Hotel industry should focus on safety while promoting PHL

The hotel industry said the country should position itself as a safe destination, to counter the negative impact of an international survey that portray the Philippines as unsafe.

“I think we also need to work with the government on a concerted effort in reintroducing the Philippines to all of our key markets, reminding everybody why we are different from Thailand, from Indonesia, and from the rest,” said Francis Nathaniel Gotianun, senior vice-president of Filinvest Hospitality Corp., during Philippine Hotel Connect 2025, organized by the Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Inc.

Last June 2025, HelloSafe issued a report, based on travel insurance data, ranking the Philippines among the least safe travel destinations, receiving widespread criticism for lack of transparency, unverifiable data and use of identical safety scores across multiple countries.

After Tourism Sec. Cristina Frasco criticized the report, HelloSafe withdrew the results of its study pending a review of its methodology.

Gotianun noted that the report negatively affected the hospitality industry.

“Of course we want to tell people, ‘Yes, you have to be careful but we need to put things in perspective,’ and we have a duty as you know leaders in our various areas to take that up and make sure that the right messages get out,” he added.

Ayala Land Hospitality Creative Director Paloma Urquijo Zobel de Ayala meanwhile said, to attract more visitors, the hospitality industry must put the spotlight on the uniqueness of the Philippines.

“Instead of always chasing world-class, let’s just be exceptionally Filipino,” she said at a panel discussion during the event. She also stressed the need for more visitor options within driving distance from Manila.