Tourism is every Filipino’s business

My friend Jun Ventura was not pleased I publicly suggested Mr. Duterte appoint him Tourism secretary. I did it because I think he would do well for the country in this job, but he said he does not relish the thought of working for government. He is sure it will just frustrate him.

But, I protested, can he at least share his views on how to boost our tourism industry? He did. He sent me an e-mail that is must reading for the new administration.

Basically, Jun’s recommendation is to vastly improve the product before we spend big money to market it. Jun thinks we have not done enough to make tourism a pleasant experience for visitors. Otherwise, they would be coming in droves through word of mouth.

Jun believes tourism promotion is every Filipino’s business. We are naturally hospitable, but that quality is lost in our horrible airports where tourists are victimized by overcharging taxi and transport operators. Our airports also look too Third World and not in the same class as airports in the region… our competitors.

Whoever becomes Tourism secretary must convince his Cabinet colleagues to fix airports and infra first before anything else. Mon Jimenez tried that and was successful in cleaning up Customs and Immigration procedures to make them more friendly. But Mon failed to get DOTC to improve the look of airports, do something about horrible air traffic, as well as to get airport managers to throw the crooks out. So we still have tanim bala and thieves who steal from balikbayan boxes and other types of passenger baggage. Here is how Jun explained our problem:

“We might wonder, with our beautiful destinations and so-called hospitality and friendliness, how come we are attracting only 5 million visitors a year?

“Imagine, Boracay won best island in the world a few years ago while Palawan gets voted best island in the world like two years in a row by highly prestigious publications like Conde Nast Traveler. Why are we doing so pitifully?

“Let’s do an overall view. Travel is the biggest business in the world, bar none. And it continues to grow. Here’s the top five in the world in terms of tourist arrivals in 2015. France 86.3M, USA 77.9M, Spain 68.1M, China 56.9M, and Italy 50.8M.

“So as you can see, it’s not Airbus that’s keeping France afloat but tourism. And it’s tourism keeping hot tempered Spaniards from rioting.

“The United States leads in tourist revenues with $178 billion followed by China at $114 billion, Spain $57 billion, and France $46 billion.

“In our region, Malaysia is on top with 27.4M visitors followed by Thailand at 24.8M, Indonesia at 9.435M, Vietnam at 7.8M. Myammar that just opened up to the world has a respectable 3.0M visitors. The Philippines is 4.833M.

“In Malaysia, tourism is such a big contributor that it accounts for 15 percent of their GNP. Their tourism is booming.  In my latest visit toKL, there were a lot of Filipinos working in their hotels because their pay is about 30 percent more than the Philippines.

“In earnings, Malaysia in 2014 generated $16.70 billion, Thailand $38.40 billion, Indonesia $10.70 billion, and Philippines $4.84 billion.

“Why are we performing so dismally when we have award winning destinations and our people are so extremely hospitable?

“Let’s examine our product. Let’s look at one feature of the product – the arrival experience and first impression of our visitors.

“The first impression a tourist gets as he lands is our lousy airports. It becomes clear he is in a third world country.

“NAIA1, you can forget it. NAIA 2, the PAL terminal is better but has very few immigration counters and equally few baggage carousels. So imagine, big Airbuses landing at the same time with passengers backed up at immigration that the lines start at the stairs. NAIA 3 is a bit better but looks unfinished, iffy air conditioning and inadequate facilities.

“What happens when visitors depart from our airports? Unlike let’s say in HK where there’s a fast speed train on the first level. Here visitors are ripped off by transport providers.

“For example, I can ride a meter taxi from Naia2 to my house in Kapitolyo for at most P200. These syndicated car operators charge me P530. This is something Duterte and his boys should stop. Obviously, a syndicate is in cahoots with airport management.

“Then, when visitors depart, what do they encounter in our airports? NAIA1 is voted one of the worst airports in the world, while NAIA2 has very inadequate facilities.

“In busy periods, passengers just sit on the floor while as many as 30 women queue in the women’s restroom. At NAIA3, it’s the same thing: inadequate seats and toilet facilities and retail and unappealing food outlets.

“You are well-travelled, Boo. Look at the airports of Phuket and Denpasar and they can easily surpass our national airports. And what’s amazing is our officials see these (they love to travel) and we just accept our ugliness.

“Talking about provincial airports, I have witnessed times when there are a lot of departing flights in Tagbilaran (Bohol) and Caticlan (Boracay) and tourists end up sitting on the stairs and on the floor. Pathetic, Boo.

“Let’s go into infrastructure. I touched down in KL. Their airport is nice and their investment in infrastructure is fantastic. They have a six-lane highway that stretches from their border with Thailand to their border in Singapore. That’s almost the same as having one from Naga all the way to Laoag.

“Anyway, my daughter Kim and I took a trip to Malacca. The drive is smooth with their nice highway and we got to Malacca in just a few hours.

“Malacca attracts 8 M visitors, but is nothing really great. Their old fort is small and would be just a small gate compared to Intramuros which is much bigger, older, and more interesting.

“So why is Malacca successful as a popular destination? As I said, the highway is great making it very easy and comfortable to visit. So it might be a Class C in terms of appeal, but in terms of packaging – nice town center, clean, and safe – it becomes Class A.

“Ergo with Phuket. Although their beach is nothing great and the nearby islands can’t compare with those of Palawan, in short, another “Class C”. But their airport is world class, there’s a well-lit highway from the airport to the town center which is again clean and safe.

“For island hopping they have a big concrete jetty that allows smooth and safe boarding of cruise boats. All these again, elevate Phuket from Class C to A.

“Compare this to Caticlan. When you land, there’s no signage that guides tourists where and how to go to Boracay. Bahala ka sa buhay mo! So what happens?

“For a brief three-minute tricycle ride from the airport to the boat terminal, some poor Japanese tourists are charged P500. So much for Pinoy hospitality.

“Then you pay to ride a boat to go to Boracay. The island itself is clogged with polluting and noisy trikes. We can easily have a tram to traverse one end to the other, leaving the main road more for pedestrians and those riding bicycles.

“But local politicians need the votes of the trike drivers so okay lang if they degrade what could be a class A resort to class C. In other parts of the world like Europe, their beaches are not great at all but they have boardwalks, benches, trash cans, bikes for rent, kiosks, etc. Do these cost a lot? Cheap actually.

 “Look at the dramatic makeover of Cebu’s Mactan airport when it was privatized. Using the same shell, the new private operator has done a great job that the Cebu airport looks so much nicer with lighted signage, new seats at boarding gates, more appealing retail outlets, etc. So my recommendation is to privatize airports.”

We are capable of greatness if we just set our minds to achieve it. Mr Duterte won the election on a promise of change. We can do it. Kaya natin! We just have to want it badly enough to do it.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.