[Second Opinion] Holy Week's pilgrimage of tourists

by Gideon Lasco
Philippine Daily Inquirer

This week is significant not just for Christianity, but also for tourism; it is the peak season of travel for many Filipinos. This shouldn’t be a surprise: Unlike Europeans who get five or six full weeks of annual vacation, most employees in our part of the world have very limited leave benefits. For many, Holy Week is a once-in-a-year opportunity to see a part of the country—or the world.

Holy Week, moreover, takes place during the dry season—the perfect time to visit beaches, climb mountains, or even just do a road trip without the risk of storms that come later in the year. For the religious, a trip to the Ilocos can have Manaoag as a side trip; a visit to Sorsogon and Mayon can include a stop for Peñafrancia.

The Lenten pilgrimage of tourists has been around for a long time, but it has swelled in recent years, spurred by cheap flights, better roads, and unprecedented access to information online.

All these developments have opened up various destinations around the country, beyond the traditional attractions like Baguio, Bohol and Boracay. In fact, some folks are aiming to reach all of our country’s 81 provinces.

And ecotourism is growing: Climbing Mount Pulag, canyoneering in Cebu, and swimming in the Enchanted River in Hinatuan have become part of many people’s ever-lengthening “bucket list”—and so has the trek in Buscalan to see Whang-Od.

Overall, I think this is a good development. Ecotourism can form part of a “green economy” that can provide alternatives to more impactful activities like mining and logging. (Donsol and Oslob are good examples: Locals have realized that they can earn more by letting the whale sharks live, instead of hunting them.) Additionally, by having many destinations to choose from, we can “spread the impact” of tourism and therefore lessen the burden on each destination, while distributing the benefits to many.

But the growth of tourism also poses numerous challenges. More and more destinations—old ones like Sagada and Boracay and new ones like the mountains of Rizal—are getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of visitors. Carrying capacity and sustainability—the “eco” before “tourism”—are often left out of the equation.

Then there’s also the question of accountability. Mount Apo’s reopening this week has raised eyebrows not just because of its timing (just a year after the devastating forest fires), but also because of the imposition of a P2,000 fee per visitor—which translates to millions of pesos every year. How will this money be spent? Tourism is good, but we should also be critical of how it is executed and regulated—and vigilant lest it harm the local communities and the environment.

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Filipinos are traveling abroad, too, and Japan has emerged as a crowd favorite, especially at this time of the year—the season of cherry blossoms. Our intrepid kabayan are also hiking in the Himalayas, diving in the Indian Ocean, and going to far corners of Europe and South America. Wherever they go, I hope they can show our country in a better light.

But what of foreign visitors to the Philippines? According to Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, reportage on the EJKs has made it difficult to “sell” the country (I think it’s the killings more than the reportage).

But while it will turn off some people, I think tourists will come as long as there’s good infrastructure and facilities—including decent airports. For better or for worse—as a recent Inquirer editorial pointed out—most tourists don’t really care about the politics of the country they’re visiting. And the places they visit rarely reflect the country’s social realities: When you are strolling along the beaches of Palawan, or hiking through the mossy forests of Bukidnon, it’s hard to imagine the Philippines other than as a blissful paradise.

In a way, this is understandable. Traveling, after all, is as much an escape as it is a pursuit. For the vacationer, politics can wait, especially when the mere thought of it has become wearisome.
Which is probably why, for many Filipinos jittery about our nation’s future, this week comes as a most welcome break—a respite before the storm.


Originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer: http://opinion.inquirer.net/103180/holy-weeks-pilgrimage-tourists

We ourselves should be tourism ambassadors

by Gideon Lasco

NEW YORK CITY - On a recent trip to Ecuador I managed to convince two backpackers to visit the Philippines. One of them, a medical doctor from the Netherlands, was planning to do a backpacking trip around Southeast Asia but hadn't considered the Philippines at all until I showed her pictures of Coron and Puerto Princesa. The other, a fresh graduate from Germany, had already heard nice things about the Philippines and just needed some convincing. A mountaineer, he was pleasantly surprised that there are lots of hiking possibilities in the country - from volcanoes like Mt. Apo in Southern Mindanao and Kanlaon in Negros to long walks in the Cordilleras that live up to the Department of Tourism’s one-time tagline of “nature, adventure, and culture”.

My interactions with foreigners have made me realize how important personal endorsements can be in the decisions of travelers on which countries to visit. Testimonials can be just as powerful as the best pictures in travel magazines, or the most crisp videos on travel shows, in enticing people to visit. Thus, Filipinos who work and travel abroad - of whom there are millions - are an untapped resource in the government's efforts to boost tourism in the country, especially in light of its target of 10 million visitor arrivals in 2016.

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It must begin with our being proud about our country. If we ourselves don’t think our country is worth visiting, how can we convince others to come? Of course, we do have our own little complaints about the Philippines - the traffic, the policitians, the slow Internet connection, and an even slower bureaucracy. But then, which nation doesn’t have problems? These misgivings aside, we have to put our best foot forward and show that there is much more to the Philippines than the problems we sometimes tend to highlight.

Next, we must make a convincing case for why visitors should come to the Philippines. That the cost of living is generally cheap, and that most Filipinos speak English, are good enticements. But we must know the best of what our country has to offer, and it will also help if we know what our would-be guests are interested in. Divers have plenty of choices as within the Philippines lies the “center of the center" of world’s marine biodiversity. Those seeking a more cultural experience should discover our heritage towns, like Intramuros, Vigan, Miag-ao, to name a few - or charming locales like Batanes and the many mountain towns in the Cordilleras. Shoppers will enjoy the malls of Manila and Cebu, while nature lovers may be better off heading straight to Palawan or Bukidnon. There are great caves in Samar for spelunking, limestone cliffs in Cebu for rock climbing, great seafood everywhere…even one day out of Manila is enough to take visitors to the lush tropical forests of Mt. Makiling or stunning views of volcanoes Taal and Pinatubo.

Of course, we must be honest about what visitors should expect. Typhoons, for instance, can thrwart planned trips, especially in the wet season. Traffic in Manila can be frustrating. Then there are places that might be risky for foreigners to visit. However, we must emphasize how circumscribed these places are. Moreover, while these considerations may deter a few, most travelers are aware that there’s always a risk anywhere and that it’s part of the adventure of traveling.

Finally, offering continued assitance will go a long way. I told my newfound friends in Ecuador to feel free to email me if they have questions. Having a contact in an unfamilar place can be the final push people need to come and visit. And the information they need is often effortless for us to provide. Surely it will be easy for us to give tips about taxi drivers in Manila, or how to get to Baguio by bus. By accommodating their inquiries, we are already enacting the hospitality that Filipinos are known for.

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Tourism is not without its criques, and certainly there are many issues that we need to address before we can wholeheartedly embrace it. Though the tourism sector is said to have contributed 6-7% of the country’s GDP in the past years, we must ask whether the profits in tourism have translated to better quality of life among communities within tourist destinations. We must also ask whether tourism has been environmentally sustainable, as in places like Sagada and Boracay that are clearly going beyond their “carrying capacities” during peak seasons.

These concerns notwithstanding, I think we are all agreed that tourism, done responsibly and sustainably, has a great potential in contributing to our country’s growth. More than the economics, tourism promotes understanding among cultures, and this goodwill can doubtless help many overseas Filipinos, as well as our diplomatic standing in general. Finally, we can actually steer tourism in a more favorable way by directing our guests to experiences and establishments that are friendly to local communities and the environment.

In ending, let me attest my conviction that the Philippines is one of the best places in the planet and it has much to offer to visitors from all walks of life. But we cannot solely rely on occasional TV commercials, ”It’s more Fun in the Philippines" billboards, and occasional inclusions in “must-visit” lists by travel magazines to make this known to people around world, especially if we have a more direct way to get them to come. Indeed, if our tourism sector is to grow, we must take it upon ourselves to be ambassadors and endorsers of our own country.