THE LONG HOLIDAY break that the government advocates this Christmas season is expected to boost domestic tourism. Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon has said.

The government plans to give state workers an extended break between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, 2002, to afford them a longer period to visit their families and relatives in the provinces.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said a week-long holiday week break would be optional for private companies.

Gordon also noted that the Christmas holidays are one of those times when droves of overseas Filipino workers and balikbayans (vacationing Filipino permanent residents abroad) come home to be with their relatives and friends.

These vacationers spend some of their earnings and boost not only domestic tourism but also the local economy, Gordon pointed out.

He said the returning Filipinos will fill up the slack noted in foreign arrivals after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US.