Tourists are our guests and must be treated with utmost respect and warm accommodations. They expect to be safe and to be accorded with a high degree of fairness and honesty.
Besides, they bring much needed revenues that prop up our economy. Last year, 2024, it was reported that the total revenues from tourism was P760.50 billion. An increase of 9.04 percent from the previous year, 2023, when we earned P697.46 billion. The Department of Tourism did a good job. But we must not rest on our laurels. More needed improvements must be done to achieve the maximum potential of this sector.
Remember, we have one of the best, if not the best, that the world has to offer. We can rightfully claim that we have magnificent beaches, diving resorts, forests, wide array of unique culinary choices, historic destinations and friendly people. But these natural assets that can excite and support a robust tourism arrival can be unduly overshadowed by a number of challenges that can stall the growth of the industry.
Airport taxi has some abusive drivers. I got complaints, not once, but for several times already, on how tourists have been asked to shell out more than what’s reasonable. In other words, they paid more, and tourists knew that.
Along with my colleagues, we had coffee, actually tea for me, at the airport lounge on our way to Zamboanga City last Jan. 30. We were to attend the retirement of one of our regional officers. While waiting, we had the chance to chat with a tourist who was on his way to Palawan. He was excited to see the famed diving spots in the province. He just came from Thailand and Vietnam and was excited to compare his experience once he gets to Puerto Princesa. When the conversations passed the pleasantries and the initial narratives on what areas to visit, he reluctantly confessed – actually, complained is the better word – on how a taxi driver asked him to pay P3,500 from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2!
He showed us the receipt, which was more evidence of the embarrassment we had as Filipinos, than a proof of revenue compliance. We tried to rationalize that perhaps, the amount is justified. But as a regular traveler myself, that amount is definitely way above the usual fees that I have experienced in all countries or cities that I visited.
We were grasping for a possible gesture on how to compensate the bad experience he had. At the very least, I asked some friends who work at the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and relayed to them what happened. We were hoping that the company who owns the taxi can discipline their driver and prevent the same abuse from happening again. I’m sure that the new DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon will not tolerate such acts.
Security and safety failed recently in the world-renowned beach destination Boracay. A 23-year-old Slovak guest was gruesomely murdered in a remote spot in the island where she was reported missing last March 10. She was presumably sexually molested and left with stab wounds. Words cannot be enough to describe the horrific embarrassment and utter senseless crime against a helpless visitor who, according to witnesses, was friendly to everyone.
Sadly, we cannot legislate the creation of and compliance with the right values and moral conduct. Culture is built through decades by a society that has a clear sight of what is important to them. The observance of respect, fairness and honesty must be deeply ingrained in the very fabric of society.
What we have personally seen at the airport is an indication that we might be on the verge of cultural collapse, where financial survival overruns and overrules the more noble principles of humanity.
Our foreign guests will definitely share their experiences here – good or bad. They will be the best ambassadors and campaigners if, and only if, they are treated well. The exemplary treatments can even potentially overcome our other shortcomings such as the lack of tourism infrastructure. Our airports have yet to be at par with our neighbors such as those in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
We need more hotels and the needed capacity that would serve millions of tourists if that’s what we target. We had more than 5.4 million international tourists in 2023. And more than 5.9 million in 2024. We are thankful for these numbers. But just to compare, Malaysia had more than 22 million tourists in 2024.
Taking care of our tourists is not the sole responsibility of the Department of Tourism. I believe that DOT, under Secretary Christina Frasco, is doing a good job.
The task of making our tourism industry successful is on everyone’s shoulder, from the local government units, the business sector, to all relevant national government agencies and up to all the Filipinos who value the friendship that we offer to our guests.
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Email: arielnepo.philstar@gmail.com