(Eagle News) — Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo on Wednesday said that statements such as Vice President Leni Robredo’s make it difficult for her office to “sell the Philippines” to potential tourists.
“The Philippines is now becoming an alternate destination in Asia and Europe. Yung mga statement na ganun, it really…Nahihirapan kami i-sell ang Philippines,” she said in a press conference in the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, Thailand, where she and several other government officials accompanied President Rodrigo Duterte on a 3-day official visit.
Teo was referring to the statement made by Robredo in a six-minute video shown in an event organized by a nongovernment organization.
The event–organized by DRCNet which is against drug wars in general—was held on the sidelines of a United Nations event in Vienna, Austria.
In the video, Robredo is seen dishing out scathing criticisms of Duterte’s drug war, which she said had left the people “hopeless and helpless.”
She also described what she said was a “palit-ulo” scheme that sees members of the family of a drug suspect arrested in his or her place.
The Philippine National Police has denied Robredo’s version of the scheme.
“I hope we could..(I’m not only referring to) VP Leni but also to the media, na please, medyo itone down natin ang (statements on) extrajudicial killings because I’m always asked wherever I go even (if it’s) in Asia, in Europe..kung totoo po ba ito. And I would say it’s safe in the Philippines, and I would always ask them to come,” Teo said.
“Help us sell the Philippines,” she added.
More tourists expected in Philippines
Even then, Teo said she sees more tourists coming to the Philippines, especially from China, other parts of Asia, and Europe.
During Duterte’s official state visit to Thailand, for instance, Teo said she and her counterpart have agreed to create “materials” that will promote, not only one country, but both.
She said the move was to address the discrepancy between the number of Thais visiting the Philippines, and the number of Filipinos visiting the Philippines.
She said there were more Filipino tourists going to Thailand, than Thai tourists coming to the Philippines.
According to Teo, arrivals of Thai tourists in the Philippines were pegged “only” at 70,000.
It was unclear if the figure is representative of arrivals on a yearly basis.
“(My Thai counterpart) promised me she would help on this. Kung tour operators ng Thailand, and tour operators of the Philippines, iisahin namin package namin (so) that we both sell both countries..You don’t only sell, kung Thailand, Thailand lang..,” Teo said.
She added a Thai airline will also be flying direct to Cebu soon.
“I think it will be a regular flight. That will be a good development for us. Cebu, Davao, Bangkok, that’s their plan,” she said.
