The tourism sector of Calabarzon has exceeded pre-pandemic numbers, but still has a long way to go for tourists to fully enjoy the “Philippine experience.”
Department of Tourism (DOT) Calabarzon Regional Director Marites Castro presented accomplishments of her department during the Kapihan Sa Bagong Pilipinas hosted by the Philippine Information Agency Calabarzon last July 7.
Statistics
On a national scale, Castro reported P2.09 trillion of total tourist receipts contributing 8.6 percent for the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2023.
Castro also reported a total of 19,112,040 international flights, 94 percent compared to pre-pandemic numbers, and 36,433,138 total domestic flights signaling a 99 percent recovery rate from 2019.
In terms of regional development, DOT Calabarzon boasts being number one when it comes to training.
Last 2023, DOT Calabarzon held a total of 291 industry trainings with 12,039 participants and 259 trainings with 10,891 participants under Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) training.
‘Revenge travel’
For this year, as of June 30, the agency already had 121 trainings with 6,316 participants for industry training and 121 trainings with 6,163 participants under FBSE training.
“Mas tumaas pa ang ating tourist arrivals kasi nakita ko diba may revenge travel tayo, so lahat ng tao gusto lumabas kahit malapit lang kasi ang Calabarzon naman talagang malapit lang puntahan,” said Castro.
“Saka ang ating road network ay magaganda na kaya mabilis lang pumunta dito sa area lalong lalo na ang ating mga destination,” she added.
Laguna left behind?
However, in the Quarterly Regional Economic Situationer presented for 2023, Laguna was last among the five provinces in the region in terms of overnight tourists with 421,231 while Batangas had over three million.
For same day tourists, Laguna is at third with 15,108,520.
For tourist spots with most arrivals, only two are from Laguna.
San Pedro City’s Shrine of Jesus in the Holy Sepulchre was seventh with 1,821,549 arrivals followed by Enchanted Kingdom in Santa Rosa City at eighth for its 1,621,309 arrivals.
San Pedro City since situated beside Metro Manila is also eighth on most arrivals for local government units followed by San Pablo and Santa Rosa.
‘Ang mahal naman’
And while statistics suggest good things, some parts of the tourist experience still shout “ang mahal naman.”
An example is the products sold at bus stops and main tourist spots.
“Masarap ang ating mga produkto pero kulang sa packaging. That’s why po sa DOT meron kaming linkup with DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) at saka po sa DOST (Department of Science and Technology), pati sa nasa local natin na pamahalaan.” Castro explained.
Another common experience of tourists is the cost of transportation like tricycles asking for way too much for short trips.
“Kung maganda talaga ang serbisyo niyo, ang turista ang kusang magbibigay ng tip. Wag kayong epal na paawa ba,” said Castro.
“Ang pwede po natin gawin dyan since ang mga tricycle po talaga, ang nagbigay po ng permiso dyan ay ang LGU, siguro po ang hakbang na pwede kong gawin ay makipag coordinate,” she added.
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