RP travel industry needs to diversify, be creative - NGO

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine travel stakeholders should not curse the darkness that has fallen on the industry and has produced grim financial results, but should instead light a candle by coming up with bright business ideas.

Robert Lim Joseph, chairman emeritus of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies Inc. (Naitas), said travel stakeholders should not indulge in hanging dirty linen in public in bitterness but should rather spend time wisely by developing new business plans.

“As they say, it’s the tough that gets going when the going gets tough,” Joseph said. “Adversities do not only pose a challenge but also an opportunity for those who know how.”

He cited the cheap air fares being offered by local and international airlines, big and small, which have provoked weeping and gnashing of teeth in the industry due to lost commission fees.

“We in Naitas look at these things positively,” Joseph said. “Bargain fares are an opportunity to develop non-traditional markets which can now afford to travel due to give-away fares.”

Stressing that the business “is no longer as easy 40 years ago,” he said travel agents should meet with air, sea and land transportation operators and with bar, mall, hotel, resort and restaurant owners to develop new tour packages that will tap the non-traditional market by combining the strength of each sector.

“We should combine cheap fares with discounted rates and low prices for special tour packages, especially during off season, directed at new customers like senior citizens, for example,” Joseph said. “This way, we develop a sustainable market.”

He said the key to survival in the travel business is diversification by coming up with new packages, like “Lolo and Lola Tours, Home Stay programs, Adventure Tourism, and Student Travel,” for example.

This should be combined with upgrading and professionalization of the stakeholders, something Naitas is doing while business is slack, Joseph said. Among these are holding seminars on handling corporate accounts, creation of unique tour destinations, etc. so travel agencies can do inbound business.