THE YEAR THAT WAS IN REVIEW: THE HARDY PHILIPPINES HAD IT GOOD IN 2022!

SAN DIEGO, Calif. –Greetings!

As the New Year is on and as we eagerly wait what is in store onwards for 2023, we turn again to our annual look at our beloved old homeland –the Philippines. Now, with hopes that COVID-19 is in retreat and that inflation will moderate in the months ahead, we take a last glance at why our old country had it good in 2022.

Yes, indeed…perseverance proved a winner in 2022 as the year ended with Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. becoming leader of our beloved old homeland…salvaging a family legacy – storylines befitting a Netflix series, if I may say so.

In Manila, Marcos – the namesake son of the authoritarian father – won a landslide election last May for president, despite what detractors see as a patrimony of corruption and impunity. More than 35 years ago, in February 1986, the senior Marcos and his wife Imelda fled to Hawaii in exile, driven out by a People Power Revolution and a loss of U.S. support.

“PBBM” as the new Filipino president is fondly called in all circles now face the challenge of governing and moving the archipelagic nation forward.

I say stay tuned for the next episode.

Interestingly, the Philippines national election made the fight against disinformation more critical in 2022, too. In a first-of-akind initiative called #FactsFirstPH, over 100 groups came together to stem the tide of false information and promote truth in public spaces.

With its four layers – factchecking, amplification or mesh, research, and deterrence – working together, the coalition produced hundreds of fact checks that were magnified in creative ways, among member organizations that included traditionally competitive newsrooms.

The coalition was recognized in an international fact-checking conference as the most innovative and impactful collaboration.

As everyone knows, truth tellers in the media, academe, civil society, and legal groups, among other sectors do face a myriad of challenges. Members from the four layers of #FactsFirstPH talked about what they experienced in 2022, what they achieved under the coalition, and what they hope to do moving forward. And that for me sounds a bona fide progress, isn’t it?

It is a fact that the Philippines, as with the rest of the world, were adversely affected by COVID-19. The government’s pandemic response was, initially, to restrict mobility, then to accelerate vaccination, when vaccines became available. The former led to economic contractions, as much as -`16.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020; unemployment rate went up to 17.6 percent. However, financial assistance was provided to those furthest behind. During the first semester 2021 compared to 2018, income of families from the bottom eight scores increased by 5.5% on average, while those in the 9th and 10th decile declined by 1.5% and 5.5%, respectively.

As they learned to balance economic activity and risk mitigation, our old homeland is absolutely now on its way to recovery. This experience has intensified the urgency of building resiliency and promoting innovation. The list of strategies now includes financial inclusion, savings mobilization, insurance coverage and effective social protection. There is also greater emphasis on change, beginning with developing 21st century skills, encouraging research, promoting collaboration and building the knowledge economy. These new master plans should build into the previous initiatives on stakeholder engagement, resource mobilization and monitoring.

In point of fact, a strong rebound in domestic demand with the easing of COVID-19 mobility restrictions in the country supported robust growth for the Philippine economy in 2022, despite high inflation due to global and local price pressures, according to reports released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The recovery is expected to also have overall positive impact on poverty reduction. The expansion projection for the New Year 2023 is now kept at 6.3% as monetary policy tightening and accelerating inflation both crimp domestic demand…however, still the highest growth rating among its Asian neighbors.

There is bound to be many more challenges for sure but I say the biggest is to remain steadfast in the Filipino’s commitment to achieve the world they want.

As proof of the above, the Philippines was voted anew as the “world’s best country tourism destination” in the 2022 Uzakrota Global Travel Awards, cementing its position as a top-of-the-mind travel spot even during a pandemic.

The nation bested all other countries nominated with 721 votes, bagging the award for the second time since it held the title in 2020.

The initiative was led by the Turkish travel organization Uzakrota Global, which also recognized Malaysia and the Dominican Republic as the world’s top two and three with 523 and 459 votes, respectively.

Aside from the Uzakrota awards, the Philippines also picked up 13 recognitions in all categories available at Scuba Diving’s 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards by U.S.based Scuba Diving Magazine including the top honors for Shore Diving.

“As the international accolades for the Philippines continues to grow, so too the role of tourism as an engine of the Philippines’ economic growth under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. whose prioritization of tourism has brought much optimism and hope for the industry,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco commented.

“These awards reflect the global traveling public’s view of confidence and enthusiasm for our country and it translates to more tourists visiting our shores as evidenced by our over two million arrivals thus far.”

The country ranked second in Macro Life, Cavern/Cave & Grotto Diving, Beginners, Photography, and Best Value categories; third in Wreck Diving, Snorkeling, and Health of Marine Environment; fourth in Wall Diving and Advanced; fifth in Best Overall; and ninth in the Big Animals groupings for the Pacific and Indian Ocean cluster.

The Philippines has also been hailed the World’s Leading Dive Destination and the World’s Leading Beach Destination for 2022 at the 29th World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala Ceremony held in Muscat, Oman recently.

“These global victories for the Philippines evince the unequaled beauty of our country and the distinct warmth of the Filipino people. We sincerely thank the World Travel Awards and everyone from all over the world whose vote of confidence is timely as the Philippines fully opens its arms to welcome tourists to our shores,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.

As the World’s Leading Beach Destination, the Philippines also bested other seashores around the world including previous awardees such as the Maldives, the Algarve in Portugal, Jamaica, Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Meantime, three local partner tourism establishments also shared the World Travel Awards distinction: Amanpulo, as the World’s Leading Dive Resort 2022; City of Dreams Manila, as the World’s Leading Casino Resort 2022; and Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila as the World’s Leading Serviced Apartments 2022.

The Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) was also nominated as the World’s Leading Tourist Board last year as well as Siargao as the World’s Leading Island Destination and Old-world Intramuros as the World’s Leading Touristy Attraction.

The 29th World Travel Awards gathered the best of the travel and hospitality industries from its regional awardees across Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, North America, Oceania and South America..

Aren’t they all awesome news to hear?

You betcha!

Meanwhile, Cebu had been listed among the 50 “best places to travel in 2023” by the U.S.-established online travel guide

Travel Lemming.

Travel Lemming described Cebu as “perfect for all types of tourists” and “allows you to indulge in both thrilling experiences and waterfront relaxation.”

Another key stop in the Philippines, Palawan was cited by another US-posted travel guide Fodor as one of the 40 destinations on its Go List for 2023.

Fodor called Palawan “the very definition of eco-luxury” and “one of the Philippines’ most magical islands where underwater worlds meet lush jungles.”

Aside from worldrenowned Palawan, Cebu and Boracay, the Philippines have a lot more landing place to offer for various types of travelers, too.

Samar,and one of the country’s smallest and newest province of Biliran, and Leyte alone are home to plenty of mesmerizing waterfalls, caves and rock formations making them ideal stops for adventure-seeking tourists.

Siquijor in the Central Visayas, for now, is perfect for those seeking a laidback vibe and less crowded island destination.

Earlier last year, the government also relaxed entry restrictions for travelers as part of its efforts to revive the economy amid the pandemic.

Additionally, the holidays delivered further gains for the Philippine tourism industry as it breached its 1.7-million targets with 2.65 million international arrivals as of the end of 2022.

The advent translated to PHP208.96 billion or USD3.68 billion in tourism revenues, a whopping 2,465.75-percent increase from 2021, according to the news release.

Based on the monitoring of the Department of Tourism (DOT) from the time the country reopened its borders to all travelers in February until Dec. 31, 2022 arrivals peaked in December as more Filipinos and tourists’ alike opted to spend the Christmas and New Year vacations in the Philippines.

Of the total 2.65 million international arrivals last year, 628,445 were returning Filipinos while the bulk of 2.02 million tourists were from top markets United States (505,089), South Korea (428,014), Australia (137, 974), Canada (121, 413), the United Kingdom (101,034), Japan (99,557), Singapore (53,448), India (51,542),