The Department of of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Monday entered into an agreement for the convergence of programs that will advance tourism and tourism-related industries in the country.

The memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and DTI Secretary Cristina Roque during a ceremonial signing at the DOT Central Office in Makati City.

According to Roque, the MOA will institutionalize the coordination between DOT and DTI in promoting tourism-related industries, participating in joint trade and tourism missions, developing sustainable tourism-related enterprises, and providing capacity building initiatives to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are operating in the country’s tourist destinations.

Roque also announced that the partnership with DOT will also unlock the available funds of its financing arm, the Small Business (SB) Corp., to entrepreneurs in the tourism sector as well as to support Tatak Pinoy stores and One Town, One Product (OTOP) outlets.

She said SB Corp. has available loan facility of around PHP500 million for tourism-related businesses, and could still be expanded depending on the demand of the financial product.

SB Corp. can lend from PHP10,000 to PHP1 million to borrowers, Roque added.

“At the Department of Trade and Industry, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that our MSMEs, the lifeblood of our economy, not only participates in our tourism value chain, but thrive within it,” Roque said during the signing ceremony.

For her part, Frasco said she is confident the MOA would propel both tourism and trade to new heights of growth, inclusivity, and sustainability.

“This partnership acknowledges that the two are inextricably linked. Tourism cannot thrive without trade. Trade cannot reach its full potential without tourism,” the DOT chief said.

With the forthcoming implementation of the value-added tax (VAT) refund for foreign tourists, Frasco said she sees further expansion of shopping tourism in the Philippines.

“Well, 2024 was a banner year for Philippine tourism with international tourism spending reaching around PHP760 billion, a 126-percent recovery from the pandemic. Our goal is always to exceed that,” she said.

“And we anticipate that with partnerships such as this with the DOT and DTI that fuel our local MSMEs, with our President instituting laws that will encourage more tourism spending as well as our efforts in promoting and developing tourism in the country, we are hopeful that we would be able to exceed our international visitor receipts as well as domestic tourism receipts from the year before,” Frasco added. (PNA)