Prior to the pandemic, the Philippine Tourism Sector was on a rise posting a positive trend with an average share of 7.4% in the Philippine GDP from 2000 to 2018. In 2019, the sector accounted for 12.7% of the GDP which is an increase from the reported figure of 12.3% in 2018 and 11.7% in 2017. Employment for the sector also increased from 5.36 million in 2018 to 5.71 million in 2019 posting a growth rate of 6.5%. Overall, the tourism sector accounted for about 13.5% of the country's total employment.

However, at the onslaught of the pandemic, the tourism sector experienced a significant setback as the government imposed quarantine and social distancing protocols. Data from the Department of Tourism show that the country was only able to generate PhP85 million from foreign arrivals during the first three months of the year which is significantly smaller than the PhP134 billion that the country earned within the same period in 2019.

The Tourism Reboot Forum Series intends to re-introduce the new Philippine Tourism Sector amidst the new normal, provide insights on the current initiatives from the government and private sector and possible recommendations/solutions for policy makers on how to help the sector get back on its feet.

In the first installment of the series of tourism advocacy fora entitled, "Turning Challenges into Opportunities'', we will get insights on how businesses in different sectors were able to cope with the impacts of the pandemic and turn challenges into opportunities. The webinar aims to provide a platform for sharing of best practices and collective knowledge among entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries. Government initiatives and outlook for the tourism industry, among others, will also be shared.