RELIABLE Internet connectivity is key to boosting the Philippines’ tourism competitiveness, an industry official said.
Robert Lim Joseph, chairman of Tourism Educators and Movers of the Philippines, believes the country’s tourism sector will not grow if telecommunication giants are not able to provide the country with reliable and fast Internet connections.
He noted that digital connections will help the country get linked and get recognized with the rest of the world, aside from getting direct flight connections to other overseas destinations.
“In this time where everybody owns a mobile phone, it is necessary to stay connected,” said Joseph, explaining that the Internet is the means for a business traveler to get connected to his business while enjoying Cebu’s pristine beaches or for leisure travelers to make real-time posts of their vacation.
Satisfying guests
“Internet will help us get connected or reach out to travelers who haven’t visited Philippines or to those who don’t know us,” Joseph said who holds top positions of other tourism organizations, including the Network of Independent Travel Agencies (Nitas).
“With a good toilet and bath, good food to eat and a reliable and fast Internet speed, especially at the airport, we will be able to satisfy our guests,” said Joseph, emphasizing that the country is already popular in terms of natural attractions, unique hospitality and warm people.
“We’ve got to fix our infrastructure,” he said.
Joseph suggested that telco giants prioritize putting in place fast Internet connection in high-traffic tourist spots like Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, Dumaguete and Palawan.
The Philippines has the slowest Internet connectivity speed in Southeast Asian Region and is among the slowest in the world.
Below average
According to the “State of the Internet” report on Asia Pacific by Akamai, a cloud data network specializing in monitoring Internet traffic in real time, the Philippines has the third lowest average connection speed in the region at 2.8 Megabits per second (Mbps) for the first quarter of 2015, much lower than the global average connection speed, which is five Mbps.
Moreover, the Philippines also ranked fourth in terms of lowest peak connection speed, with 20.3 Mbps, which is far from the global average of 29.1 Mbps.
Pricey, too
Likewise, Internet in the Philippines is one of the most expensive. The report showed that the Internet’s monthly average cost is at $18.19 (P848.65) per Mbps, which is over three times the average global cost of $5.21 (P243.07).
High-speed Internet connection is also crucial to grow the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
In a press release, Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos, an independent telecommunications and information and communications technology (ICT) policy researcher, noted that “a reliable broadband connectivity is an essential tool for making businesses, especially MSMEs competitive in the global arena.”
“It helps improve their processes and allows them to expand their marketing and clientele. As MSMEs comprise a majority of businesses in the country, the broadband initiative becomes part of building an inclusive economy,” she said in the policy brief of The Arangkada Philippines Project released by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines.
Recommendations
Santos proposed the adoption of an open access model to allow the entry of new players in the telco industry as a measure to improve the Internet connectivity and service in the country.
“This means identifying the various segments in the infrastructure and opening them up to more and different players without requiring a Congressional franchise,” she said in a news release posted in the Philippine Exporters Confederation website.
Santos said open access will contribute to lowering the cost of network operation, maintenance and expansion.
“Telecommunications is a capital-intensive and technology-driven sector. And yet the law bars foreign players from fully participating even in wholesale segments like cable landing station and backhaul, which effectively limits the presence of companies that can inject fresh new capital, bring in state-of-the art technology, and compete in the market,” she added. KOC/With Philexport News and Features