CEBU CITY – The Department of Tourism said the Philippines is gaining ground in education tourism and becoming a “Study English” destination of foreign nationals being the third-largest English-speaking country in Asia.
In opening up a new tourism brand anchored on education, Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. underscored the competitive edge of the country with about 93.5 percent of its population speak and understand English.
“It was until 2010 when we actually formalize the inclusion of education tourism, and obviously included ESL (English as second language) as among the priority products of the Philippine tourism industry,” Bengzon said during a recent speaking engagement here.
He identified Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Europe as emerging source markets of the country’s education tourism. He said that in the test of English for international communication, the Philippines placed 10th worldwide and the highest among Asian countries.
“Being its official language in school and for business, Filipinos have gained proficiency to understand, write, speak and teach the language. English spoken by Filipinos has a neutral accent and is easily understood,” he said.
He said the Philippines is one of the few countries offering one-on-one English education which is being preferred by foreign students as teaching strategy employed by the “Filipino teachers who are naturally nurturing, patient and understanding.”
Bengzon emphasized the multi-faceted destinations in the country and the abundance of natural and man-made resources as added value in projecting the country as top destination of foreigners who wish to study English here.
He recognized as a challenge the native English-speaking countries like United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia as rising competitor in teaching ESL.
Since 2018, the Bureau of Immigration issued 59,428 special study permits (SSP) to foreigners who wished to engage in short term study in the country. The figure almost tripled over the last five years.
Cebu alone has 882 registered foreign students who are taking up varied courses in different higher education institutions (HEI). There are 165 HEIs in Central Visayas, 15 of which are declared as having maintained “Center of Excellence and Center of Development.” (John Rey Saavedra)
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