PRELIM

Task Performance
In

Philippine Culture and Tourism Geography

SUBMITTED BY:
Aguirre, Kimbherly D.
Dimaguila, Crissagaile A.
Dela Torre, Angeline O.
Mia, Sean Calvin M.
Mina, Knowles Vishnu G.
Pagalanan, Risset P.
Saturno, Kevin S.

TM102

SUBMITTED TO:
Faye Angelou Soria
I. INTRODUCTION
The Philippines has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 virus, which has led many people
around the nation to adapt to changes in their ways of living and the tourism industry. People
were not allowed to go outside of their respected homes, to travel, or to visit their distant family
or friends. Therefore, the impact of this pandemic on the tourism industry was that it reduced the
number of tourists both domestically and internationally coming to the nation, which greatly
impacted the income of the tourism industry in the Philippines as a whole. As estimated by the
World Tourism Organization, 100 to 120 million jobs are at risk due to the closing of borders,
airports, hotels, land travel, and other related tourism services around the world (UNWTO,
2020). As a result, the economic income of the Philippines decreased compared to other years.
Tourism-related business operations were affected by the pandemic that was put on hold, and
only enterprises allowed to operate during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) were
those related to essential services and products like food and other survival needs; others
temporarily stopped offering those services and products due to low demand and restrictions
during the pandemic. As a result, businesses reduced their level of operations as the
employment rate went downhill, affecting the tourism sector.
There are a lot of strategies and actions to cope with the pandemic, like mitigating, reopening,
restarting, and recovering from this situation, and helping the industry deal with this serious
problem. After recovering from the pandemic, it would take a million pesos to help the
businesses recover again and normalize their operations. It is not a simple problem that can be
resolved quickly. Also, this is not only the effect of the pandemic that needs a lot of effort or
funds to return to its normal performance; others need it too. Thus, it takes a long time before
the tourism industry fully recovers due to the negative impact caused by the pandemic. But after
a year, some businesses are slowly recovering from their losses.
By getting back in flight in the industry, the Philippines has a lot to offer by having beautiful
islands and unique cultures and will also once again attract tourists. Nevertheless, the country
should use this opportunity to once again rebuild the industry by promoting the nation,
conducting innovation on how they do business or making use of modern technology and
applying business ideas, guaranteeing adherence to health and safety standards.
In conclusion, while the Philippines was suffering difficulties during the pandemic, tourism was
the most affected by it. There are a lot of unfortunate things that happened, and it impacted the
businesses and the tourism industry itself. Hence, Filipinos should remember that through their
hard work and effort, they can help the tourism sector recover from its losses and solve the
negative effects it faces. Therefore, they can be sure that the tourism industry will achieve better
success again after the COVID-19 pandemic.

II. EVENT THAT GREATLY INFLUENCED TOURISM IN THE PHILIPPINES

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Philippine tourism industry. Due to
travel restrictions, border closures, and health concerns, the number of tourists visiting the
country has drastically reduced. This has led to a decline in revenue for various sectors,
including hotels, airlines, restaurants, and local businesses that rely on tourism.
As a result, many businesses have had to lay off employees or reduce their working hours. This
has caused an increase in unemployment and financial difficulties for many people in the
industry. The government has implemented support programs to help these businesses and
workers, but the recovery process is expected to be slow.
Moreover, the pandemic has affected the country's cultural events, such as festivals and
traditional celebrations, which are essential sources of income for local communities. The
cancellation or postponement of these events has led to further economic losses.
In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the Philippine tourism industry,
causing financial difficulties and job losses. However, the government and industry stakeholders
are working together to adapt and innovate, focusing on domestic tourism and exploring new
opportunities in digital tourism to help the industry recover.

III. GOVERNMENT STRATEGIES IN COMBATTING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In June 2020, the House of Representatives of the nation passed House Bill 6815, also known
as the planned Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA), in an effort to assist companies and
individuals in lessening the effects of COVID-19. After the bill is signed into law, an economic
stimulus package totaling PHP1.3 trillion will be given over the course of the following four years
to pay for MSMEs' support, salary subsidies, and COVID-19 testing. The measure allocates
PHP58 billion to tourism businesses with DOT accreditation for the following initiatives:

 Interest-free loans or the issuing of loan guarantees for up to five (5) years to cover
operational and maintenance costs.
 Credit facilities for upgrading, rehabilitation, or modernization of current establishments
or facilities to be compliant with new health and safety standards
 Marketing and product development promotions and programs
 Grants for education training, and advising of tourism stakeholders for new normal
alternative livelihood programs
 Utilization of information technology
 Other relevant programs, including infrastructure to mitigate the economic effects of
COVID-19 on the tourism industry

III. RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOOST TOURISM IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Building a strong relationship and global coordination with other countries.
 Building a strong relationship and a connection with other countries, particularly during
the COVID-19 pandemic, is important. This will help the Philippines to have relevant
information about a certain outbreak and to know what the effects can be and what
possible solutions are needed. It can help us Filipinos to be prepared for this kind of
crisis. We should always coordinate with other countries since they have a lot of
technological advancements that they can use in faster dissemination of information,
research, and machine development about the outbreak, which will help us know what is
going to have an effect on different areas and what possible solutions are. If our country
has a better relationship with different countries, they can help us take action and teach
us how to properly handle the pandemic so that this virus cannot grow and foster a
situation that cannot affect tourism, people, or other aspects of the country.
2. Allocating funds for pandemic preparedness and response.
 This is crucial to ensuring prompt action during times of crisis. By ensuring sufficient
funding in the national budget for necessary equipment, vaccines, and other response
measures, the resolution of challenges brought about by the pandemic can be
expedited. Additionally, effective planning and utilization of funds can lead to better
safety and protection for citizens against potential threats of future disasters. By setting
aside a portion of the national budget for this purpose, governments can proactively
invest in acquiring necessary equipment, vaccines, and other resources ahead of time.
Having a dedicated budget streamlines the process of finding solutions to pandemic-
related challenges, enabling quicker responses and ultimately better protection for public
health. This proactive approach not only saves lives but also minimizes the economic
and social disruptions caused by pandemics.
3. Research and machine development.
 Since the Philippines doesn't have enough machines and research for this kind of crisis,
which was the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an eye-opener for the government regarding
the importance of having machines in detecting a virus. If we coordinate with other
countries on research and machine development in our country which has rapid
progress in research, machines can help us with faster progress and solutions to the
problem. That will help to give the Philippines a machine for diagnostics, therapeutics,
and vaccines, since this type of machine and medicine can help our country take faster
action or respond to this pandemic. Our country should also implement or invest in more
research and machine development on the possible and coming crisis so that our
country is ready and has a solution that can solve the problem. It's really important to be
ready so that we can avoid the detrimental effect of any outbreak on the tourism industry.

REFERENCES:
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (n.d.). Impact of COVID-19 on the Philippine Tourism Industry.
PwC. https://www.pwc.com/ph/en/publications/pwc-publications/tourism-covid-19.html?
fbclid=IwAR1c4SYtZOMxu1QcYB15hTqkmIJVGLuU2FOGPeINJMLL1kyPetuvQ9ssqjI
Gonzales, J. (2021, July 26). How COVID-19 is affecting the tourism industry in the
Philippines. Daydreaming in Paradise. https://daydreaminginparadise.com/how-covid-19-is-
affecting-the-tourism-industry-in-the-philippines/?fbclid=IwAR0fkrFOs49ukTn19g-
API5bNKf4eKguhznPEeTIW4x0DXynAZatfASCPAE
2020: Worst Year in Tourism History with 1 Billion Fewer International Arrivals. (n.d.).
https://www.unwto.org/news/2020-worst-year-in-tourism-history-with-1-billion-fewer-
international-arrivals?fbclid=IwAR2YesplRMHMM4BtqkmCkDZ-
JmUZKEuQ3ySbqBrZ0Koqhp597UcuwNv37c8