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In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked below Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand and Indonesia—but ahead of Vietnam—in a recent review
of the travel and tourism industry throughout the world. That should
surprise few globetrotters.
Many foreigners, especially Westerners,
who come to our part of the world look forward to the exotica that
the mere mention of “Asia” conjures. Not only do the people look
different and speak in unfamiliar tongues, they also belong to
centuries-old civilizations that have fascinated Europeans since the
time of Marco Polo.
The problem is that when the same
travelers get off their flight in Manila, Clark, Cebu or Davao what
they immediately experience is what an American novelist once
described as “the shock of recognition.” Not only do the
Filipinos they meet speak English, of a sort, there seems to be
little that distinguishes them culturally and instantly identifies
them as Asian. But that is precisely the comparative advantage that
we have not fully tapped.
Our colonial experience was what shaped our
nationhood yet we Filipinos have not outgrown our adolescent
love-hate relationship with our past. Macau in China, Malacca in
Malaysia and Goa in India have learned to profit from their
historical ties to Portugal, but we Filipinos seem embarrassed by
our Iberian links.
Our collective discomfort with our history—the
real one, not the nativistic legends conjured by historical
revisionists—has given rise to our general indifference to
culture. Thus, when foreigners come to our shores, we have little to
show by way of monuments, artifacts and other manifestations of
Filipino civilization.
Tourist traffic
If tourism has not developed—not yet,
anyway—on the same scale as it has in, say, Thailand with its
distinct culture, the officials who are charged with boosting
tourist arrivals are hardly to blame. In fact, they should be
commended for having increased tourist traffic despite our sparse
cultural attractions, inadequate infrastructure and security
headaches.
Officials led by Tourism Secretary Ace Durano
have managed to raise the Philippine travel industry’s ranking by
five notches based on a study released last week by the World
Economic Forum, based in Switzerland.
The WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness
Report 2008 placed the Philippines at the 81st spot on a list of 130
countries. It is an improvement over the 86th ranking given last
year in a review of the travel industry in 124 countries.
Published reports quote Jennifer Blanke, senior
economist of WEF Global Competitiveness Network, as saying: “The
top-ranked countries demonstrate the importance of supportive
business and regulatory frameworks, coupled with world-class
transport and tourism infrastructure and a focus on nurturing human
and natural resources.”
In the top 10 are Switzerland, Austria, Germany,
Iceland, United States, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg
and United Kingdom. The Philippines ranked below Malaysia at the
32nd spot, Thailand 42nd and Indonesia 80th but was ahead of Vietnam
at 96th.
The WEF survey measured factors and policies
that help develop travel and tourism in individual countries.
The Philippines ranked high in price
competitiveness, education and training and availability of
qualified labor. It did relatively well in policy rules and
regulations, prioritization of travel and tourism, environmental
sustainability, human capital, safety and security and healthy
hygiene. It did poorly in air transport and ground transport
infrastructure, tourism infrastructure, information and
communication technology and cultural resources.
The WEF 2008 report is important because it
points out to countries like the Philippines that aim to reap the
economic benefits of tourism the areas they need to put more focus
on. No doubt Durano and other DoT officials are already working on
them.
PAL presses ahead
What promises to help draw more foreign visitors
is the decision of Philippine Airlines to press ahead with its
expansion program. Notwithstanding the lack of support from or even
hostile policies of the government and problems—due to the usual
foot-dragging of Philippine officials—with US aviation authorities
are being ironed out, PAL has announced its plan to launch 56 weekly
flights to seven destinations in China.
The flag carrier is set to introduce regular
service to Chongqing, twice weekly, on March 14 followed by Chengdu,
twice weekly; on March 18; and Macau, five times weekly on May 1.
These cities join four other points in the airline’s China
network. PAL already flies to Shanghai seven times weekly, Xiamen
seven times weekly, Hong Kong 28 times weekly, and Beijing up from
one to five times weekly by March 30.
PAL’s combined 56 weekly flights to China in
May is set to surpass its operations to the United States, 33 times
weekly to five points, and Japan, 28 times weekly to four points—PAL’s
traditional bread-and-butter routes.
China is set to become PAL’s top destination
with 56 weekly flights to seven points this May—the most by any
Philippine carrier to that country.
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