UAE businessmen eye tourism investments in Philippines

the deparment is eyeing to put up a foreign office in the UAE due to heightened interest from investors in the Middle East.

“A lot of investors there in the Middle East are looking at the Philippines, especially now that we have approved the incentives from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA),”Alegre said in  a phone interview.

Last May, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) released a ruling that affirmed the incentives for tourism enterprise zones (TEZs) under the Tourism Act of 2009 or RA 9593 that may be enjoyed by investors even beyond 2019 until these incentives are fully realized or availed.

Some of the incentives TEZs will receive are a six-year income tax holiday (ITH) that may be extended for another six years;a five percent preferential tax on gross income in lieu of national taxes except for real property tax and fees of TIEZA; exemption from value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax goods imported by TIEZA-registered activities; and import tax exemptions for capital goods and equipment needed for TIEZA-registered activities, among others.

Alegre did not disclose the identity of any particular group, but said they are interested in investing in the country’s hotel sector.

“There are interested groups that have said word, but no specifics as to who, but the interest is in the hotels,” he said.

Apart from the UAE, Alegre said the DOT is also hoping to open a foreign office in Vancouver, Canada, given the strong interest coming from the North America tourist market.

He added that the potential of the North America market is in the adventure tourism sector where they seek to engage in outdoor adventure activities in the Philippines.

“Plus, the Filipinos also there in that area have now grown. We feel that it’s also part of the potential,” Alegre said.

Last July, Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo expressed plans to revive the Invite Home A Friend Project, a travel incentive program targeting Filipino-Americans in North America.

Moreover, the DOT official said the department requested for 24 additional foreign offices to be included in its budget for 2018. However, only half was approved.

“But we’re hoping that the DOT office in Vancouver, Canada can be included cause we see a potential for the North America market,” the DOT spokesperson said.

Based on data from the its website, the DOT currently has around 30 overseas foreign offices across the globe.

Among these are four offices in the North America region, particularly in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, all in the US, and one Canada office in Toronto.

The DOT also has one foreign office in the Middle East, specially in Dubai.