EDITORIAL - Friendly country

When it comes to friendliness toward foreign visitors, the Philippines ranks 26th among 140 countries. This is according to the latest biennial report of the World Economic Forum on travel and tourism competitiveness. The country’s ranking on “attitude of population toward foreign visitors” is higher than its 82nd place overall in the competitiveness index.

Filipinos have a reputation for friendliness and hospitality, so the ranking in this aspect could have been higher. One way of improving the rating is by implementing more measures to keep foreign visitors safe in the Philippines. Private investors promoting the country as a high-end gaming and leisure destination should be particularly interested in being able to reassure clients of their personal safety.

Crime is a problem in most of the densely populated urban centers and tourist destinations around the world, but some countries deal with the problem better than others. After the hostage mess in Rizal Park in August 2010, the government announced the creation of special police teams to protect tourists, but the program, it seems, never got off the ground. Police Special Weapons and Tactics units, particularly the one in the city of Manila, are supposed to have undergone skills upgrading after the hostage crisis. Only a similar incident will show if the skills upgrade has been adequate.

The government must also improve measures to protect tourists from common crimes especially those against property. Many cases of petty thievery go unreported, mainly because foreign visitors don’t want to go to the trouble of filing a complaint with the police and getting no results. But petty thievery leaves an ugly impression on visitors. Losing one’s purse or cell phone may be classified as a petty crime, but it is usually a major inconvenience to the victim.

Even worse is armed robbery, staged sometimes with kidnapping, which used to be common along C-5, with Korean visitors among the favorite targets. Those attacks have been curbed, which shows that criminality can be prevented if enough effort is exerted. The nation can be made safer. And a safe nation is a friendly place.