|
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
THE Philippines is one of the
least attractive sites for developing the travel and tourism
industry, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) study released
Thursday.
In its first Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Report, the Switzerland-based organization said the
Philippines ranked 86th among 124 countries surveyed. The report
measures the factors and policies that make it attractive to develop
the travel and tourism industry in different countries.
The Philippines scored 3.79 in
the overall travel and tourism competitiveness index. Its regulatory
framework garnered 3.83 points; its business environment and
infrastructure, 3.10; and its human cultural and natural resources,
4.29.
“Our study is not a ‘beauty
contest,’ or a statement about the attractiveness of a country.
[The study] aim to measure the factors that make it attractive to
develop the travel and tourism industry of individual countries,”
Jennifer Blanke, senior economist of the WEF Global Competitiveness
Network, said.
The WEF also scored a number of
“pillars” of travel and tourism competitiveness. These include
policy rules, of which the Philippines scored 4.72; environmental
regulation, 3.65; safety and security, 3.75; health and hygiene,
4.22; and prioritization of travel and tourism, 3.59.
For air transport infrastructure,
the country scored 2.80; ground transport infrastructure, 2.70;
tourism infrastructure, 2.19; information and communication
technology infrastructure, 2.22; price competitiveness, 5.59; human
capital, 4.64; national tourism perception, 4.58 and natural and
cultural resources, 3.66.
While it scored better than
Vietnam, which ranked 87th, the Philippines trailed behind other
Asian countries like Singapore, which was in the top 10, Malaysia,
which ranked 31st; Korea, 42nd; Thailand, 43rd; and Indonesia, 60th.
|
