11月27日下午，菲律宾国家旅游局局长伯纳黛特·罗慕洛·普亚特（Bernadette Romulo-Puyat）在2021亚洲青年领袖论坛“文化教育与旅游发展”主题论坛中发表了题为《菲律宾致力于重振新冠疫情冲击下的旅游业》的主旨演讲。

全文如下：

尊敬的亚洲各国政要、外交官及青年嘉宾们：

大家好！

很荣幸参加2021亚洲青年领袖论坛的“文化教育与旅游发展”主题论坛。

在疫情期间，菲律宾国家旅游局调整了目标，并将重点转向国内旅游，以应对旅游业面临的挑战。从地区角度看，2020年亚太地区的国际入境人数下降了84%，下降幅度大于世界其他地区。这些数字的背后意味着数百万人失业，数千家企业被迫停业。由于旅游行业的相互依赖性，这些消极的数据更是给社区、家庭及个人带来了破坏性的影响。菲律宾国家旅游局的目标就是以包容、可持续性及负责任的方式来重振旅游业。“新常态”下的旅游业一定不能再局限于计算旅游人数和短期经济效益。

菲律宾政府重新修订的2016-2022年国家旅游发展计划旨在将菲律宾定位为“安全、欢乐、有竞争力的目的地”，并与社区和游客建立牢固的伙伴关系。为此，我们正在打造和推广系列旅游产品，利用菲律宾自然资源的优势，造福当前和未来的旅游目的地。

菲律宾国家旅游局在全国各地的机构也一直致力于开发和更新旅游线路，来满足游客不断变化的需求。2020年至今，我们已审核通过了全国40多条旅游新线路，其中包括美食主题游、单车骑行游及名胜古迹游。此外，还有超过70条线路正在开发中，包括推出全新潜水目的地、朝圣之旅、宗教化友好型旅游以及健康养生主题游等。

我们还积极推进菲律宾主要旅游目的地旅游从业者的新冠疫苗接种工作。目前，全国旅游从业者的接种率已超过70%。在国家首都地区，酒店及餐厅一线工作人员99.79%已完成接种。像长滩岛、碧瑶市、科伦、圣维森特、巴拉望岛等热门旅游目的地，旅游从业人员已100%接种新冠疫苗。我们都需要遵守最低健康和安全卫生准则，这样才能使接种疫苗人群得到真正的保护。即使将来放宽旅行限制，我们仍将继续鼓励佩戴口罩及保持适当社交距离。

菲律宾一直致力于遵守全球健康、安全和卫生标准，2020年9月，世界旅游业理事会授予菲律宾国家旅游局“全球安全卫生标识”。该标识帮助游客识别采用全球健康和安全标准的目的地。如今，菲律宾国家旅游局也已将标识授予长滩岛、碧瑶市和北伊洛科斯等三个目的地以及全国217家住宿机构。

上周，我们已宣布菲律宾很快将开放绿色名单的外国游客入境，这将大大有助于旅游业的恢复，提高游客数量及增加旅游收入。但更重要的是，这将增强游客的信心，带来更多国际及国内游客，并带动旅游业不断向前。

为了提高旅游从业人员的技能，使他们能够满足不断变化的工作需求，菲律宾国家旅游局携手企业合作伙伴，定期举办线上培训，提高旅游业一线工作人员对安全标准、环保实践及无障碍旅游的认识。

新冠疫情加速了数字技术的发展，这为众多企业创造了机遇，但同时也为边缘化群体带来了危机，赶不上时代就要被时代抛弃。如果旅游业要真正做到包容性，那么每个人都应该要参与到这场数字化转型。中小微企业是我国的经济支柱，但大多数中小微企业尚未具备数字化能力。为了帮助他们成长，我们将引入电子商务和金融科技基础知识，来为他们提供支持。

旅游业在国家经济的复苏和增长中发挥着重要作用。虽然这场疫情给全人类带来了前所未有的挑战，但同时它也给旅游从业人员创造了机会，去重塑和重构一个更具责任心及可持续性的旅游业，一个以人为本、确保无人落后的旅游业。

非常感谢。请注意防护，保重。


On 27 November, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Secretary of Philippines Department of Tourism, delivered a keynote speech at the Culture, Education, and Tourism Development Forum of the Asia Youth Leaders Forum 2021.
The full speech is as below.

Good day to all the esteemed dignitaries, diplomats and leaders from all over Asia. It is an honor to be partof the panel on culture, tourism, and sports in this Asia Youth Leaders Forum 2021.

During the course of the pandemic, the Philippines Department of Tourism has realigned its goals andpivoted to domestic tourism as a response to thechallenges met by the tourism industry. From ourregional perspective, Asia Pacific saw an 84% decrease in international arrivals in 2020, higher than the drops experienced in other parts of the world. These numbers represent millions of jobs lost and thousands of businesses that have been forced to cease operations. Because of the interdependent nature of the industry, these grim figures translated to devastating effects on communities, families, and individuals.

The Department of Tourism’s goal has been to revive the industry in an inclusive, sustainable, and responsible manner. Tourism in the New Normal can no longer be just about headcount and short-term economic gains. 
Our reformulated National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022 aims to position the Philippines as a “safe, fun, and competitive destination” rooted in strong partnerships with communities and visitors. To do this, we are developing and marketing a portfolio of products that harness our country’s natural strengths to benefit the present and future tourism destination. 

Our regional offices have been developing and redefining their tourism circuits in response to the changing needs of the traveler. From 2020 up to the present, more than 40 tourism circuits around the country have been validated, from food crawls and bike trails to heritage tours and historical caravans. More than 70 circuits are in the pipeline for development, including the identification of new dive destinations, mapping out pilgrimage tours, enhancing Halal and Muslim-friendly tourism, and offering wellness workation programs.

We have also been aggressively pushing for vaccination among our tourism workers in key destinations, and we have already reached more than70% of active tourism workers around the country. In the National Capital Region, we have vaccination rateof 99.79%, including hotel frontliners and restaurant staff. Popular destinations like Boracay Island, Baguio City, and Coron, San Vicente, Palawan have already vaccinated 100% of their targeted tourism workers. We believe that a vaccinated population is only truly protected when we maintain compliance with the minimum health and safety guidelines, and we continue to enforce mask wearing and physical distancing even as travel restrictions have eased.

In recognition of the Philippines’ efforts to align with global standards for health, safety, and hygiene, we have been awarded the Safe Travels Stamp by the World Travel and Tourism Council in September of2020. The Safe Travels Stamp enables tourists to recognize destinations that meet international standards for health and safety. Today, we have issued the Safe Travels Stamp to three local destinations, namely Boracay, Baguio City, and Ilocos Norte, and to more than 217 accommodation establishments across the country.

Last week, we announced that the Philippines will be opening its borders for foreign tourists from the greenlist soon. This will greatly help in our recovery efforts, increasing tourist arrivals and receipts among others. But more importantly, this will boost traveler confidence, which will inspire more people to travel to and within the country, thus sustaining the industry.

With the aim of upskilling tourism workers and equipping them to meet the demands of the evolving workplace, the DOT along with private sector partners have been holding online training that enhance tourism frontliners’ knowledge on safety protocols, environmentally friendly practices, and barrier-free tourism. 

The pandemic’s acceleration of the adoption of digital technology has created many opportunities for entrepreneurs, but it also leaves a big chance for marginalized groups to get left behind by this shift. If our tourism industry is to be truly inclusive, then everyone should be able to participate in the digital transformation of the tourism sector. MSMEs are the backbone of our economy, yet the majority of them are not equipped for digital integration. In order to help them grow, we provide support by introducing them to e-commerce and fintech basics. 

The tourism industry has a major role to play in recovery and growth of the national economy, and while the pandemic has given us unparalleled challenges, it has also given tourism practitioners a chance to reframe and reimagine a tourism industry that is more responsible and sustainable, one that puts its people first and makes sure no one is left behind. 

Thank you very much. Please stay safe and mabuhay.