7 things to know about R ‘n R in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of Filipinos are behind, and billions of pesos are created by, the rest and relaxation (R&R) industry in the Philippines, the anchor of the country’s “It’s more fun in the Philippines” tourism campaign.

So if you are planning a weekend getaway or some bonding session with friends and family, keep in mind the following 7 things about the tourism-related activities in the country:

1. There are 21,837 establishments in the tourism industry.
Majority of these establishments are engaged in food and beverage service-related activities like restaurants as well as health and wellness like spas.

2. Total industry revenues reached P526.95 billion in 2009.

This reflected a 19.6% increase from P103.40 billion in 2008. Contributing the most revenue was the travel and tours industry which booked P68.4 billion in 2009.

3. The industry employs over half a million Filipinos.

Almost half of these employees or around 230,915 are employed in the food and beverage industries.

4. Males dominate the industry

Male workers account for around 54.7% of total while only 45.3% are females. Female employees exceeded males in the health and wellness establishments.

5. Only 1 in 10 establishments have wireless internet connection.

Accommodation industry had the highest concentration of establishments with wifi facilities.

6. Less than 20% or 3,817 establishments were accredited by the Department of Tourism.

Health and wellness establishments had the highest number of accredited ones.

7. Only 1 in 10 establishments plan to expand their operations in the next 5 years.

Two in 10 plan to renovate their facilities.

These were culled from the final results of the 2009 Survey of Tourism Establishments in the Philippines. – Rappler.com