MANILA, Philippines- Nilalayon ng Pilipinas na palakasin ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa Austria upang paigtingin ang sustainable tourism, ayon sa Department of Tourism (DOT) nitong Martes.
Sinabi ito ni Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco sa working visit sa Vienna, Austria, kung saan nakipagpulong siya kay Austrian State Secretary for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler.
Sa nasabing pulong, inihayag ni Frasco ang intensyon ng Pilipinas na isulong ang tourism cooperation agreement sa Austria sa pagsisikap na palaguin ang tourism numbers sa dalawang bansa.
“Following our discussions in Manila during your visit last year, we wish to reiterate the interest of the Philippines to sign a Memorandum of Tourism Cooperation to formalize our efforts to benchmark best tourism practices on sustainable tourism, enhance our people-to-people exchanges, and further enhance our frameworks on human capital development, among others,” wika ni Frasco.
“We acknowledge the opportunity to strengthen the market; we also wish to maximize the opportunity to educate and inform Austrians about our tourism products in the Philippines which are of great interest to Europeans including our beaches, dive sites, adventure offerings, and experiential travel across our islands and among our diverse communities,” patuloy niya.
Ani Frasco, nakapagtala na ang Pilipinas ng 89 porsyentong recovery rate ng visitor arrivals mula Austria patungo sa Pilipinas sa 13,180 noong 2023 kumpara sa pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers noong 2019 sa 14,840.
Binaggit din niya na ang Filipino community ang pinakamalaking Asian community sa Austria, na may tinaatayang 30,000 Filipinos, at halos 60,000 Filipino-Austrian nationals.
Pahayag naman ni Kraus-Winkler, inaasahan niyang maipatutupad ang “working holiday program” alinsunod sa Memorandum of Understanding na nilagdaan sa Manila sa pagitan ng pamahalaan ng Austria at ng Pilipinas noong October 2023.
“…We want to further expand the good cooperation between Austria and the Philippines in the field of tourism and promote the mobility of young people. We are looking forward to the talks on the rapid implementation of a working holiday program, as we were recently able to conclude with the USA,” sabi ni Kraus-Winkler sa kanyang pulong kay Frasco. RNT/SA
