TOURISM Secretary Joseph Ace Durano yesterday
said government expects up to 250,000 local tourists to flock to
the country’s tourism sites during the Holy Week.
Durano, in an ambush interview at the Cabinet
retreat site in San Miguel Church, said he expects
200,000-250,000 domestic tourists during the Lenten break, with
most of them going to Boracay island to enjoy the white sand
beaches.
Other favorite sites are Baguio, Bohol, Clark
and Subic.
"It only shows that we have a good economy
because they have the capacity to spend for leisure trips," he
said.
He said an additional come-on are the lower
prices of airline tickets due to competition.
Durano said foreign tourists spent $4.8
billion in 2007 while local tourists chipped in $800 million.
He said considering that foreign tourists
spend 10 times their local counterparts on shopping and
entertainment, then each local tourist spends P5,000 to P6,000
per day.
"This will already benefit services and businesses," he said.
