How the Philippines WOWed Guangzhou
March 20, 2005 | 12:00am
One of the perks of this job I’ve grown to love is the chance to travel once in a while at someone else’s expense.
Recently my dear editor gave me two options: a) to observe rebuilding efforts being done at an Asian resort affected by the tsunami; b) to observe the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) participation in an international travel fair in Guangzhou.
My third eye told me to pass on option A. (I have a fourth eye that can spot the latest LV handbag before it hits the stores, and a fifth eye that is specially trained to spot a fake.)
Now I’ve been to Hong Kong more than 20 times, but I’ve never been to that part of China. So Guangzhou it was.
One thing I like about these junkets is the chance to meet people I otherwise would not encounter. In this case I was to be with some newsmen, DOT people, and the Bayanihan Dancers.
Before actually meeting them, whenever I heard of the Bayanihan Dancers, I automatically got ‘70s images like Carmen Pateña and Rudy Genasky. And a recurring nightmare of Joe Quirino handing out an Eckart bag to Gina Lollobrigida.
But that was not to be the case. When I saw them at the airport I was surprised to see a group of well-groomed, poised girls and their male counterparts.
While I ended up looking like my Pricesmart ID picture, they looked this good from 6 a.m. up to eight hours later, after changing planes and landing in China.
How they do it, I don’t know.
You could forgive me for mistaking them for flight attendants with their upswept hair, skirt suits, nylons and stilettos. One of the girls spoke perfect, perfect English.
The only giveaway was their red nylon canvas bag with the Bayanihan Dancers logo.
Here’s why I can’t be a Bayanihan Dancer:
1) I’m overage, married and with kids.
2) I can’t travel in a suit and stilettos.
3) My hair doesn’t look good in a bun.
4) I dreaded folk dancing in grade school.
5) I can’t smile all the time.
6) I can’t wear national costumes in five-degree weather.
7) I have bare feet issues.
8) If I were ambassador of goodwill for the Philippines, no one would go.
The Bayanihan Dancers would turn out to be instrumental in the success of the Philippines’ participation in the travel fair.
Being mostly a fashion writer, I had never heard of him. So when I entered the conference room, I was surprised to see a good-looking young man, younger than me, and someone who could pass for Gabby Concepcion’s sibling.
At first I had my doubts, but after hearing him speak over two days, even I was convinced we had a good man on board who seriously believed in the project.
Why Guangzhou?
"Guangzhou is an important source of tourists," said Durano, "having the third largest traveling population in China after Shanghai and Beijing."
Last year almost 30 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad, 41,000 of whom ended up in the Philippines. With each tourist spending an average of $100/day, do the math (my calculator doesn’t have enough digits).
That figure is up by 30 percent from 2003, having grown steadily from almost 19,000 in the year 2000, since the DOT participated in such travel fairs.
On a recent trip to Hong Kong I met a young businesswoman named Julia who, at every chance she got, like Chinese New Year or a long weekend, would fly out with a group of divers to a nearby island like Palau or Palawan.
The main reasons being: The tropical weather, the proximity, the beautiful underwater sights the islands have to offer, and again, the proximity.
I didn’t realize that lots of Asians fly to the Philippines several times a year for a brief holiday. Not exactly to Manila, but the resorts, the beaches, the golf courses – to Boracay, Fort Ilocandia, Bohol, Taal Volcano, Palawan.
Since we’re talking about three to five days at most, it doesn’t make sense to spend a half or whole day in airports and in the plane.
As Secretary Durano said to the Chinese media, "Why spend more hours on the plane when you could spend it lying on the beach?"
It was five-degree weather and I was dressed in four layers, including a winter jacket and a scarf, yet I still felt cold.
There was no heating at the Guangzhou International Convention Center.
In the dead of winter, the Philippine booth, with its tropical hut and blown-up photos of tropical fish and sunny beaches, must’ve been quite a sight for the travel-hungry Chinese.
Secretary Durano revealed they had planned well, having reserved and paid early for the prime spot.
Chinese interpreters were on hand to answer questions from the throng that came to collect fliers and speak with Filipino resort owners and tour operators.
Bayanihan Dancers in their thin native costumes performed on an icy stage and in front of the WOW Philippines booth–as though it needed to attract more people to the already crowded space.
The Chinese went nuts, lining up and squabbling for fliers, posters, shopping bags – anything – on the Philippines.
They eagerly participated in a tinikling tutorial, with a black nylon Philippines bag as a prize. (The tinikling tutorial is standard operation procedure whenever Bayanihan Dancers perform. Prince Albert of Monaco and Christina Ford are among the luminaries who have been lured to participate.)
Durano was beaming as we watched from a distance. "Have you looked around (the convention center)? Only two booths are this busy: Hong Kong Disneyland and this one."
Yet on the last day, it was the WOW Philippines booth with its lone hut, lighted photos and dancing ambassadors of goodwill that won Best Booth in the travel fair.
Will this success translate into more arrivals?
Secretary Durano hopes so. He dreams of drawing as much as five million Chinese to Philippines by 2010.
So don’t be surprised if you bump into more confused-looking tourists at Greenbelt.
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