How we can achieve $8 billion in tourism revenues by 2010

Let’s decisively push real — not cosmetic or PR — reforms in our whole society and undertake blitzkrieg global marketing to sustain the ongoing Philippine tourism boom. The recent Manila Peninsula Hotel coup try may be over, but it exposes our society’s urgent need to drastically reform government, the military and others, to cleanse the excessive corruption and rectify social injustices. Yes, the coup attempt is a black eye to our tourism efforts, but shouldn’t it awaken all sectors to demand sweeping social, political and other reforms?

Despite our shameless, nonstop political scandals, I still believe robust tourism can insulate the Philippine economy from a possible US economic recession next year. Tourism — more than human exports with its huge social, emotional and other costs — should be the industry we should build up to bolster faster Philippine economic growth and to encourage better redistribution of income across neglected rural regions.

US$8 Billion Tourism Revenue By 2010

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano excitedly told this writer, “The Philippines is clearly breaching the three-million-tourist-arrivals mark this year, with a projected 3.1 million tourists. This is a first in Philippine history. Last year we already achieved the previous highest record of 2.84 million tourist arrivals. But what is more significant is not just the arrivals, but tourism spending in the Philippines is growing this year at three times that of last year — with higher-end and a bigger ratio of longer-staying tourists. By the end of this year, our projected tourism revenues will hit US$5 billion. By 2010, we target to have $7 billion to $8 billion in tourism revenues.”

Government and investors should push for high-end tourism projects so that the Philippines can benefit from higher spending and a better quality — not just an increase in quantity — of tourist arrivals. Big global tourism players from Sofitel, Singapore’s Banyan Tree, Shangri-La (opening its Boracay resort in August 2008 and launching another in Fort Bonifacio), Radisson (soon to open beside SM Mall of Asia), Marriott, Britain’s Hermitage, Raffles Hotel, Fairmont Hotel and others, are coming to the Philippines for big, new, five-star luxury ventures. Why doesn’t Emilio Yap try to invite The Ritz-Carlton to run his prized possession, the historic Manila Hotel, or taipan Lucio Tan let Le Meridien or The Four Seasons or the posh W Hotel manage and upgrade Century Park Hotel?

Among local investor groups with luxurious, high-end projects are Robinsons’ Amisa Resort Cebu, and SM’s Hamilo Coast mega-project; a Korean group is opening the 600-room Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa in Cebu in November 2008, the once crises-hit Dos Palmas Palawan is expanding, the posh Amanpulo Palawan is adding villas, Club Paradise Palawan recently opened the new El Rio y Mar Resort, Discovery Hotels has a new Boracay resort (plus two new projects in Fort Boni and Ayala Avenue), the new P500-million Eskaya Beach Resort & Spa in Panglao, Bohol; the Camiguin Islands Resort in the middle of a huge lanzones plantation, and the new Green Mango Inn & Resort opening near NAIA airport. After the success of Metrobank’s Marco Polo Hotel Cebu, they will soon announce a new luxury hotel project in The Fort.

In spite of all her abominable political controversies, we should credit President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her solid achievements in championing better English-language education, expansion of call centers and business process outsourcing (BPOs) into strong pillars of the economy, and her vigorous push for rapid development of Philippine tourism, which is now on the brink of an unprecedented golden age.

Invest, Cleanse, Stabilize & Upgrade To Sustain Tourism Growth!

Here are some suggestions for President Arroyo and Tourism Secretary Durano to help sustain the ongoing tourism boom:

• Force the opening of NAIA 3 in early 2008 by whatever means humanly possible, even by martial law! Perhaps this project should be transferred out of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and placed under President GMA for furious, decisive action, not all sorts of technical and other excuses for this crazy delay!

• Use an iron-fist response to criminals and terrorist pests! We should efficiently obliterate thieves, kidnappers, terrorists and other crooks — not handcuff or kill journalists and human rights activists! Whether due to methane gas, political squabbles or Abu Sayyaf bandits, we should never tolerate any more bombing incidents messing up our international image! We must have zero tolerance for crimes or social disorder.

• Cleanse our airports of messy facilities as well as of corrupt immigration, customs and other personnel. Recently, a businessman guest of mine from Xiamen City was the victim of mulcting by an immigration officer at the Centennial airport, who grabbed a US$100 bill from his wallet. Philippine STAR reader and Dragon Fireworks owner Jovenson Ong also complained that his outbound Taiwanese businessman guest was victimized by a NAIA immigration officer who asked him to open his bulky wallet and then just plucked out a $100 bill before shooing the shocked foreign tourist away.

It will be Christmas soon. How many returning Filipino balikbayans or overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as well as foreign travelers, will be victimized at our airports by the mulcting of unauthorized “aguinaldos” or “pasalubongs”? Can’t we jail them?

• Promote the use of the English language not only on the bilingual signage at our LRT, MRT, buses, airports, seaports, streets and malls but also among all taxi drivers, bus employees and others for possible assistance to foreign travelers. Erect detailed city maps at major intersections or bus/LRT/MRT stations and shopping centers to guide tourists.

• Revive historical or cultural sites like Intramuros (Secretary Durano said the government got a P250-million foreign grant to rebuild the Maestranza Wall of Intramuros and I suggested that the ancient Chinese ghetto of Parian could be rebuilt, too), the old shophouses or bahay-na-bato (stone houses) in Binondo and Quiapo, the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces, Baguio City, the houses of heroes or famed writers, antique churches, the Chinese mestizo mansions of Vigan City in Ilocos, the World War II-era  bastion of anti-Japanese resistance in Corregidor, and many others.

Along with cultural structures, the government and the private sector should also revive, enrich and promote traditional or even dying folk arts, music and other traditions of the various ethnic/linguistic groups of the Philippines.

• Protect, upgrade and promote the diverse ecological treasures and pristine environment of our 7,107 isles. The government and the private sector should promote eco-tourism not only to preserve the priceless wonders of our Philippine mountains and seas, islands and forests, and the unique, breathtaking diversity of our flora and fauna, but also as a golden opportunity to spread the fruits of economic growth to far-flung rural regions of our archipelago. Eco-tourism can be our strong competitive edge over the more luxurious casinos, glitzy hotels and other Disneyland-like tourist attractions of other countries.

We should invest more resources, efforts, common sense, hard work and political will in sustaining this ongoing momentum of Philippine tourism growth. We cannot just fatalistically invoke God’s grace to bless us with a better future without our own efforts, because God helps those who help themselves.

To achieve $8 billion in tourism revenues by 2010, to accelerate this unprecedented golden age of Philippine tourism now upon us, we need efficient long-term strategic planning, iron-fisted political will to uphold law and order, massive infrastructure investments and vigorous efforts at sweeping socio-economic reforms!

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