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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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Tuesday, July 4, 2017
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MANILA – “Sustainable” and “environment-friendly” tourism will help protect heritage sites and natural attractions, according to Joel Villanueva.
Filipinos must preserve the environment and protect natural resources through responsible and sustainable tourism, said the senator, who joined the Philippine delegation that visited France to strengthen the countries’ relations.
The government should develop effective tourism management programs just as in France, he said on Monday.
“Our country’s tourism industry generates about 5 million in direct employment, and we believe it is the government and the private sector’s responsibility to preserve our nature and conserve our heritage,” he said.
Villanueva lamented the meager P50-million budget for the restoration and development of Intramuros, or the Old Manila.
“We believe we can do more when it comes to preserving our cultural heritage by allocating enough budget to fund the restoration and reconstruction efforts of Intramuros in Manila, Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, Biak na Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan, and other heritage [sites] to attract more international and domestic tourists,” he said.
Meanwhile he lauded France — the world’s leading tourist destination with over 85 million tourist arrivals every year — for its vibrant tourism.
France promotes “eco-responsible” projects such as recycling waste, reducing water and energy use, and responsible sourcing, and puts premium on the preservation of monuments and other sites, said Villanueva.
“We [in the Philippines] have recorded more than 1.2 million visitors in the first two months of 2017. This is about 10 percent higher than the 1 million tourist arrivals in the same period last year,” he said.
“If we follow the tourism development policies of France and develop better infrastructure in the Philippines’ tourism destinations, we can also reach our maximum tourist arrivals and eventually open more employment opportunities in the tourism industry,” he added./PN
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