A tourism opportunity missed

It is not surprising that when an opportunity fell on our laps, our tourism officials were caught napping. Last week, a total of 15 international flights bound for Hong Kong from various capitals all over the world were diverted to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) due to tropical storm "Henry," which closed down Hong Kong’s airport after ravaging our northern provinces.

Among other flights, Cathay Pacific had 10 of its Hong Kong-bound flights coming from various places such as Beijing, China; Singapore; Jakarta; Alaska in the US; Penang, Malaysia; Melbourne, Australia; and London, England, diverted to NAIA. A Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong was also turned back. As reported by Philippine Star, the various airlines’s Manila station offices had to scramble for billeting for the more than 2,700 passengers who had to stay the night in Manila.

British Airways had their two Hong Kong-bound flights diverted to NAIA, and Swissair had one flight going to Hong Kong from Zurich and Northwest Airlines had one flight coming from Miami, among those diverted due to the 120 kilometer per hour winds battering Hong Kong. The sudden influx of wide-bodied jets that crowded the NAIA aircraft parking area had forced NAIA authorities to advise all international airlines that other flights could not be accommodated.

The thought that came to my mind was, why bring all those diverted flights to Manila, in the first place. A Pinoy expat based in New York also wrote to say that Cebu and Davao should have been automatically prioritized in such a system as emergency landing spots over Metro Manila. Both cities have more decent airport terminal buildings and better tourism environment. There would have been more chances of those accidental tourists coming back if their first peek of the country was Mactan or Davao than the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and its adjoining squatter areas.

Given that typhoons happen at predictable times of the year in our region, we should have had a system in place to welcome and accommodate hundreds of passengers stranded by the weather. There is such a thing as typhoon tourism. The airports in Mactan and Davao should be expanded to accommodate a sudden surge in the number of planes wanting to land.

Our Pinoy expat reader suggests that such a system should have a central database of all hotels and resorts, three stars and upwards, so that alerts can immediately be sent to these hotels and resorts whenever there is a possibility that a known typhoon would force flights to land in the Philippines. These establishments can subsequently reply with information on how many rooms they have available within the next several hours so that airline officials won’t have to scramble for rooms.

The same alert system can also be applied to tourist bus companies to transport passengers to their accommodations. Such a system, which is an adaptation of "Just in Time" (JIT) that is used in manufacturing, may be worth implementing because, as pointed out earlier, typhoons are regular occurrences in this region.

The number of stranded passengers, at 2,700, is significant. It is almost equivalent to the number traveling on a large cruise ship. If each passenger were assigned a single room at a rate of $80 a night, the country could earn approximately $216,000 to $432,000 in hotel or resort bookings alone for a stay of up to two nights. Transportation and accommodation costs will be paid for by the affected airlines. Typhoon tourism is nothing to be sneezed at.

A layover in Plantation Bay or Mactan Shangri-La or the Pearl Farm will be more memorable than one in a Makati hotel. I realize that Cebu’s hotels are almost always fully booked. But maybe, during the typhoon season, they are not as busy and can accommodate emergencies like last week’s.

Typhoon tourism or not, the bottom line is as I have always said in this column, we need investments in tourism infrastructure like hotel rooms. Attracting those investments should be the first item in the agenda of the tourism secretary, not all that pa-pogi media events and foreign junkets he is so fond of.

Africa

Alexander P. Ponsaran, an OFW working in Cameroon, e-mailed me his thoughts on current issues.

I will not be surprised if in a matter of years we will be overtaken by any of the 56 African countries or kingdoms in terms of economic growth. Just to cite South Africa… it will be hosting the spectacular WORLD CUP in 2010 edition. Hosting a WORLD CUP is not a joke. What about Philippines?... Southeast Asian Games hirap na tayo.

Last year, I passed by Johannesburg, South Africa on my way to Cameroon, Central Africa, where I presently work in a poultry company. I was awed-struck as the plane approached the landing runway… seeing those beautiful houses and buildings built in blocks like in Europe. I was further surprised when I set foot in their Johannesburg International Airport. It’s like a "smaller version" of Hong Kong International Airport. I could not help thinking and asking myself if I’m really in Africa.

Last May 2006, for my return flight to Cameroon, I passed by Kenya and I would say that their airport is of international standards compared to NAIA…and never mind the dilapidated Manila Domestic Airport. Yet, Kenya is a more impoverished country than the Philippines!

Because of my having worked here in Cameroon for more than two years, I have gained some understanding of Africa. We have so many misconceptions about the Black Continent… the second largest continent on Earth comprised of 56 different countries and kingdoms. Back home, the only thing we know about Africa is what we see on television about their Safari Wildlife. If CHINA is an AWAKENING GIANT.. I would say AFRICA is a SLUMBERING TITAN. .

Africa as a TITAN?... for one, Africa’s sitting on the largest URANIUM reserves in the world. Secondly, Africa has the third largest oil reserves in Nigeria and Angola, not to mention Libya. Thirdly, Africa supplies most of the diamonds in the world! Let’s also remember Egypt "the cradle of ancient civilization" is located in the northern part of Africa where the first great minds originated.

Above all, the glaring misconception I discovered about Africa is that "Africa is a RICH continent pretending to be POOR. While the Philippines is a POOR country pretending to be RICH." I’m 100 percent true blood Pinoy...but that is the painful reality… reality bites!

More power and God bless you always.

The full story

Robin Tong’s story today has a moral lesson.

Little Georgie watched his daddy’s car pass by the school playground and go into the woods. Curious, he followed the car and saw Daddy and Aunt Jane in a passionate embrace.

Little Georgie found this so exciting that he could not contain himself as he ran home and started to tell his mother, "Mommy, I was at the playground and I saw Daddy’s car go into the woods with Aunt Jane. I went back to look and he was giving Aunt Jane a big kiss, then he helped her take off her shirt. Then Aunt Jane helped Daddy take his pants off, then Aunt Jane…"

At this point Mommy cut him off and said, "Georgie, this is such an interesting story, suppose you save the rest of it for supper time. I want to see the look on Daddy’s face when you tell it tonight!"

At the dinner table, Mommy asked little Georgie to tell his story. Georgie started his story, "I was at the playground and I saw Daddy’s car go into the woods with Aunt Jane. I went back to look and he was giving Aunt Jane a big kiss, then he helped her take off her shirt. Then Aunt Jane helped Daddy take his pants off, then Aunt Jane and Daddy started doing the same thing that Mommy and Uncle Bill used to do when Daddy was away in the Army."

Moral: Sometimes you need to listen to the whole story first.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]