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Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Echaves: Responsible tourism
By Lelani P. Echaves
His lecture presented the hardware; I`ll present the software.”
So began my good friend Alice Kintanar-Queblatin, president of the Cebu Association of Tour Operators and president of her own outfit, the Southwind Travel and Tours, Inc. The occasion was the annual Alumni Institute of the UP Alumni Association–Cebu chapter on the theme “Mainstreaming Responsible Tourism.”
Ambitious, impressive and financially demanding, to say the least. How else to describe the roadmap? Springing from Cebu’s twin-thrust of being the tourism center for the Visayas region and even the country, and being the ICT hub for Southeast Asia, Cebu will have built a second passenger terminal building, linked Consolacion to Talisay via the Cebu LRT, put up the regional tourism congress, and constructed friendship bridges connecting Cebu, Negros Oriental and Bohol.
In that future just five years away, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Robert Go said the Mactan International Airport would be operating 24/7, have two runways, and two world-class terminals. More 5-star hotels, resorts and pension houses will emerge. Local access will have improved tremendously via airports, seaports, even major malls. And a culture of tourism will have forged the best cooperation between the tourism sector and the Department of Education.
With all these in place, bringing in 5 million tourists by 2010 would be easy. Of these, 3.5 million would be multinationals while 1.5 million, local tourists.
In her response, Cebu Provincial Board Member Agnes Almendras-Magpale referred to Phuket, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia as models for the Philippines, not just for their quality as tourist destinations but also as models of cooperation. Developing Phuket was government-initiated while Bali was initiated by the private sector. As chair of the Cebu provincial committee on tourism, and as an advocate for the protection of women and children, Magpale looked forward to that time when sex tours and “hubo-hubo” will have totally disappeared from tourism and marketing brochures and promos.
That time has started, Queblatin says. Responsible tourism, after all, means preservation of a country-destination’s environment, attraction, heritage and culture. For instance, their association of tour operators works with “scubasureros,” a group of scuba-diving tour guides whose other passion is to clean up the sea by collecting free of charge the garbage thrown into the sea. Addressing the tourists’ need to see the beauty of marine life, while protecting the environment, the tour operators organize snorkeling activities in areas near fish sanctuaries, but disallow fishing or carting away souvenirs.
Preference is now for tour guides from the municipality who have accurate and comprehensive “product knowledge” of their community, and who have passable English. For tourists billeted at five-star hotels like Shangrila, the tour operators “VIP treatment” consists of a jeepney ride, non-airconditioned, from airport to hotel. Queblatin says this touch of the package thrills the tourists no end. And it’s refreshing to see them, in suits and signature clothes, enjoying the multi-covered jeepney, complete with colorful decorations and buntings.
To solidify tourists’ appreciation of the locale’s attraction, heritage and culture, operators no longer bring along snacks in their provincial tours. Instead of hamburgers, they request the municipality’s residents to prepare “puto” and “tsokolate,” or mango and “budbud,” or “ampao,” “chicharon” and “tagaktak.”
If these native attractions continue to draw in the tourists, then indeed, we`re on the right road to responsible tourism. Perhaps, a pro-poor tourism will not be far away.
(July 13, 2005 issue)
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