Tourism: Unlikely subject of the royalty's quarrel

Certainly, reality shows grab much attention and normally corner a huge segment of the TV viewing public. As it is not a season for it, probably this real-life drama has been sorely missed by its loyal followers. Cebuanos, however, don’t feel the need for it. The reality show offered by the City and Province of Cebu, in the guise of service, are more than enough to quench the residents’ thirst for this brand of entertainment.

Lately, the animosity between the Prince of Debt and the Queen of Darkness (what Gov. Gwen Garcia & Cong. Tomas Osmeña fondly labeled each other) is taking another turn. This time, it is on the ways they manage an undertaking we are all known for, tourism. Taking Camarines Sur’s strong accomplishment as launching pad, Cong. Osmeña insinuated that Cebu’s dismal performance was, in part, attributed to Gov. Garcia’s way of promoting tourism.

Truth to tell, nowadays, Cebu’s tourism performance is lackadaisical. Rightly so, because after dominating for a span of time, this year’s first quarter results showed Cebu lagging behind Metro Manila. Not to be outdone, Camarines Sur is so strong at third in the race.

Unlike election results, these statistics are unquestioned and will remain unquestionable. Cebu, the unseated leader, has a lot to be concerned about. Likewise, the Cebu tourism players cannot take this unfavorable developments sitting down. Let us all remember that we are spending millions in promoting the island through Cebu City’s world-renowned Sinulog and the Province’s “Suroy-suroy Sugbo” and yet, ironically, we only placed second.

Setting aside political biases, we must accept that a problem does exist. Therefore, it is paramount that we should know what went wrong. Probably, we can start with our product. So that, the more appropriate question is, are we promoting a good product? Or, quite bluntly, in one of our multi-million promotions, are we promoting a product or funding a politician’s dream of expanding and strengthening her political clout.

Understanding Metro Manila’s and Camarines Sur’s dominance isn’t difficult to do. In these two new dominant players, the right infrastructures are in place. New tourism products like the Newport Entertainment City and the Manila Oceanarium in Metro Manila are drawing thousands of visitors daily. On the other hand, Camarines Sur prides itself with its pristine beaches and the world renowned water park.

More importantly, while Cebu’s gross number of 435,087 placed it second in the race, the fact was it only recorded an increase of 3%. On the other hand, Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa and Boracay registered increases of 37.10%, 23% and 20%, respectively. If the trend continues, we shouldn’t be surprised if Puerto Princesa and Boracay will likewise overtake us.

With these startling realities right in our faces, let us in unison diagnose the problems.   Honestly, knowing the causes does not need the services of a rocket scientist’s precise mind. What we need is for all of us, unbiased Cebuanos, to equip ourselves with plain and simple common sense and for those clothed with greed to throw away their vested interests.

For one, our promotions aren’t well spent. For instance, with Gov. Garcia’s popularity plummeting (as the election result shows), we shall expect Suroy Suroy Sugbo to still be there and entirely the same, albeit, more frequently. We won’t be surprised if it hits the road again soon to promote faces, not places.   As usual, you shall see much not the island of Cebu or its tourist spots in the print ads, tarps and flyers but the face of Gov. Gwen Garcia in unequalled prominence. As it normally goes, it shall again be undertaken not to promote tourism in the island but her political interest. Unfortunately, it shall be again undertaken not as a tool to ameliorate fellow “probinsyanos” but for pure personal publicity stunt.

Therefore, expect this scene to happen again. The group will just spend an hour (this time, maybe half an hour to cover more municipalities) in every locality. For all intents and purposes, she won’t be doing this again for tourism’s sake. She will again squander millions of taxpayers’ money with herself in person and in the center of all the hoopla for political purposes.

Gov. Garcia and her wards know exactly that in tourism, the focus is the place or its people. Therefore, tourists visit even the remotest areas that interest them. “Suroy-suroy Sugbo” is undertaken differently. Here, the tourists drop in one place. Then, the locals (including children who shall skip classes) gather around them. Therefore, the attractions are the tourists (including Gov. Gwen and other political figures), not the places and its people. Sadly, they call this tourism.

Apart from the politically motivated “Suroy-suroy Sugbo”, we tried to sell the Cebu brand but haven’t really looked into our products. For instance, we opened our gates through the world-renowned annual “Sinulog Festival” (and rightly so), but as soon as the euphoria brought about by the festivities subsides and tourists start to frolic, they shall discover several discomforting realities.

Tourists as they are, they travel a lot. Therefore, they will be frequent users of our public transportation facilities, terminals included. As they do, they will soon find out that apart from our Mactan International Airport and Port terminals of some established shipping companies, comfort rooms are so filthy. That some of our bus terminals’ facilities are so messy and poorly maintained. As they visit historical sites like Parian’s monument, they walk and drink a lot under humid conditions and can’t find places for comfort (toilets) when nature calls. Some might even throw up at the sight of human wastes (mostly, wastes from informal settlers) as they stroll along boulevards and skywalks.

Sometimes, they tour around the Island of Cebu, hopping from one town to another to take first-hand experiences of those must publicized festivals or join “Suroy-suroy Sugbo” only to find out that these LGUs do not even have decent toilets.

As an island province, ours are all coastal cities and municipalities. Each LGU has its own stretches of shorelines or beaches. They are all bragging about the serenity of their beaches and relentlessly inviting tourists to take a dip, as if, it is the only prerequisite.   Known to all of us, our public markets are situated just several meters from the shorelines, some are even so near the beaches. Unknown however, to most of us, these beaches are made receptacles of these public markets’ leftovers and wastes.

Unequivocally, we truly understand the necessity of promoting our tourism potentials both here and abroad. The need to inform potential market of our rich cultural heritage, historical sites and serene beaches is unquestionable. In doing so however, we must not forget that like any business, the key to any success is continued patronage. This can only be achieved once we can develop a strong customer base that will not only give us repeat businesses but shall tell the world, how clean and enjoyable our island is.

For your comments and suggestions, please email to [email protected].