The Philippines and China’s travel and leisure deal will provide “massive” job opportunities and investments across all sectors of tourism in the country. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said after signing the Implementation Program on Tourism Cooperation.

Division of Travel and leisure (DOT) Admin Christina Garcia Frasco made such point after she inked the Implementation Program (IP) upon Tourism Assistance with China’s Culture plus Tourism Minister Hu Heping last Wednesday, Jan. 4.

The ceremonial signing was one associated with the highlights of President Marcos’ three-day state visit to the Chinese capital of Beijing where Frasco has been among the particular Cabinet officials who accompanied the Chief Executive.

“This Execution Program with China will generate massive employment opportunities and investments across all sectors of tourism throughout the Philippines, ” Frasco said in a statement Thursday, Jan. 5.

According to Frasco, the Philippines plus China will work together on increasing tourist arrivals, resuming and adding direct flights to key and emerging destinations, joint promotional activities, and inviting tourism opportunities in infrastructure, among others.

“We are grateful for China’s commitment and interest in partnering with the particular Philippines as we usher in this new era of travel and leisure focused on building the industry into a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient economic pillar with regard to the country’s transformation into a tourism powerhouse in Asia, ” the girl said.

The particular Implementation System seeks to achieve the objectives outlined in the Memorandum associated with Understanding signed by the Philippines and China in September 2002.

Both countries have agreed to encourage and support the exchange of their respective administrators and tourism professionals over a five-year period within order to strengthen mutual development in the fields of hotels, resorts, cruise ships, ports, tourism products, and other related industries and competency standards.

It also covered travel and leisure safety cooperation, in which both parties will certainly take combined measures to protect the rights, interests, plus safety of tourists visiting each other’s country.

Local tour operators and travel agencies, according to Frasco, may participate within the IP by jointly advertising both countries’ visitor offerings through promotional materials, highlighting significant attractions and destinations, and improving public information trade.

There will also be collaborative workshops and training sessions on topics such as cruise/port development, tourism products and lake development, understanding the travel and leisure market plus industry, search and rescue operations regarding first-aid measures, and security measures.

Both the Philippines and China are expected to assistance one another’s tourism departments and businesses in organizing travel fairs, tourism exhibitions, along with other promotional activities in order to educate the particular traveling public about their goods plus services while also fostering awareness associated with environmental protection and lasting development in the expansion of their own respective tourism industries.

“Also among the salient points of this Implementation Program is to advocate the best practices and knowledge within sustainable travel and leisure which includes the promotion of eco-friendly products and services. We will furthermore encourage purchases in tourism infrastructure plus support travel and leisure enterprises associated with both countries to cooperate in the development of tourism projects in accordance along with the current laws and regulations in each other’s nations, ” stated Frasco.

To further discuss the implementation covered by the agreement, Frasco mentioned a technical working group made up of representatives from the DOT and China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism shall convene at least once a year or as often as is necessary.

“In 2019, the Philippines recorded an 8. 26 million international visitor arrivals where The far east placed second as the particular country’s top tourist market with a total of 1. 74 million landings, ” the tourism department noted.