Saturday, September 23, 2006 Batuhan: Paradise found By Allan S. B. Batuhan Foreign Exchange
So what is the President to do? As the country’s Tourism Coordinator-in-Chief (ultimately, she is responsible for everything), she knows we need to change the way we do things to get our due share of visitor traffic.
She knows we need to change, because even with the breathtaking beauty of our natural scenery and the host of wonderful attractions we have to offer, our neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) earn more than double or triple what we do.
And she knows that the change has to be now, because our economy is not in the best of shape and additional revenue is always welcome relief.
First thing to do? Make us well known to our markets. Advertise. Tap the creative genius of our homegrown creative media talent who are doing fantastic things for the products and services of multinational companies.
A “Visit the Philippines” campaign —seriously done and properly executed —can do wonders for the industry.
I am sure masses of creative marketers would volunteer their services for national pride, if asked nicely and acknowledged properly. With proper motivation and inspiration, a campaign like this may not be as expensive as we think.
Of course, we need to be known for the right reasons. Kidnappings and insurgency do not make good press, especially for visitors already nervy with news of tsunamis in Thailand, bombings in Turkey and kidnappings in the Middle East.
Vacations are meant for relaxation, not a time for dodging bullets. Thailand has had great success with their tourist police that patrol attractions and are visible to everyone.
This seems to work well for them in deterring petty criminality, which is often a complaint of many visitors to the country.
Next thing is to make our attractions accessible. And we can start by improving the quality of our airport services. Clearly, the issue with the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal is now with our court system, and this is beyond intervention by politicians.
But the secret for future undertakings has to be to prevent it from having to go to litigation in the first place. If other Asean countries could build theirs without having to spend countless hours of judicial time having to sort out compensation, so should we.
Needless to say, our road networks need to be in better shape than they are at the moment. This not only enables tourists to reach the sites, but also encourages the building of facilities, and the flow of supply that will have to support the businesses that set up there.
A large part of the cost of running a business in a fragmented archipelago like ours is transport, and to get the next ingredient for success right, good logistics is a big help.
We also need to be competitive in terms of our pricing. Compared to our Asean neighbors that have arguably fulfilled the above criterion better than ourselves, we are still quite expensive. Tax breaks to those who set up tourist facilities would be a start.
Our neighbors do it and have had great success with it. Why not ourselves? And providing them good infrastructure like accessible roads and waterways will also ensure that their costs of running their businesses stay down.
Once we have fulfilled all we need to do to make people aware of our natural wonders, assured them of their security, welcomed them here safely and warmly, transported them comfortably to their destinations of choice, and provided them with facilities within their vacation budget — we can then sit back and relax.
Our natural wonders are truly like no other, and everyone who has seen them will want to come back over and over again.
The hard work is to have visitors come and see them in the first place.
