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MANILA , Philippines -- The increase in tourist arrivals to the country over the past few years will be held back by the downgrade Philippine aviation recently received from the United States ? Federal Aviation Authority, the 500-strong Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) said Wednesday.
?[The PTAA] is alarmed and concerned by the downgrading of the Philippines to a Category 2 country?The restrictions placed by the FAA on Philippine Airlines with regard to its US flights and its planned expansion will pose an adverse effect on traffic between both countries,? PTAA president Jose Clemente III said in a statement.
PTAA has 500 members nationwide, including travel groups, tour operators, hotels, and resorts.
Clemente also said the downgrade puts the Philippines in a bad light, casting ?a negative image of the Philippines as an unsafe destination with untrustworthy facilities and infrastructure.?
He noted the downgrade will curtail some of the gains made by the Department of Tourism and the tourism private sector in the North American market at a time the country is experiencing positive growth in tourism arrivals.
He said arrivals from North America constitute the third largest group of visitors to the Philippines in 2007.
Stressing that the downgrade is ?of utmost importance,? Clemente called on the government to take immediate steps to correct the situation so that the Philippines will regain its Category 1 classification.
A Category 2 classification stops Philippine Airlines from expanding in the US.
