An Ace up our sleeve

When I was still flying for Cathay Pacific, I noticed the passengers on our Manila flights were mostly Filipinos either on holiday or off for overseas work. The passengers to our Asian neighbors were a good mix of locals and tourists. I often asked the tourist passengers how they decided on their holiday destination. It was just my natural interest; I want to know why people would choose countries other than ours.

More knew about Phuket and Bali than Boracay in these days. Yet if you have seen all three of these locations, our Boracay is the finest of all. Worse, they had no idea at all of our Filipino food. I would then talk endlessly about our beautiful beaches and our glorious food. They probably thought I was the Philippine Secretary of Tourism in a flight attendant’s uniform.

That was in the 1980s and ‘90s. I wondered what our DOT was doing or what the other countries were doing (that we weren’t) to promote their beaches. (Most of the passengers were going to beaches and not to cities). I also wondered then, and still do, why the rates in our hotels and resorts are high compared with those of the other Asian countries. Hoteliers and business people say it is because there are fewer guests. “It is economies of scale,” they would say.

But then I argue it is a “chicken and egg” situation. Which came first: the high cost of room rates or the smaller number of guests? The foreigners do not know what we have to offer. Our kababayans find it more practical to go on holiday abroad. No wonder we have fewer tourists and more Filipinos leaving for employment and holidays. 

At the recent DOT promotion event in Japan, I was raring to see our DOT’s efficiency at work, to get the answer to my “chicken or egg” question and to see if the DOT is like other government agencies that are reported or rumored to be squandering taxpayers’ money. Not necessarily in that order, but I wanted a firsthand experience and to hear answers directly from our young Tourism Secretary.

 I must admit when I first heard of Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano’s appointment, I wondered why the president gave the challenging job of selling our country to someone so young (age 35). Though, of course, his boyish good looks give him an advantage as a salesman, his past experience was in the field of politics and law. Lawyers, in my opinion, are not good at selling; their expertise is more in confusing people.

In Tokyo, I was impressed that we were all billeted in a very modest three-star hotel yet the promotion event was held at the luxurious five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel. Secretary Durano warmly greeted his guests in Japanese, which brought some chuckles from the audience. He engaged the Hello Kitty mascot, Japan’s most beloved icon, and popular Japanese TV and movie personality Rin Takanashi as endorsers.

More than 100 Japanese from the media and travel industry attended the event. It was a packed room, the most well-attended launch I’d ever seen. (I was told later that it was also the DOT’s largest press conference to date.) After the usual formalities, everyone was invited to a sumptuous buffet of Japanese and Filipino cocktail food. (I was not a bit surprised that the first to go was the platter of our sweet mangoes.) The DOT most probably spent more for that one evening than for all our hotel rooms in our entire stay. To me, that is one big plus for the DOT.

While we’re at it, I found it interesting to learn about the Japanese market. The Japanese only go to countries where they are welcome. There are about 400,000 Japanese who visit the Philippines yearly. The Japanese women in the age group of 20 to 50 have the most disposable income and time to travel. They now travel more often than their men. They are referred to as “independent ladies.” These women also influence the men in their choice of destination. Of the over one million certified divers in Japan, most are women. They love the beach, the shopping and fashion. But more than anything, they want to be pampered because of their very harassed life in Japan. 

Responding to their demographic, the DOT came up with their creative tagline: “Kokoro Somaru” or “Color My Heart.” It’s a color-coded campaign: blue is used for the clear blue seas, yellow for tropical fruits, healing spas and the vibrancy of city life, and red is for romantic sunsets and the warmth of the Filipino people. And their slogan did seem to appeal to the Japanese at the Marine Diving Fair.

When asked, Secretary Durano said our rates are high because our hotels and resorts mainly, if not only, target foreign tourists. (This also explains why the rates are always quoted in US rates.) “But that is changing now,” he said. “Boracay is the best example.” He added Bora now has a very wide range of accommodations, from the hostel type to the luxurious five-star resorts along with gourmet food. It’s an island now suitable to all budgets. That explains the change of landscape of the island. I now understand and appreciate its loss of exclusivity. Pretty soon, he said, other resort islands will offer such competitive rates.

He is elated that our tourist arrivals reached 3.1 million last year, the highest to date. And tourist expenditures here amounted to $4.885 billion, surpassing the DOT’s target. For 2008, his focus is to communicate to the traveling world (the World Tourist Organization records 846 million tourists for the year 2006 alone) that the Philippines has beautiful resorts and spas, quality underwater experiences, warm and competent staff and competitive tour packages. I noted that his next targets were shoppers and the growth in medical tourism, considering we already have first-class malls and medical facilities. I very much want to see the day tourists also come to the Philippines to eat.

Lately, our open-minded young DOT secretary has been successful in luring foreign retirees. He continually courts the tourists who stay longer and spend more. He works closely with the local government and investors to improve our tourist facilities. I sincerely hope our Kababayans do realize tourism is the task and concern of every Filipino and not just the DOT. The gain, after all, is for everyone.

He is very optimistic that the country will reach its 3.5 million target for 2008. These arrivals, he computes, will spend from $5 to $8 billion in our country. That would directly benefit various business sectors. It’s no wonder, I heard him say, “Tourism is the mother of all industries.”