𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀

As one of the featured speakers at the SKIFT Asia Forum 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday (May 15), Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco highlighted the government’s commitment to strengthening infrastructure, ensuring safety, fostering cultural engagement, and supporting longer stays for travelers through programs like the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa.

“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 (𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵) 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘦’𝘴 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦,” said Secretary Frasco.

She emphasized the country’s goal to attract quality tourists who contribute positively to local communities while embracing sustainable tourism practices.

“𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥-𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘯—𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘺, 𝘚𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘰, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴,” she added.

Secretary Frasco also noted that the DOT, under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s Administration, has worked closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to enhance digital connectivity, including Wi-Fi services in over 90 key destinations nationwide.

When asked about the proposed ASEAN visa, the tourism chief voiced strong support for deeper regional collaboration: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 “𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮”. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘪𝘯 2026.”

Other distinguished speakers included Laura Houldsworth, Managing Director and Vice President, Asia Pacific of Booking.com; Dave Stephenson, Chief Business Officer of Airbnb; Nadia Omer, CEO of AirAsia MOVE; Boon Sian Chai, Managing Director and Vice President, International Markets of Trip.com Group; Wilfred Fan, Chief Commercial Officer of Klook; Bill Bensley, Creative Director and Founder of BENSLEY; Fazal Bahardeen, Founder and CEO of HalalTrip/CrescentRating; Hannah Pearson, Director of Pear Anderson; Chai Eamsiri, CEO of Thai Airways; Wong Kar Ling, Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director Southeast Asia of The Ascott Limited; Song Hoi-see, CEO and Founder of Plaza Premium Group; Deepak Ohri, CEO and Founder of Luxury Atelier Maison Happiness (LAMH), and Gary Bowerman, Asia-based Travel Economist.