Canada grants $7.1m to Fun Philippines
The Philippine tourism industry is to receive a multi-million dollar service-oriented jolt from the Canadian government, the first major foreign investment into the country after it received its first-ever investment-grade credit rating by Fitch on March 28.
The Canadian International Development Authority (CIDA), a developmental arm of the Canadian government that provides foreign aid, has announced that it will extend a $7.1 million grant in technical assistance, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) acting as the administering agency. The signing ceremony for the grant is taking place on April 10 in Manila, with Director Shigeko Hattori of the ADB, Mr Luke Myers of CIDA, and Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr in attendance.
The grant will focus its funds on the development of industry competitiveness through three key outputs over the coming four years: regulatory review, service standards and skills development – all of which the industry will need to continue the path of international credibility it has gathered.
The Philippines in recent weeks has received awards and citations for its tourism destinations from global organisations and international magazines. At the top of April, Scuba Diving Magazine named the Philippines, along with Malaysia, the best diving destination in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the first week of March 2013, Boracay was named the Best Beach in Asia and 24th in the world by Trip Advisor.
Canada’s agreement to transfer the grant to the Philippines sets a precedent that Western nations now feel more comfortable investing in the infrastructure-starved nation due to its recent reward by Fitch, a move which many Philippine observers believe will be followed by S&P and Moody’s in the near future.
Through time-consistency guarantees offered by the ADB, international investors can safeguard against corrupt practices and political change, the ADB informed Inside Investor, making the multinational bank an obvious choice for administering investments into developing Asian nations with poor regulatory bodies.
Along with about $300 million being dedicated to tourism roads, the Philippines plans to scale up the industry towards a goal post of 10 million overseas visitors by 2016, as outlined in the National Tourism Development Plan. Internal travelers will also be boosted largely in part due to increased wealth generated for a growing middle class through the BPO sector, with domestic tourists expected to hit 56.1 million by the same year.
However, on the intoxicatingly white-sand beach of Boracay, at the center of the Philippines’ tourism nexus of tropical islands, service standards have yet to meet the splendor the land intrinsically professes.
“We go to Thailand to receive superior service, not the Philippines,” a well-heeled Filipino recently told Inside Investor.
The Philippine tourism industry is to receive a multi-million dollar service-oriented jolt from the Canadian government, the first major foreign investment into the country after it received its first-ever investment-grade credit rating by Fitch on March 28. The Canadian International Development Authority (CIDA), a developmental arm of the Canadian government that provides foreign aid, has announced that it will extend a $7.1 million grant in technical assistance, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) acting as the administering agency. The signing ceremony for the grant is taking place on April 10 in Manila, with Director Shigeko Hattori of the ADB, Mr...
The Philippine tourism industry is to receive a multi-million dollar service-oriented jolt from the Canadian government, the first major foreign investment into the country after it received its first-ever investment-grade credit rating by Fitch on March 28.
The Canadian International Development Authority (CIDA), a developmental arm of the Canadian government that provides foreign aid, has announced that it will extend a $7.1 million grant in technical assistance, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) acting as the administering agency. The signing ceremony for the grant is taking place on April 10 in Manila, with Director Shigeko Hattori of the ADB, Mr Luke Myers of CIDA, and Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr in attendance.
The grant will focus its funds on the development of industry competitiveness through three key outputs over the coming four years: regulatory review, service standards and skills development – all of which the industry will need to continue the path of international credibility it has gathered.
The Philippines in recent weeks has received awards and citations for its tourism destinations from global organisations and international magazines. At the top of April, Scuba Diving Magazine named the Philippines, along with Malaysia, the best diving destination in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the first week of March 2013, Boracay was named the Best Beach in Asia and 24th in the world by Trip Advisor.
Canada’s agreement to transfer the grant to the Philippines sets a precedent that Western nations now feel more comfortable investing in the infrastructure-starved nation due to its recent reward by Fitch, a move which many Philippine observers believe will be followed by S&P and Moody’s in the near future.
Through time-consistency guarantees offered by the ADB, international investors can safeguard against corrupt practices and political change, the ADB informed Inside Investor, making the multinational bank an obvious choice for administering investments into developing Asian nations with poor regulatory bodies.
Along with about $300 million being dedicated to tourism roads, the Philippines plans to scale up the industry towards a goal post of 10 million overseas visitors by 2016, as outlined in the National Tourism Development Plan. Internal travelers will also be boosted largely in part due to increased wealth generated for a growing middle class through the BPO sector, with domestic tourists expected to hit 56.1 million by the same year.
However, on the intoxicatingly white-sand beach of Boracay, at the center of the Philippines’ tourism nexus of tropical islands, service standards have yet to meet the splendor the land intrinsically professes.
“We go to Thailand to receive superior service, not the Philippines,” a well-heeled Filipino recently told Inside Investor.
The $7.1 million grant to the Philippines by the CIDA is a big stepping stone for the tourism sector of the Philippines, which will help advance the quality of tourism. More than anything because Canada has shown the initiative to give the Philippines a grant, it is setting an example for other Western nations to look into countries in Asia especially when they have so much to offer and attract millions of tourists every year.