Following a US$22 billion investment pledge from China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said this could lead to more jobs for the Southeast Asian nation.
An agreement was signed between the two governments to promote tourism cooperation on January 4, during Marcos’ three-day state visit to China.
The two nations agreed to work on increasing tourist arrivals, increasing flights to and from emerging destinations, and inviting tourism investments in infrastructure.
“We have ushered in this new era of tourism focused on building the industry into a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient economic pillar,” Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.
Asked for an estimate of how many jobs this could create for Filipinos, President Marcos said “many, many jobs”.
In 2019, a total 1.74 million tourist arrivals came from China, making it the second largest tourist market in the Philippines. In total, the Philippines recorded 8.26 million international visitors in 2019.
