The Arroyo administration has identified tourism as one of the pillars of growth and development. It recognizes that tourism should become truly competitive in attracting visitors, in generating the expected economic benefits, and in pursuing sustainability. This can be achieved as the Philippines continuously measures its performance against its competitors. This study is an attempt to compare the policy frameworks of Philippines and Thailand. The objective is to draw lessons from Thailand’s experience which can help Philippine tourism counter threats and exploit opportunities through the use of public policy. Thailand is a relatively good model for marketing and promotions, for using tourism as a tool for economic recovery during the Asian financial crisis and for building on and strengthening past initiatives which have produced positive results for tourism. However, growth was achieved with high costs on the environment and culture in a number of destinations. Overall, Thailand still possesses the potential to be the leading tourism destination in South East Asia and has the basis for a long-term growth in tourism given the focus of new masterplans on sustainability. Based on Thailand’s excesses in tourism development and the Philippine’s experience in some of its destinations, there is a critical place for government and policies in sustainable tourism development without compromising the principle of subsidiarity. Policies should be oriented towards establishing rules of the game and creating an environment that fosters competition, efficiency, and conservation. Since most Philippine destinations are still in their early stages of the product life cycle, they need to manage development in such a way that economic benefits are earned without suffering from the negative effects experienced by Thailand.
