NEWSFLASH

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TOURISM AS DOLLAR BUFFER IN CRISIS

Mandaluyong City, Dec. 4, 1997 - The tourism industry will help save the Philippines from the present dollar crunch.

This was the consensus of participants in the Philippines Leisure and Entertainment Conference in Mandaluyong City recently.

Citing the continued surge in the volume of tourist arrivals in the country, Ramos Cuervo III of the Center for Research and Communications Foundation projected that tourism will overtake the labor export sector as the country's top dollar earner.

Cuervo also noted that investments have started to shift from high-rise real estate development to eco-tourism.

"As supply for high-end office space and condominium units meets or exceeds demand, institutional investors will need to funnel their funds elsewhere, and eco-tourism is the most promising growth industry in the country today," Cuervo said.

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