Philippines and South Korea renew MoU on tourism cooperation
The five-year agreement aims to enhance the relations in tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
The Philippines.- Christina Frasco, secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT) of the Philippines, and Yu In-chon, minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, have signed the implementation plan for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism Cooperation for 2024-2029.
The MoU extends and broadens the bilateral tourism cooperation established in a previous MoU signed in 2006. Frasco said the plan would strengthen the relationship between the Philippines and South Korea in terms of tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
According to the Philippine News Agency, Frasco said: “We anticipate this will increase demand for more Philippine destinations and tourism products from our number one source market, South Korea, and provide more opportunities for the economic advancement of our people, with the expected growth in our tourism numbers.”
As part of the renewed cooperation, the countries have agreed to exchange tourism professionals and administrators to enhance mutual development and competence in areas such as hotels, resorts, cruises, ports, tourism products, and related industries; share information on tourism development; and enhance tourism safety by establishing and improving mechanisms for tourism safety cooperation through information sharing and contingency coordination.
They have also agreed to jointly promote and market to increase overall tourist traffic; take part in training and exchange programs; support each other’s tourism fairs, exhibitions, and other promotional activities; and promote tourism investment.
The Philippines received 4.4 million tourist arrivals in the first nine months of the year. South Korea remained the country’s biggest source market, accounting for 26.9 per cent of arrivals (1.19m). For the full year, the country aims to attract 7.7 million arrivals. Last year, it received 5.45 million. In July, Christina Garcia Frasco reported that earnings from inbound visitors reached PHP282.17bn (US$4.83bn) in the first half.
