DOT positions New Clark City as premier tourism investment hub

Capas National Shrine at the entrance to New Clark City (Photo By jopetsy from Metro Manila, Philippines – CAPAS, TARLAC | MAY 2018, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) is rooting on the development of the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) and the New Clark City in order to further boost the recovery of the country’s tourism industry.

During the first Central Luzon Tourism Investment Summit and Business Exchange (CLTISBEX) Hybrid Edition held recently at Hilton Clark Sun Valley Resort, the DOT, in collaboration with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD), showcased how CFZ and the New Clark City may be positioned as premier tourism hubs — Clark as a modern sustainable aerotropolis and a preferred MICE (Meetings, lncentives, Conferences, Exhibits) destination and the New Clark City as an ideal destination for sports tourism in the Asia-Pacific r egion.

In a news release Tuesday, DOT 3 Regional Director Caroline Uy said “through the help of the private sector, the goal is to transform the Clark Freeport Zone into a preferred business and tourism destination in the Asia Pacific region and enable investors to find long-term economic returns.”

Clark is strategically located in Pampanga where it could be easily accessed by the Philippines’ major foreign tourist markets like China, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.

There were a total of 35 foreign and local investors from the Philippines (5), China (25), Singapore (2), Japan (1), Taiwan (1), and United Arab Emirates (1) that participated in the summit.

The event concluded with a total of PHP127 million investments lead which were mostly generated during the Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings among 77 buyers and sellers.

As of December 31, 2021 Clark is already home to some 1,153 companies which are also referred to as locators. These business ventures provided opportunities to a total of 121,341 professionals and workers inside the freeport zone which originally employed only 20,000 workers at the time of its opening.

In terms of exports, CFZ has since generated a total export of $5.40 billion with a total investment of PHP265 billion.

This will generate more gains to the industry, especially now that the DOT is also positioning Clark as a MICE destination.

Uy specifically noted that as a MICE venue, CFZ offers 80 convention/meeting halls, 3,648 hotel rooms, 126 dining facilities, and 45 tourism attractions such as Clark Safari, Clark Bike Path, Clark Museum and Theater, Aqua Planet, Clark International Speedway, and Dinosaurs Island.