The offices of the Department of Tourism in Northern Philippines (NorthPhil) are bracing for the looming unprecedented spike in tourism volume in the entire region.

Tourism Central Luzon Officer-in-Charge Carol de Guzman-Uy cited as reason the phenomenal rise in the passenger volume at the Clark International Airport and the forthcoming increase in transport access to NorthPhil resulting from the government’s Build Build Build program.

“Part of the BBB program is the construction of the Subic-Clark Railway, the North-South Railway spanning Laguna-Manila-Clark, and the expansion of the Clark International Airport,” Uy said, also pointing to the emergence of Subic as a hub for cruise ships.

Uy placed the number of Subic’s scheduled cruise ship arrivals this year at 20, each bringing in some 2,000 to 5,000 tourists at every port call.

“Such development prompted SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) Chair and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma to seek the use of the coastal areas in Zambales’ San Antonio town as high-end destinations,” Uy added.

She also cited an unprecedented surge in passenger traffic at Clark from 1.51 million in full-year 2017 to 1.54 million in just the first seven months of 2018.

“This trend alone shows that passenger volume may double or increase to at least 2.5 million by year-end as projected by the CIAC (Clark International Airport Corporation),” Uy pointed out.

She said the development in Clark of a 1,500-hectare industrial park could further increase tourism traffic to and from and around NorthPhil.

“Thus, the tourism industry is taking measures to beef up its absorptive capacity for both foreign and domestic tourists by striving to attract investments in hotel and resort facilities and room accommodations, and encourage telcos to enhance connectivity in the entire region, among others,” Uy stressed, referring to the staging of the NorthPhil Tourism and Travel Expo on November 16-18 at the SM City Clark for that purpose.