Priority Development Areas and Partners on International Cooperation: Asia and the Pacific Region

Duration: October 2020 – October 2021

Asia and the Pacific play a vital role in global tourism, both as an inbound and an outbound market. Total arrivals in the region grew by a steady 6% in 2017, in line with the preceding year, to reach of 323 million. The region’s market share of arrivals has gradually increased from 16% in 2000 to 24% in 2017 (UNWTO, 2018).

The Philippines have forged a total of 14 bilateral tourism cooperation with its partner countries in the Asia and the Pacific Region, 4 of which have an existing Implementation Program, namely: Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, and Thailand. In its continuous pursuit to boost the existing robust and strong, friendly diplomatic relations with its bilateral, multilateral, and regional partners, the Philippines will be able to strengthen its partnership with other countries through identifying matters of mutual interest that may be of cooperation, as well as strengths that the Philippines may acquire from its partner countries. This will likewise enable the country to implement projects and programs focusing on the following areas: tourism development planning, marketing and promotions, standards and regulations, human resource development, and tourism investments.

In 2019, the Office of Tourism Development Planning, Research and Information Management (OTDPRIM) have developed the Comparative Study on International Tourism Cooperation which serves as a guideline in terms of identifying the Philippines’ potential partners in the international community to pursue a high-level bilateral engagement. As a follow through, the OTDPRIM will develop a Study on Priority Development Areas and Partners on International Cooperation focusing on the geographical regions, namely: ASEAN Region, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, America and Middle East.