The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have reaffirmed their joint commitment to enhancing the Philippine visitor experience by accelerating key transportation and connectivity projects across major domestic destinations.
During a high-level coordination meeting on Wednesday (August 5), Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay and Transportation Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez aligned strategy on key infrastructure developments designed to streamline transit for both domestic and international travelers.
Chief among the discussed initiatives are targeted airport terminal expansion projects in top regional tourist hubs, including Laoag, Caticlan, and Siargao. Simultaneously, the DOTr presented updates on its maritime infrastructure roadmap, which complements ongoing cruise port developments in strategic locations such as Palawan, Aklan, Bohol, and Camiguin.
Highlighting the rapid expansion of maritime travel, the DOT noted that the country’s cruise tourism sector recorded 130 cruise calls and welcomed over 75,000 cruise passengers in the first half of the year alone. To sustain this momentum and further decentralize tourism traffic, the DOT emphasized its ongoing efforts to establish Clark as a premier gateway to the northern and central regions.
“Aligning our transportation networks directly with our national tourism priorities is essential to making travel seamless, safe, and enjoyable,” the agencies noted in a joint statement.
Moving forward, the DOT and DOTr will maintain regular inter-agency coordination mechanisms to ensure infrastructure updates dynamically support tourist movement, accessibility, and destination growth across the archipelago.
