Philippines wants to attract more cruise ships to its ports

MANILA - The Philippines, a country of 7,000 islands where you're rarely more than a few miles from the sea, wants a bigger slice of Asia's growing cruise-tourism industry.

Tourism accounted for 12.7 per cent of the Philippines' gross domestic product last year, already beating the government's goal of 10 per cent by 2022. Government officials are revising up the targets in the country's tourism development plan. Salomague Port in Ilocos Sur province, scheduled to open this month, will receive Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's biggest ship in Asia in December; the"Spectrum of the Seas" will return again in January and February.

Cruise tourism brings large numbers of people to concentrated areas for brief periods, multiplying and focusing the economic impact. At a recent trade show, government officials and representatives of major cruise lines discussed the possibility of adding the Philippines to Asian itineraries from 2020."Cruise calls in Manila, and the Philippines in general, have been growing quite strongly," said Mr Enrique Razon, chairman of casino-resort operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp.

Central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno said the amount of foreign currency from tourism should rise now that Boracay island, which was closed for six months last year for environmental rehabilitation, has reopened to tourists.

Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)

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