NEWSFLASH

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ASEAN PRODDED TO PUSH TOURISM

Cebu City, Jan. 13, 1998 - President Ramos yesterday called on leaders of the tourism industry of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to vigorously pursue tourism promotions which, he said, "will have a major influence in the world and in the region in the 21st century."

"Whether we like it or not, as we move into the 21st century, there is going to be a growth in the tourist trade," the president said in his speech opening the Asean Tourism Forum at the Cebu International Convention Center.

Tourism, he said, will surpass and replace labor export as the country's top dollar earner.

"For the past six years, visitor arrivals have been growing at an average of 13.8 percent," the president said, noting that his government had surpassed the target of 2.2 million arrivals for 1997.

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