Honeyman: Tourism

Monday, September 26, 2011

LAST year, more than one billion people sallied forth beyond their homelands to visit other countries. Unfortunately, over 99.6% of them did not come to the Philippines.

Nevertheless, in 2010, we attracted 3.5 million visitors who spent $2.49 billion. Given that the world-wide market size of tourism is $1 trillion, our market share is depressingly low.

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Current statistics, however, are promising. In January- June 2011 there were 1.91 million foreign visitors - that is, those traveling on non-Philippine passports. This is a 12% increase from the previous year.

But there is a fly in the ointment. Last week, US ambassador Harry Thomas told a forum of Filipino judges and officials that corrupt officials were involved in a very visible sex trade.

‘We know that 40% of foreign men who come to the Philippines, including from the US, come for sex tourism,’ Thomas said.

‘How does he know?’ ‘Sex tourism is not part of our marketing strategy,’ responded the Department of Tourism.

I, too, do not know where Thomas got the 40% from but I do not disagree with him.

Based on anecdotal evidence, I would single out Koreans. A numerical success story with 429, 596 visitors in January-June 2011, a 29% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. But what proportion of the 429,596 are men? If it is well over 50%, then this provides indirect circumstantial evidence that may support Ambassador Thomas’ assertion.

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Hong Kong is a problem. In January- June 2010 there were 71,867 visitors from the ‘Special Administrative Region’, as the Chinese authorities call it. But only 56,458 came in January- June 2011. The territory’s warning to ‘avoid all travel’ to the Philippines is, regrettably, having an impact.

It would be a great help if Malacañang could swallow its pride and mend fences with Hong Kong. The tragedy of 23 August 2010 was made worse by the mishandling, by President Aquino’s advisers, of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Donald Tsang. To block Tsang’s telephone call to the President while the hostage situation was still unfolding, and to compound this by saying that ‘Tsang is only the equivalent of a provincial governor’ was the height of crassness. It was also wrong. In any case, I would expect the president to take a phone call from a provincial governor in a case of emergency.

In 1985, the British and Chinese governments, after complex and protracted negotiations, declared a Joint Agreement. This agreement specified the nature of the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the UK to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. Of particular significance was that although Hong Kong’s governance was completely different from that of China, Hong Kong’s system would remain intact for at least fifty years after 1997. As Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping said at the time: ‘One country, two systems.’ China has adhered to this agreement.

This means that Donald Tsang is, in effect, Hong Kong’s equivalent of President Aquino. Tsang is not the equivalent of a provincial governor.

On P-Noy’s recent visit to China, Premier Wen Jiabao brought up the question of the hostage massacre. Reportedly, P-Noy was taken by surprise. He should not have been. The Chinese are not inclined to say ‘case closed’ when, to them, the event has not been satisfactorily resolved. Look at Taiwan. And the Spratlys.

So who caused Tsang’s attempts to communicate with President Aquino on 23 August 2010 to be rebuffed?

It has been suggested that it was Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon Carandang. If so, he gains a failing grade for Communications Development and, as it turns out, Strategic Planning as well.

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What can we do to continue to increase tourist numbers?

Probably the market segment with the largest potential increase benefitting the Philippines is that which involves Asian visitors, especially Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers, and Singaporean, coming to the country for short trips of three to four days. To cater adequately for this segment, we need to provide a product which is efficient and reliable. A necessary condition is that the tourist can fly non-stop from his home airport to his destination. There is not enough time to change planes. In any case, NAIA is a disaster and significantly depresses our market share.

So if Negros wishes to be part of a potential tourist boom, there needs to be non-stop flights from the tourists’ place of origin to Bacolod-Silay airport. Otherwise, Negros will be left behind.

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There are many OFW unsung heroes. Some of them are employed on cruise ships. So it is ironic that the good work of Filipinos on the high seas has been undermined by corrupt immigration and customs personnel whose effect has been that cruise ships now avoid the Philippines. There need to be serious discussions between the Department of Tourism and the Immigration Department together with the Bureau of Customs. We need to retrieve the potentially lucrative cruise ship market.

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Governor Alfredo Marañon is well aware of the enormous benefits that can be obtained from well-marketed tourism. As keynote speaker at the recent Provincial Tourism Week Conference, he emphasized that the economic benefits from tourism could reach all sectors of our society. True. As a nation we have been experiencing moderate rates of growth of around 5% per annum. Unfortunately, however, not all sectors of society have benefitted from this growth. The poor have tended to be left behind.

As Marañon says, tricycle drivers, small sari-sari stores and coconut gatherers can all gain from more tourism.

Let us hope so!