Philippines and Thailand strengthen tourism partnership with new agreement

Anchal Verma January 22, 2025

SiGMA news

Philippines and Thailand took an important step in boosting their tourism sectors by signing a new cooperation agreement. The deal was formalised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, by Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, Sorawong Thienthong. This agreement establishes a five-year programme, running from 2025 to 2030, aimed at helping bilateral tourism growth and development.

Key areas of focus

It will improve the cooperation in the facilitation of travels, research into tourism, and management operation. It aims at making it easier to travel between the two countries while enhancing strategies on tourism and sharing knowledge in addressing challenges within the industry.

Sustainability plays a central role in the programme, with a commitment to exchanging successful approaches to sustainable tourism. The agreement also highlights the importance of cultural heritage tourism and domestic tourism development, encouraging innovative and eco-friendly practices.

Another important aspect of the agreement is human resource development. The with tourism institutions to hold training programs for professionals. The sharing of technical expertise and resources will improve the skills and competitiveness of tourism workers in both nations.

Additionally, the deal includes joint marketing efforts to attract international tourists. These initiatives will involve creating promotional packages and organising familiarisation tours for travel agents and media representatives to showcase the unique offerings of each country.

Overseeing progress through a joint working group

A Joint Working Group will be developed to ensure successful implementation of the programme. Coordinating actions, monitoring performance, and assuring implementation of planned activities form part of JWG’s functions. The JWG will act as a key element in ensuring all objectives of the cooperation are carried out effectively.

Strengthening established partnership

This new programme builds on the foundation of a longstanding partnership between the Philippines and Thailand, first formalised in 1993 with the Agreement on Cooperation on Tourism. Over the years, both countries have shared a mutual interest in enhancing their tourism industries, and the renewed collaboration reflects their commitment to adapting to current trends and challenges.

According to Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, the collaboration will be very beneficial for the Philippines. She mentioned that Thailand’s success in cultural tourism and medical tourism are among the areas that the Philippines could learn from. She said that Thailand’s capacity to attract millions of visitors each year is an inspiring model for the Philippines to increase its tourism numbers.

Thai Minister Sorawong Thienthong recognised the Philippines for its prestige in hospitality, dive tourism, and more educationally sound language in the English language. He hoped that this partnership would foster the exchange of expertise and innovation between the two countries.