Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo on Friday described the move of a House panel to turn boxer-senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao as the new face of Philippine tourism as a knockout win.
This comes after the House committee on Tourism on Thursday unanimously voted in favor of the motion of Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales to turn Pacquiao as the department’s official endorser.
His motion was in response to the proposal of 1-PACMAN Partlylist Rep. Enrico Pineda, who suggested that the DOT designate Pacquiao as the agency’s face.
“That’s good for me. That’s welcome for him endorsing the Philippines. We won’t need to pay (him). That’s a knockout win for us,” Teo said in an interview with reporters.
“We could triple the number of tourist arrivals in the country, particularly Mindanao,” she quipped.
Teo said Pacquiao, who hails from General Santos in Soccsksargen, has personally expressed his desire to promote tourism being a worldwide boxing icon and politician.
The Secretary, however, said that all Filipinos should strive to be ambassadors and promote Philippine tourism in their own ways.
Last year, DOT acquired a total of 5.36 million foreign tourist arrivals and expects to meet its target of recording 6 million tourists by yearend by introducing more destinations particularly in Mindanao.
A Mindanao Tourism Agenda (plan under the DOT-Mindanao is expected to go on full-scale next year. (PNA)
