Philippines, China Ink Tourism Pact

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) pursuing a more eloquent travel and tourism between the two nations.

Philippine Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Chairman Li Jinzao led the MOU signing in the presence of Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The said MOU is a follow through of the 2002 tourism cooperation deal between the two nations, which shall remain in force upon signing today until 2022.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said “Doors to more opportunities for cooperation and capacity building between Manila and Beijing are now opulently wide.”

“With the signing of the MOU, we are assured of better market access, free flow of trade and people, and exchanges of best practices. This will certainly play a crucial role for tourism to contribute significantly to regional economic growth, as well as pave the road towards the integration of ASEAN and realization of an open, dynamic and resilient ASEAN Community,” the tourism chief shared.

To wit, the MOU states:

PARAGRAPH 1

Tourism Cooperation

The Participants will continue to strengthen and promote bilateral tourism cooperation in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

PARAGRAPH 2

Exchange of Tourism Professionals and Administrators

1. Both participants will encourage and support the exchange of their respective administrators and tourism professionals in order to strengthen the mutual development in the field of hotels, resorts, cruise, port, tourism products, and other related industries and competency standards.

2. The Participants will exchange a delegation of 4 to 6 members for a period of 5 days in 2017-2022 (3 groups from each Participant) and will prepare an appropriate program for each visiting delegation.

3. The visiting Participant will bear the costs of international transportation while the host Participant will incur the local expenses of the exchange, such as meals, accommodations, and domestic transportation.

PARAGRAPH 3

Tourism Information

The Participants will exchange the latest information on tourism development and the relevant tourism statistical data; including current situation of the country’s tourism industries.

PARAGRAPH 4

Tourism Safety and Quality Assurance

The Participants will step up their cooperation in tourism safety and quality assurance, taking joint measures to guarantee the rights, interests and safety of tourists visiting the countries of the Participants from the other Participant. The Participants will establish and improve tourism safety cooperation mechanism supported by greater information sharing and contingency coordination.

PARAGRAPH 5

Joint Promotion

1. The Participants agreed to advance cooperation and exchange to increase the overall number of tourist traffic in both Participants’ countries.

2. Both Participants will support the tourism promotion activities of the other Participant in their country.

3. The Participants will, in accordance with the situation, choose the common market for both Participants to launch joint promotion, request their respective overseas offices to provide necessary materials to each other and hold joint activities when necessary.

4. The Participants will encourage their local tour operators and travel agencies to promote each other’s products and intensify exchanges through joint advertising and production of promotional materials, highlighting significant attractions and destinations as well as enhance public information exchange and tourism promotion activities in each other’s country.

PARAGRAPH 6

Training and Exchange

1. Both Participants will consider conducting workshops/trainings for the other Participant, depending on the Participants’ strengths and interests.

2. The visiting Participant will bear the cost of international transportation, while the host Participant will incur the costs of local arrangements, such as meals, accommodations, and local transportation.

PARAGRAPH 7

Supporting Tourism Fairs, Exhibitions and Other Promotion Initiatives

As stated in the 2009-2013 Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, “ the Participants will support each other’s tourism departments and enterprise in holding travel fairs, tourism exhibitions and other promotion initiatives, to inform the travelling public on the other Participant’s tourism products and services as well as cultivate awareness of environment protection and sustainable development in the growth of the Participants’ tourism industries.”

PARAGRAPH 8

Tourism Investment

The Participants will encourage the investment in tourism infrastructure with respect to the current laws and regulations in each other’s countries.

PARAGRAPH 9

Working Group

1. Pursuant to Article 9 of the MOU on Tourism Cooperation, they will facilitate the establishment of a working group to implement this program. The working group will exchange views concerning the implementation of the tourism cooperation.

2. The Working Group will be composed of officials from the Philippine Department of Tourism and the National Tourism Administration of China, and will meet at least once a year whenever necessary to further discuss the implementation of the tourism programs, as well as the facilitation of the execution of the undertakings.

PARAGRAPH 10

Consultations

Any dispute arising from the interpretation, application or implementation of this program will be settled amicably by consultation of negotiation between the Participants through diplomatic channels.

PARAGRAPH 11

Amendment

Any amendment or revision to the text of this Implementation Program will be done by mutual consent of the Participants. Such amendment or revision will come into effect in accordance with the provision on effectivity.

PARAGRAPH 12

Effectivity, Validity and Duration

1. The Implementation Program will come into effect on the date of its signature.

2. The Implementation Program will remain valid for five (5) years and will be renewed for similar periods, unless one Participant notifies the other in writing, through diplomatic channels, of its intention to suspend or terminate this Implementation Program, at lease three (3) months prior to the intended date of termination. In such a case, the Implementation Program will remain effective until sixty (60) days after the date on which one Participant receives an official notification from the other Participant expressing the desire of the latter to suspend or terminate this Implementation Program.

3. The termination of this Implementation Program will not affect the implementation of any on-going activities or projects, unless both Participants mutually decide otherwise.

Signed in Beijing on the 20th day of October, 2016 in English and Chinese versions, both languages being equally authentic.

For the Department of Tourism National Tourism Administration

of the Republic of the Philippines of the People’s Republic of China