WHILE growth has been faster, more inclusive and sustainable in the Visayas region, there remains a lot of investment areas that both the government and the private sector may look into to advance its regional economy, especially during these difficult times of the pandemic, top officials said.

Among these attractive sectors that need more local and foreign investments are agriculture, tourism, and information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO), said Philippine Chamber of Commerce Regional Governor Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida for Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Reynaldo “Cholo” Franco, president of Eastern Visayas Tourism Associa

tion Inc., during The Manila Times Online Business Forum titled “The Visayas: Regional direction, governance and progress” on Wednesday.

For this year, Peñaflorida said that the IT BPO industry will be one of the major economic drivers in the region, along with the tourism sector, given the “revenge” arrival of tourists as businesses get back on track amid the pandemic.

This was echoed by Franco, saying that while there are currently 13 tourism circuits in Eastern Visayas, easily connecting provinces, the region needs “more stable” and “more accessible” airports for foreign visitors. “An international airport would be a good investment,” he said.

“We need to capitalize on the publicprivate partnership (PPP). The private sector should come in not only to domestic but also to foreign,” Franco added, noting also the need for more digital infrastructure in Eastern Visayas.

The first quarter total day visitors in Eastern Visayas decreased by 7 percent in 2019 from 2018, which was further reduced by 88 percent in 2020, regional data showed. The total day visitors increased by 83 percent in 2021 and another 81 percent in 2022, which means that the region is now on its recovery stage in terms of tourist arrivals, according to Franco.

“We’re now in recovery, however, we haven’t reached our peak yet in 2018,” he said.

As for agriculture, Peñaflorida emphasized the importance of prioritizing the region’s food security amid the global food challenges.

“What gives us stability also is our agriculture sector. Our province remains an agricultural one. And now, with the pandemic, we see how it benefited us. We have our own source of food. It gives us a sense of stability that we can thrive,” he said.

Franco stressed that Visayas is one of the country’s main sources of agricultural products, and by enhancing production, the region could reduce food and input prices, improve welfare, and make Philippine products more competitive. Unless there is development in major provinces in the region, and extension of government and private sector programs to other areas, it is hard to see how the region can achieve sustained and inclusive growth.

Eastern Visayas has a lot to offer, Franco said. “We have a lot of gifts and opportunities,” he added.

Meanwhile, Peñaflorida described the province of IloIlo as “the next big thing” in the Western Visayas Region. Iloilo is among the major food producers, provider of mineral resources, sites of human settlements, and rich in tourism sites and destinations.

Peñaflorida bragged about Iloilo’s power sector.

“This is something that we’re happy about. We have enough power capacity and I think we have one of the most competitive rates,” he said.

However, he stressed that there remains a lot of work to do to sustain development of its energy sector. At the same time, he mentioned the need for more infrastructure projects in the region. “The whole collective dream of the Western Visayas is the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Link Bridge,” which will also link Iloilo to some of the key provinces in the region, thus, greater economic growth, said Peñaflorida.

He rated ease of doing business in Iloilo at 90 percent, emphasizing that business transactions with the local government are done the easy way, helping stakeholders achieve their respective goals.

“We dream of Iloilo. But there’s still a lot to do in Eastern Visayas,” Franco said.

The two officials shared optimism that President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. will push programs toward the rapid growth and development of the Visayas region.

“My wish list for the President is for him to be true to his mandate of unity… and include Iloilo, the Region 6, in its development plans… In addition, we hope that the aspect of our resiliency will be looked at, in light of the coming typhoons and disasters. We hope there’ll pbreosttercotntgheer erensviilrioenncmy epnlat,n”ssaaniddPperñoagflraomrids ath. at

‘Revenge tourism’

In a related development, the Marcos administration will greatly benefit from the “revenge tourism” that started under the outgoing Duterte government, the lead convenor of the Safe Travel AllDiarn.cMe saariidaiCnhaefrorryumLyonnRWodedonlfeosdsaayi.d at the 2022 Midyear business economic briefing titled “New Administration, New Economy: The Philippines after May 9 and Covid-19,” that with most countries and especially provinces in the country shifting to a looser restriction, people could now travel.

“Many people are rushing to end their isolation, that is why tourism continues to grow,” she said.

Rodolfo also said that as restrictions eased, with many parts of the Philippines being placed under Alert Level 1, Filipino families, who were forced to stay in their homes for two years now have a chance to have a change in their surroundings.

“It was good for the mental health of the Filipino traveler,” she said.

Revenge tourism or revenge travel is a phenomenon where people who are tired of mundane everyday routines due to lockdowns rush to travel to nearby destinations for short breaks.

Rodolfo added that while international travel is starting to gain ground, the Philippine tourism industry is heavily relying on domestic travel.

“Domestic growth is busy nowadays. It has been the backbone of tourism even before Covid and now after. It is the catalyst for the rebound in the industry,” she said.

Among the top destinations are Boracay and Palawan. The majority of the local travel destinations are located in the Central Visayas.

“The top destinations are Central Visayas. You have Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor,” Rodolfo said, adding that Region 4A, or Calabarzon, also experienced growth in the tourism industry, being near the National Capital Region, the nearest getaway.

She said that the Marcos administration could sustain the growth by maintaining proper health protocols across the country to keep low CoSvhide-a1l9sonsuamidbtherast.to

boost the tourism industry further, the help of the local government is needed to improve the infrastructure and the tourist spots to make them accessible.

“The help of the LGUs is greatly needed,” she said.

This, according to Rodolfo, is why they see the appointment of Liloan, Cebu Mayor aCsharigstoionda dGeacricsiiao-nF.rasco as Tourism secretary

“She is a local chief executive. She knows what is needed to boost the tourism of each LGU,” she said.