13/10/2025
Long term plans, strategic for our farmer entrepreneurs!
■ A Collective Call to DOT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco and the Department of Tourism - Philippines
by Madame Talks PH
Let me be blunt: I am tired of seeing the Department of Tourism (DOT) favour malls and glossy commercial centres as the primary spaces for so-called “tourism expos and other exclusive events”, that are accessible only to the elites, upper and middle classes in society.
Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, with all due respect, this approach is blind to the realities of the very people tourism is supposed to serve.
How can our micro and small businesses — the weavers, the carvers, the craft makers, the food vendors and farmers — ever recover if they are pushed into spaces where stall fees alone are already impossible for them to afford?
These are not multinationals with big capital and connections. These are marginalised individuals and families struggling after typhoons, flooding, and years of poverty that tourism was supposed to help alleviate.
Instead of building platforms for recovery, we are watching DOT create events that only the already-privileged can afford to join. That is not inclusivity. That is exclusion masked with PR gloss.
📌 Here’s what the numbers say:
1. Poverty is still massive.
In 2023, the poverty incidence in the Philippines was 15.5%, down from 18.1% in 2021.
That’s about 17.54 million Filipinos who still lack enough income to meet basic food and nonfood needs.
Among families, about 3 million are poor.
2. Tourist arrivals are not what they should be.
In 2024, the Philippines had 5,949,350 foreign traveller arrivals, up about 9.15% from 2023’s 5,450,557. But that’s still well short of DOT’s target of 7.7 million arrivals.
In January 2025, the country saw 626,900 visitor arrivals — a strong jump year-on-year (about 9.1%) over January 2024. But that’s still far from pre-pandemic single-month highs that were over 700,000.
Worse: in 1Q25, arrivals dropped by 0.5% compared to 1Q24, largely due to fewer tourists coming from major source countries like South Korea and China.
3. Natural disasters drain us — both lives and livelihoods.
Annually, disasters (typhoons, floods, etc.) cost us roughly 1.1% of local output / GDP.
The thing to remember: those losses hit the poor and vulnerable hardest.
The ones who have little margin, no savings, and for whom losing one harvest, or one market day, can mean going hungry, worse debt, or worse.
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📌 Why do these data matter — and why DOT’s favouritism to malls and private spaces is unacceptable?
When 17.5 million people are struggling just to meet basic needs, you can’t keep choosing high-cost commercial spaces for your events and expect that the majority of small vendors can participate.
The events become essentially exclusion zones for those who most need the boost.
When we are falling short of tourist arrival targets, and yet we insist on luxury venues for these expos, we miss many opportunities.
Authenticity and grass-roots participation sell. They bring in experiential tourists. They build local economies.
Because disasters are a constant, providing free or very low-cost public space for small businesses is one way to build resilience and recovery.
It helps people rebuild income streams, local ties, and culture. To not have to depend entirely on relief, but on sustainable, dignified work.
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📌 Secretary Frasco, hear this:
✅️ Stop privileging malls and commercial spaces that are dominating the market. Give public plazas, barangay halls, transport hubs, parks as venues — free or very affordable — for arts & crafts expos.
✅️ Prioritise the artisans, micro/small entrepreneurs, especially those from disaster-affected areas, marginalised regions, fisherfolk, and indigenous peoples.
✅️ Measure your success not only in foreign arrivals or revenues, but in how many Filipino lives improved, how many families regained income, how many craftspeople got their work seen and sold.
✅️ Make sure the DOT works hand-in-hand with DTI, DSWD, LGUs, and disaster risk offices — a policy that connects tourism, livelihood, and social protection.
If DOT were serious about inclusivity, the focus would be on lowering barriers for participation in tourism — like providing free vending spaces, training for artisans, subsidies for disaster-hit communities, and support for small accommodation owners to upgrade their facilities.
📌 Globally, tourism growth has shifted towards authentic, cultural, and sustainable experiences:
✅️ Thailand thrives on weekend markets and homestays.
✅️ Indonesia champions craft villages and eco-tourism.
✅️ Vietnam leverages street markets and local community tours.
✅️ Malaysia perfected the open market in public spaces, making culture a lifestyle.
✅️ Japan elevated roadside local foods and regional small craft shops.
🔺️ Meanwhile, we keep going back to concrete-based “projects” that look good in ribbon-cutting ceremonies but add little long-term value. These are malls and Tourist Rest Areas (TRA) which are not progressive. It’s old-school, top-down, and blind to what global tourists actually want.
🔺️ Poverty remains high, and disasters regularly wipe out small businesses. In this context, what is more urgent?
Building more rest areas and concrete?
Or empowering small businesses to survive through open public spaces, to recover, and to compete globally?
📌 Tourism is not just a marketing arm of the Philippines. It can be a lifeline for all Filipinos. But only if we stop treating it like a photo-op, a show, PR and a brand campaign. Only if we put our people first.
We deserve better. Our people deserve better. Love our people first. ❤️
With love for the Philippines,
Marjiel Gono-Apacible
