, said they are “still on track" of achieving their revenue target of $2.48 billion in 2010 amid the travel warnings. “The issuance of travel advisories is part of the regular functions of embassies in line with ensuring the safety and security of their citizens in a foreign country," he said in a statement on Wednesday. Bengzon pointed out that the Philippine government does the same when cautioning Filipinos against travel to countries that are regarded to pose security risks. As of end-July, there were 2,039,002 tourist arrivals in the Philippines. Philippine tourism, however, suffered a setback after the August 23 hostage-taking incident where eight tourists from Hong Kong were killed by a disgruntled former policeman. Bengzon said the department will coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which will work toward the lifting of the travel warnings. In an interview, Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said it is now implementing “stricter measures after the government heightened its security alert." “There are sufficient measures in place in complement with government’s counter-terrorism measures," she said. “Safety and security are at the core of PAL’s operations." The flag carrier has state-of-the-art machines to interfere with possible terror acts, Villaluna said. There will be “no substantial impact" of the travel advisory to PAL’s business, Villaluna added. - KBK, GMANews.TV