By Katrina Gracia Consebido
The Philippines is on its way to having a stronger tourism partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
In late November this year, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco met with tourism leaders from the Middle East to promote the Philippines as a viable tourist destination.
She also engaged in a bilateral meeting with the Saudi Vice Minister of Tourism, Princess Haifa Al Saud.
“We share in your excitement all of the prospects and possibilities for tourism in Saudi Arabia, especially with the investment in the industry,” the DOT chief said during the meeting on the sidelines of the 22nd World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit: Travel for a Better Future.
“We pride ourselves in the Filipino brand of service excellence. Therefore, we would be very happy to partner with you as far as capability building and further education in terms of tourism capability development is concerned,” she added.
It was also agreed that KSA will offer Arabic-speaking tour guides and to guide the Philippines in developing the Halal and pilgrimage tourism portfolios. There will also be more direct flights and an investor directory will be created.
For the Philippines’ part, it will provide hospitality and human capital development to KSA’s tourism.
“Saudi Arabia actually ranks number one for our Middle east source market. We see great potential in ushering in more arrivals into the Philippines… At the same time, the development and relationship is mutual, considering that there are over 800,000 Filipinos here in Saudi Arabia,” Frasco said.
Saudi Arabia was the top Middle East tourist source market for the Philippines before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with 43, 748 arrivals in 2019.
Currently, Saudi Arabia ranks 23rd with 9,424 arrivals since the Philippines reopened in 2022. -ag
