MANILA - The Department of Tourism on Monday said it signed a deal with the state-run Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) for a program to provide loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises in the tourism industry.

The DOT said the program will accelerate the country’s tourism recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.

"By working together, we can hopefully bring tourism, an industry that contributed 12.7 percent to the country’s 2019 GDP, back to its glory days,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

Through the DOT and SB Corp's CARES for TRAVEL program, tourism MSMEs will have access to zero interest, no-collateral loans with a loan term period of up to 4 years, including a corresponding grace period of up to 1 year, the DOT said.

The borrower MSMEs will only need to pay a one-time service fee, which is set at a maximum of 8 percent for a 4-year loan.

SB Corp will process loan applications of DOT-accredited MSMEs and local government-accredited businesses to determine the amount of the loan as well as its terms.

The government is aiming to disburse P6 billion worth of loans to tourism MSMEs, the DOT said