Fighting 'fire with fire'

The Pearl Farm Resort is one place I have always talked about and proudly promoted to friends. The owners, the Florendo family, boldly invested millions of pesos and put their hearts into building and operating a genuine international resort in what was once just a strip of sand on Samal Island off Davao city.

Through hard work and professionalism, they pulled off what started out as a big gamble and now boat-loads of local and foreign tourists come daily and they are always happy with the experience. Interestingly, even if more people want to come, the resort regulates the number of people so you never feel there is a crowd.

We recently visited Pearl Farm for a “Day trip” which allows local tourists to come for the day and enjoy the world-class facilities. Everything went as scheduled, the facilities and food are as good if not better as the first time we visited years ago. In short, the owners have successfully opened their doors to both local and foreign guests while maintaining a semblance of privacy if not exclusivity.

But even the beautiful Pearl Farm is not without its challenges.

Outside the resort some distance away, I noticed fishing trawlers, huts and structures I never saw in the past. I learned that local politicians had allowed or encourage the build up in the past administration.

The local DENR and Tourism office as well as the DILG had not managed to stop what was clearly a violation of the ban on such structures along the beach area 200 meters from the low tide point.

Faced with such a “threat” to the unspoiled atmosphere, I am told by some locals that the owners had no choice but to “fight fire with fire”. In this case, a relative ran for Barangay Captain because it was the only way they could officially protect the environment and promote the tourism area.

We may frown on businessmen entering into politics in order to protect business interests, but in many cases all over the country, businessmen and investors have to protect themselves and their business from politicians! If the Department of Tourism, the DENR, and the DILG won’t do it, the business sector has to do it.

In the case of the Pearl Farm, there is no doubt about their commitment to world-class tourism!

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Who is minding the Stars?  

For the longest time, the traditional means of rating quality and excellence in tourism has always been based on the number of “stars” a hotel or a resort has been given by the regulating agencies.

The number of stars reflects the amount of investments made, the array of services and facilities provided, as well as the quality or standard of facilities and personnel. In order to rate a facility, officials of the Department of Tourism would go on “FAM” or familiarization visits to go through what tourists will experience.

There was a time when, the DOT took their job seriously, they inspected every hotel and resort, rooms, outlets, they would even check the “furnishings” such as beds, mattresses and just about everything that went into the rooms.

They would assess the food quality, amenities etc. All this was done so that visitors and guests could confidently determine the service standard simply by checking out the “stars”.

As I regularly travel all over the country, I’m beginning to get the impression that the system no longer works and that no one is really minding the “stars” or the quality of many tourist facilities.

It is disappointing to check into supposedly up-market hotels and end up staying in a hotel with sub-standard facilities.

At the very least, one would expect to sleep in a bed of international standard size and not one where your feet hang on the edge or is too narrow. You expect to sleep in peace and not in “creaks” because the headboard moves.

Tourists expect normal bars of soap and not cheap soap slices that you find in “short time” motels, they want towels that can dry their entire body and not something the size a “foot mat.” You certainly don’t want to take a shower and end up flooding the bathroom because they only have half a shower curtain!

What I have noticed with increasing significance is the noise level inside and around tourist facilities. Many “hotels” now use cheap doors, cheap door locks, and very little or no sound reduction materials such as carpets and fabrics on hallways. Because of poor quality you don’t get a good nights rest because you can hear every noise coming from the hallways or from televisions in the adjoining room.

It’s strange that architects, local officials and the DOT has never realized that bars with Live bands or loud music runs counter to the concept of a hotel or resorts intended for “rest”. Either regulate the noise level or impose stringent technical and construction requirements to insure sound insulation.

In relation to this multilevel noise pollution, Secretary Lim should seriously sit down with DILG Secretary Jess Robredo to address a serious noise pollution problem that has become the curse of hotels and resorts.

Imagine spending several hundred million pesos to build up a 3 to 4 star facility then find your customers unhappy because the “neighbors” were noisy all night and every night! In an age where Twitter and Facebook can start revolts, cranky tourists can drive away customers!

Not even double paned windows and heavy curtains can be a match for the all night racket made by surrounding videoke bars, dogs, crowing roosters and noisy jeepneys and tricycles. Secretary Robredo and Lim can start by doing a nationwide education of mayors and barangay captains so they can understand and appreciate the impact of noise pollution on tourism.

Before we talk about increasing arrivals and destinations, Secretary Lim should meet up with stakeholders and work on improving what we already have.

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