Countries around the world are encouraged to keep their travel prices low to continue attracting tourists even in the face of the global economic slowdown.

Latest World Tourism Barometer released by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) noted that the current crisis is not affecting the desire to travel, but “whether people can afford to travel.”

It said price will drive growth in a tight tourism market starting 2009.“Destinations offering value for money and with favorable exchange rates have an advantage as price becomes a key issue,” it said.

In a tightening global market, the WTO said, traffic would be coming from family-oriented, special interest and independent travel.

Travel patterns would also shift more toward short-haul and domestic destinations. There would also be shorter stays at tourism establishments and less spending during these trips, it noted.

Tourism business of Asia and the Pacific has been worst hit by the global economic slump, with declining growth reported since March 2008, reversing an upward spiral that had been sustained for 18 consecutive months.

The region’s growth only stands at four percent for the eight-month period.

Despite this, visitor arrivals in the Philippines have remained steady at 6.1 percent growth as of July 2008 compared to the year-ago level.

The months of January, March and July were even banner months for the country when new visitor arrival peaks were reached, according to official data released by the Department of Tourism.

While bulk of the country’s tourists comes from Asian countries like Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan, there has been remarkable growth in visitor arrivals from Europe and steady traffic from the United States where balikbayan traffic is staple.

The Philippines attracted 1.9 million tourists during the first seven months of the year, bringing in $ 2.17 billion in tourism receipts. The government target is to draw five million tourists by 2010.

“The economic downturn, combined with the current uncertainties, extreme market volatility and a decline in both consumer and business confidence, are expected to continue taking their toll on demand for tourism —at least in the short to medium term,” the WTO further said.

Result of the latest World Tourism Barometer is on the agenda at the Global Ministers’ Summit in London to figure a way forward amid a crisis of SARS proportion to both the airline and tourism industries.

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