Boracay losses reach up to P50M–DOT
Establishments in the island-resort of Boracay lost up to P50 million in revenues so far as a result of booking cancellations and lost opportunities in the wake of the Manila hostage-taking incident last August 23.
Tourism Regional Director Edwin Trompeta said that in coming up with the figure, they considered the number of cancellations, which could be considered actual losses, expected to last until December this year.
“Apart from the bookings cancelled, we also lost opportunities because of the travel advisory issued by Hong Kong,” he said.
He said if Boracay lost 3,000 room nights at P7,000 per night because of the cancellations, add to that the cost of food and drinks, entertainment, souvenir items, and transportation, the figure could reach almost P50 million.
“So, that’s already P21 million. Then you add to that the things that I mentioned. That’s almost P50 million and it could go beyond that because we also need to add the opportunities lost like unrealized promotional activities,” Trompeta said.
The bad news is, the trend might go on until the end of the year, he said.
Despite the bleak prediction, the tourism official said he is confident that no establishment would close shop in Boracay.
“It’s quite unlikely because most of the resorts in Boracay are not dedicated to the Hong Kong-China market. In fact, most of these cater to European markets and others are concentrating on domestic tourists,” Trompeta said.
Based on records, tourists from Hong Kong-China are pegged to have reached 170,000 in 2009 or nine percent of the total arrivals.
For now, Trompeta acknowledged that tourists from Hong Kong-China could not be enticed to visit the country.
“The incident is still fresh. We just can’t face them and say visit the country,” he said.
But if they find the Incident Investigation and Review Committee report on the hostage-taking incident acceptable, this may encourage them to visit the Philippines, Trompeta said.
He said they also rely on the efforts of the private sector to mount an aggressive promotion and marketing of properties and destinations in the country.
Also, actions to be undertaken by the Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Customs and the Department of Foreign Affairs in the form of incentives for tourists could also help lure foreign visitors back to the country, Trompeta added.*
