Filipinos get days off to boost tourism

The bomb attacks on the Indonesian island of Bali, which killed nearly 200 people, have damaged the tourism industry throughout southeast Asia.

The Philippines Government has decided to fight back by encouraging Filipinos to fill the resorts which are being avoided by foreign holidaymakers.

The government is trying to promote domestic tourism by the simple expedient of declaring extra public holidays.

This year, for the first time, the president of this predominantly Christian country made the Friday following the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan a special public holiday.

The hope was that Filipinos would spend a long weekend on the beach, or in the cool mountain resorts.

Similarly, the government declared that Christmas Eve - a Tuesday - would be another special public holiday.

Five-day break

The calculation was that Filipinos would go on holiday at the start of the preceding weekend, fail to show up for work the following Monday, then have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to enjoy themselves.

That is a five-day break.

Filipinos do sometimes go to the beach.

They are easy to spot. They are the ones swimming with all their clothes on.

But generally, they like to spend Christmas, or any other holiday, at home.

And opinion surveys indicate that Filipinos do not feel wealthy enough, in the present economic climate, to spend their holidays in resorts.