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Home Advocacy Tourism PCCI Lauds Ratification of Tourism Act
PCCI Lauds Ratification of Tourism Act

PCCI Biztour5, the tourism committee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) lauded the recent ratification of the Tourism Act of 2009. The act is a consolidation of Senate Bill 2213 and House Bill 5229, declaring a national policy on tourism as the primary engine of investment, employment, growth and national development.

Samie Lim, PCCI Vice-Chairman and Biztour5 Committee Chair, said that they are looking forward to the immediate signing of the Act into law as they see how it will move the industry to new heights and create the much-needed jobs for the people. “I believe this measure will bring in the tourism investments that PCCI has been aggressively advocating for in the last 4 years. Now that we have an enabling law to promote tourism, it would be easier for us to get the foreign investors in, as well as encourage Filipinos to venture into tourism-related businesses,” he added.
The Act states that full government assistance will be provided by way of competitive investment incentives, long-term development fund and other financing schemes extended to Filipino-owned enterprises. It will also mandate the creation of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), a state corporation that will designate and supervise Tourism Enterprise Zones (TEZs), which will provide incentives to locators.

Lim also sees the investments as key to raising the standards of tourism facilities and services which will improve the overall tourism image of the country. “More investments will not only translate to quantity but more importantly, it will result to better quality. We will not only have more hotels, we will have better hotels because they will be competing as to who can give the best value for the tourist’s money,” Lim said.

PCCI’s tourism committee is primarily focused on advocating for the creation of thousands of tourism businesses to provide millions of jobs but environmental thrusts are likewise integrated in their comprehensive program. The committee lauds the creation of the Tourism Act not only for the investment component but also for its wholistic approach to tourism development, clearly incorporating environmental protection and conservation.
 
“Ecotourism remains to be one of the strongest assets of our county. It is extremely important that as we push for these investments, we should gear our efforts towards responsible and sustainable tourism.” Lim said.