The Philippines desperately wants to increase tourism in the country as a way to bolster the economy of the country. Let’s face it, for a tropical country like the Philippines, tourism is an excellent avenue for bringing in Dollars (or any currency). People from all over the world want to spend their holiday time on beaches, basking in the warm sun, etc. Others want good shopping destinations. Others want cultural excursions. Some want to go scuba diving, and still others want culinary delights. The Philippines has all of these, so why can’t it attract many tourists?
The Philippine Government is constantly touting the fact that the number of tourists to the country continues to grow in numbers. Yes, that is good, but the fact is that compared to it’s neighbors, the Philippines is still attracting few visitors. Let’s look at a very successful Asian country in terms of tourism, Thailand. Thailand attracts around 20 Million tourist visitors per year. How many foreign tourists visit the Philippines? Around 3 million per year. That’s only about 15% of the Tourists that go to Thailand! And, most of the “tourists” that come to the Philippines are not really tourists in the traditional sense. Most visitors who come here are actually Filipinos who live or work overseas, and are coming home to visit their families. I would include in this Filipinos who are married to foreigners and coming home to visit. It’s still good to have these people come home and spend some money here, but they don’t spend like a normal tourist does. For example, most visiting Filipinos don’t stay in hotels, they stay at the home of their family. They don’t go out and do many “tourist” things, they stay at home and visit with their family. Nothing wrong with that, it just is not supporting the local tourist business to the extent that somebody here on holiday or vacation is doing.
So, why aren’t a lot of “real tourists” coming here to enjoy the fun and the sun of the Philippines? I believe that there are two reasons for the problem.
- The perception that the Philippines is not safe.
- Poor tourism infrastructure.
In my opinion, most of the Philippines is quite safe, and should not scare away tourists. However, the bad news is what everybody hears. You have kidnappings, not only in Mindanao where I live, but businessmen and their families regularly get kidnapped in Manila, it’s more of an extortion racket than anything else, but it gets in the news. I can’t remember a tourist getting kidnapped in Manila, but the kidnappings of businessmen scare away tourists. The Philippine has to figure out a way of putting a stop to this kind of activity before tourists will come. And, on top of stopping it, they have to rehabilitate the reputation of the country before the floodgates will be full of tourists.
Infrastructure is terrible when it comes to tourism here. I am not talking about roads and such, although many of them need work too. What I am talking about is the ability to book a hotel room online, the ability to rent a car, things like this. A person can go online, make all his plans to visit Thailand, reserve his rooms, arrange for any service he needs, and all over the internet. It isn’t the same for the Philippines! Sure, if you want to book a room in Manila, no problem. But, try to book a room in Dumaguette or Bacolod. How about a room in General Santos City. It is nearly impossible to make these reservations online.
Today, I was reading a Philippine Government website. They had a story about how the first Philippine Hotel Booking website had gone online and was ready for business. I went and visited the site, and unfortunately, it was not ready for the viewing public! They had hotels in Manila, and the surrounding area, they had a few hotels in Cebu. Other than that, they had nothing. I did a search for Davao hotels. Davao is where I live, so I know about the hotels here, and wanted to judge the website on how well it covered Davao hotels. I clicked on Davao and got this message:
Our listing for this location has not been uploaded to our website yet.
To inquire about this location and about the more than 200 hotels in our listing
please call us at (02) 812 PHRS (812 7477). We apologize for the inconvenience.
I clicked on other cities and got the same message. I understand that it takes time to build a website, but this site is being advertised already, and it is not ready. They had other categories listed on the front page with the message “coming in May.” Well, it’s already July, and the content is still “coming in May.” This is the problem with attracting tourists here, the infrastructure is not there. Another problem on the site, in my opinion, is that even for the hotels that are listed, you can’t make a reservation on the site. You have to get all the information and then fax them in Manila to set up the reservation and pay by credit card. It’s inconvent, and in the travel business, you should do everything possible for the convenience of your customer.
I used to live in General Santos, and it is virtually impossible to find a hotel for General Santos that is online. Recently (last year) one hotel opened up a website. I used their “online booking” to see how it worked. The way it was set up, I entered the reservation and they were supposed to e-mail me back to let me know if the booking was available. I did that last year, and am still waiting to hear back from them. It’s typical, unfortunately.
I am not trying to be negative here, I really want people to come and enjoy vacationing in the Philippines! It’s a great place to visit! But, the business people and the Government here need to take steps to make it easy to come here! Right now, you can easily set up a trip to Thailand, but you have to work to set up a trip to the Philippines!
Hi Bob—I think it might have something to do with that “Tribal Mentality” I’ve wrote about in my blog. It’s hard to get a nation, and its people, to pull together and build the infrastructure if they’re holding on to kind of mentality. Just like the old saying, “no man is an island.” Well, in the Philippines, the mentality is every man is an island(s). No pun intended just because the Philippines is made up of some 7,000 islands. Till next time….
I agree it is dificult to set up trips online. Last year I was in Cebu on business for several months and I could not make any of the reservations I wanted to online. I could find reviews and websites for many of the resorts that interested me in Malapasqua, Bohol and Borocay but I could not make my reservation without calling the phone numbers on the site. In every instance the phone number on the site did not work. If it was a cell number, it wasn't active and if it was a land line, I couldn't get connected from my hotel for various technical reasons. I had the same problem trying to call the States from my hotel. Ultimately I had to use a travel agency who would call another travel agency on the island I wished to visit. Several hours or a day later I would get a text from my travel agent with a list of what was available and prices. This was obviously a hassle but, not the only problem.
Using a travel agency I incured additional charges. A room at a particular resort advertised for 1,500 P a night for 2 people. With the travel agency that same room was 1,500 P a night per person. Transportation from the Pier or Airport to the resort was also more expensive and I had to listen to a sales pitch if I had not already set up a tour with my package. Of course everything was paid for in advance.
Lastly, I would say the lack of infrastructure is more of a deterent for westerners. On each of these trips I took I found myself surrounded by Japanese and Koreans on vacation. The hotel I was living in at the time in Mactan was always full or nearly full of Japanese and Koreans. I would occasionally bump into a German or Swiss national at the bar or on the beach but as far as i could tell, I was the only American at that hotel the entire 4 months I was there.
Don't get me started! The Philippine SHOULD be a place people would want to visit… I live here, and am comfortable in my own home and familiar surroundings, but when I am a 'tourist' in the Philippines, it is a frustrating experience. Not only is it nearly impossible to book a hotel online, but the medium priced hotels where we have stayed are expensive (cmpared to Tahiland) poor quality and poorly maintained (compared to Thailand).
We booked a non-smoking room two months in advance, online in a hotel in Manila. When we arrived, a non-smoking room was not available, and the price of the room had gone up. The room we were given had windows onto a public balcony w hich could not be securely closed, and the curtains could not be closed. We asked for a different room and were given a room which smelled of smoke, had a very noisy air conditioner, a bathtub, but it could not be filled by the small flash heater which was permenently set to 'medium.' The fan in the bathroom sounded like a lawnmower. Sigh.
Not all of our experiences have been this bad, but the fact remains that while Filipinos have got b e be the friendliest people in the world tourism industry, basics that travelers like are missing. People may visit the Philippines, but when they encounter rough, polyester sheets, one small bottle of free water per day when the water is posted as non-drinkable, and additional water at P75 per half litre, sheer curtains or curtains that do not close, with a light on all night right outside the room, sand so on, but they won't come back, which is sad. The place deserves a second look, but first impressions are usually the decider.
Hi wol4997 – Thanks for stopping by! You are right, even after you are here, it is difficult to make further arrangements for stays in other destinations, book other services and such. Things have improved a lot since my first time in the Philippines in 1990, but they are still lacking. It makes me sad, because I want to see the Philippines succeed, but with the way things are set up, it will never be a premier tourist destination until some changes are made.
Hi AmericanLola – I totally agree, the Philippines SHOULD be a major destination, and I want it to be that. I have been in the same situation as you where my hotel curtains wouldn't close, lights on outside my room all night, loud music playing in the hotel lobby all night, etc. The thing that makes me sad is that all of these things are easy to fix, yet they don't get fixed. I have even had rooms where my door would not lock! Not good.
I have had this same conversation about 3 times in the last week, but mostly regarding terrorism and the perception of danger. Most recently I was talking to a missionary from Jolo.
As for infrastructure, I couldn't agree more. Setting up my research was very difficult before I arrived, and many of the problems I'm having now could have been avoided if the University had a standardized email system and the websites listed accurate email addresses.
My recent experience booking a ticket through Cebu Pacific was INCREDIBLY frustrating as well, and took many phone calls and over a week to finish. Both times I've come here it's been for school, so I've never had the joy of trying to arrange travel in advance, which is good.
Here's a kicker though – I just booked a guesthouse in Laos online…
Hi Elisa – It's sad to know that Laos has moved ahead of the Philippines on the net, at least in this one instance! It does go to show that there is so much room for improvement!
you are so right on this. I travel a lot and book 100% online. It's been bugging me for years that you can't simply book a Davao hotel room online. Drives me nuts (–Bob, you know this fact really must bother me).
Many of the things needed do not require much money to fix .. and Filipinos certainly know _how_ to do it … Filipinos are heavily represented the world over in the hospitality industry. But finding someone who "wants" to do it, ah there's the problem. Before I lived here for a while and really saw what seems to be possible … and impossible … I had visons of perhaps hooking up with a travel agent here and running some "Discover he Philippines" sort of tours … designed by mericnas, for Americans. frankly, I won't be pursuing that idea any farther. There are not enough hotels, resorts or restaurants interested in even supplying the most basic of services, let alone huge, expensive upgrades like doors that lock and seats on the toilet … and toilet paer? "Out of Stock, Sir"
The email issue is one of the ones that makes me the maddest/saddest. It is virtually a guarantee that an email, even a sales-related one, to a Philippine hotel or any other business will go unanswered. the eauty of email is … it's essentially free … it's a world-wide tool that puts people on the same level … and yet we can't even get the simplest dialog going with people we would like to work with because they can't be bothered to respond. Oh well…
Hi Macky – I bet this drives you crazy! You know, the first Davao Hotel that puts itself in the Internet Age could be setting itself up to have some real serious success! It's something to consider, right? If such a hotel had an owner or maybe somebody in the family who had lived abroad and was somewhat tech savvy, they could really bring such a hotel into the 21st century! 🙂
Hi Dave – Slowly, changes will happen. I guess the first step is to get some of these hotels to actually answer e-mails and such. Once a few hotels around the country catch on and put themselves into the Internet age, when they have some success, it won't take too long before others will follow.
http://www.asiarooms.com/philippines/davao.html, you just have to go here to book a hotel in Davao. I booked through this website in '04 and had no problems. In fact I have been back 2 times since and booked online for hotels in manila and cebu and had no problems both with bookings and hotel quality, although the one in manila looked as if it wasn't quite finished off. I think as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for'', I find this true in most cases esp in the phils. Maybe as I am an Aussie I am not quite as fussy as some!(joke).
Oh and I would like to add that my wife and I are going back to the phils(davao) for christmas this year, a friend of mine and his Girlfriend are coming over around a week after we arrive(they are both Aussie). This is their first time out if the country and they are very keen to see the phils(esp davao and surrounds) as we have told them so much about it. So why go there and not to thailand or somewhere similar for there first O/S holiday? A recommendation of a friend?
Hi Bob,
Bingo! You hit the nail on the head on this one. It's ironic coz this is the industry I'm in and this is my forte – hospitality technology – yet when I'm in the Philippines and I get to talk to hotel owners and/or managers about hotel technology and the Internet, their eyes just glaze over. I don't know if it is a lack of understanding or they're just plain technophobic. I try to explain to them that everything is done thru the Internet nowadays, nobody calls or faxes anymore, except in the Philippines I guess? 😉 This really puzzles me considering the pool of IT talent we have there.
Travelers nowadays do a lot of research about a country on the Internet and my experience with Philippine travel websites is I keep hitting a dead end – either the link doesn't work or I'm given a phone number to call. I don't need to talk to anyone if all I need to know are the basics, i.e., how to get there, places to go, restaurants, hotels, etc. I can go on forever on this one but bottom line is, yes, a lot of work needs to be done to get Philippine tourism on a par with other travel destinations.
Not to worry, Bob, I'm building my groundwork on this. With the amount of work that is needed there, I guess I'll be a very busy woman when I finally move back to the Philippines, what do you think? 😉
Hi Bob, I agree with on some points why the Philippines has poor tourist influx, foremost is the peace and order situation which was blown out of proportion and left a very negative impact on the eyes of prospective visitors. The Philippine media plays a vital role in making/destroying the image of Philippine tourism. During the time of President Marcos in the 70's , the Philippines is on the forefront among other Asian nations when it comes to tourism. Under the dynamic leadership of then Tourism Secretary Aspiras, who also used to head Philippine Press(if I remember right)before becoming the tourism secretaty, suppressing the media to a little extent had helped boost the image of philippine tourism, because reporting of pocket violence and insurgencies were not allowed during that time thus creating an image that the country is a haven for tourists. While I believe that we have freedom of expression, I think that the Philippine media should not give too much emphasis on the undesirable peace and order events but rather focus on how to thwart the bad image that is continuously besetting our nation, because the Philippines is truly a beautiful place to be.
Hi Jason – As I said in the article, you can book rooms in Manila and Cebu online, and yes a few places in Davao as well. But, other than those three places, it is not easy to book online. That is my experience, maybe yours is different.
I do recommend the Philippines to many people as a destination! As a matter of fact, a friend from Australia is visiting Davao right now.
Hi simplepinai – I see your point. I do believe in a free press, though, and think they should not be controlled by the government. They should not withhold reports, as long as they are true. The best course of action would be for the Government to take steps to curb kidnappings, insurgent groups like the NPA and MILF, etc. That, rather than holding back the truth will help solve the problem of poor tourism in the Philippines.
Hi Tina – Indeed, I had you in mind when I wrote this! And Macky of course. People like the two of you could make a big impact, because you understand both sides. You understand how travelers use the net to find what they want for their vacations, and you are Filipino which gives you a little bit of an "in" with hotel owners and managers. Like you, I am really puzzled about why hotels and other tourist type businesses can't seem to "get it" when it comes to technology!
About the problem on bookings and everything, contact local travel agencies or the best is get the assistance of the Philippine Department of Tourism and its entities and they would gladly assist you personally with your accomodations and other needs.
Hi simplepinai – that's what I am talking about. Most tourists don't want to do those things. For example, if a guy lives in Germany, he has no idea on how to get ahold of a local travel agent! He wants to go on the Internet and simply make a booking. Most local travel agents have no website, so how can he know how to contact them? If he somehow finds a phone number for the agent, it will cost money to call from Germany to the Philippines. If he were able to book on the web, it would be free to do so.
This is the reason why countries like Thailand have almost ten times as many tourists – they make it easy to visit! The way it is in the Philippines, it is almost like they are trying to keep you away. If you want to book a hotel room, and have to contact the Department of Tourism, that's just an extra person in the mix, one more step. Even still, you can't just punch in your credit card number and everything is set. It's difficult!
Yes Bob I agree. So while curbing insurgencies (which takes a long process since it is a political issue) why can't these press people work on building up the image of the philippine tourism industry. These two should work hand and hand or we may not able able to see toursim get back to its feet and regain the glory it had during the '70's.
Hi Simplepinai – Now, I agree with you there! It would be nice if the press can also feature the nice things about the Philippines!
Hi Julius – Hmm… I'll have to think about that. Not sure if I agree or disagree this time!
Well, I have an idea that a lot of the problem is that the people who OWN the hotels are not motivated to make it a smashing success. I know that sounds strange, but here is my observation. Hotel owners fall into two main catagories: the very rich, or corperate owners, and the owners who have gone over their head into debt to build and furnish the hotel.
Hotels run by the first group are either 4-5 star hotels and do very well (and we common folk don't stay there, only the Japanese and Koreans) or they have given it over to a management team, told them to make a profit and don't give it a lot more thought. If the later is the case, the management people have the responsibility to make it run without the authority to spend money or make good, pro-guest decisions or changes. All they can really do is fix things that break and tell the rest of the staff to be everso friendly to the guests. It is not their part to do innovative advertising, or give the guests free wifi in the lobby, or give them a decent supply of bottled water. Negative comments on comment sheets probably won't make it past management. The owner wants to make a profit, and that's all that really matters. If it isn't making a profit, the owner doesn't want to spend more money. If the owners have other business which are not doing well, he will not want to spend more on the hotel. Very short-sighted, but very common.
In the case of the small hotel or resort owner who has gone deeply into debt to get the business off the ground, once the thing is built, painted and furnished, not another penny goes into improvements or maintainence… sometimes for years. A computer? Are you kidding? A web site? Hey, we've got spider web sites and that's gonna have to do for now.
We have acquaintances whose wealthy family all went together to build a nice resort. Some had money and some went into hock for their family's cottage. It became the family milk cow. Everyone wanted the total income from their part, every month, with nothing set aside for improvements, advertising or even repairs. Finally, a Caanadian consultant who was volunteering his time helping hotels in third world countries was assigned to this resort. He gave them about a 100 page analysis of what they needed to do to keep the thing afloat and thriving as a place people want to visit. I am happy to say they took this advice and it is a very nice place, well maintained and has a good web site.
Another factor is whether the owner is on-site. Usually the debt ridden owner is, but is frantically trying to get as much as he can from the guests while spending as little as he can, because the bank is ready to foreclose. The best run businesses tend to be run by people who are on site and have enough financial margin to breath a little. They watch all that happens, and make all the decisions. They are there to make pro-guest exceptions, and see what people are asking for. They read the comment sheets and make changes.
Hi AmericanLola – I'd say your observations are pretty accurate!
Good Day All:
The head lines below says it all. It deals with the infrastructure and the safety issue. As long as things like those are mainstream headlines the Philippines will never be a major player in the tourism industry. "simplepinai" had a very interesting point, however in order to have a free society that does seem to include freedom of speech. I for one have felt for a very long time that they press abuses it's right to report. During WWII there was a saying developed a saying "Loose lips sink ships" . Which meant that there was important information that was not in the best interest of the country or the war effort to tell all, because it would often result in the loss of life. In todays media they have no conscience about if something should or should not be publisized. It seems that all news media in free societies have a bad case of oral diarrhea. Tell all in the name of free speech regardless of the consequences. Is it right or is it not? I do not know for sure, but I suspect that it is not right to tell all regardless of the consequences.
FERRY SINKS, 9 DEAD
Ships awry
Public lawyer gunned down in Masbate
Troops kill rebel in Masbate encounter
Another Masbate attacker falls
Rebels kill 3 soldiers after blasting tower
Oh yea, I have a special interest in the Masbate province. Part of my wifes family is there. That is why I picked those headlines. However similar ones can be found all over the country.
Hi Wayne – You are right, those headlines scare away a lot of folks! I believe that the press must report such incidents. For example, if they did not report the ferry sinking, there is no clamor for the ferry companies to improve their operations and keep their ferries afloat! I feel that the free press instigates improvement in many of these things. By reporting what is happening, it gets things rolling for improvements.
Hi Everyone—Standardation of the quailty of service is the key to the success of Philippine tourism industry. But how can anyone provide the same quality of service if each region (palawan, Boracay, Cebu, and etc) and various resorts and hotels are doing their own thing. The tourists are going to be confused and disenchanted. This is the reason I mentioned the "Tribal Mentality" (or crab mentality thinking, if one prefers) thinking earlier as the root of the problem. Every sector in the tourist industry wants to to do their own thing, according to their own philosphy and practice, at the costs of the long term satisfactions of the tourists. Till next time….
Hi bob, I was talking in general about recommending the phils as a holiday destination and not pointing the finger at you. I just think its a good place to start. Also regarding online bookings of hotels well maybe in the states and the uk things are a little more ahead with this system. I live in a little state called Tasmania and you can only book the main hotels online here and not many of those have there own website(this is the same for regional areas all over Aust),as they use a third party booking agent like wotif etc. The smaller hotels and some of the country ones you have to do it the old fashioned way and call them. I understand that it would be a pain to do that way in the phils esp if you are booking from abroad. Also can you book a remote or provincial hotel in thailand or vietnam etc online?
Hi Julius – I don't think that there needs to be standardization of services. In the US, different hotels offer different levels of service. I think that is only natural. However, for things like online booking and improved service and such, it just takes one hotel here and one there to make changes, and others will follow. They may not all end up the same, but there will be improvement. That's just my thought
Hi Jason – In Thailand, you can indeed book far flung hotels online. The problem with needing to call a hotel here – where can you get their phone number? There isn't even an information service through the telephone where you can call for a phone number. As an example, yesterday Elisa said she made a booking in Laos online! Ha ha… When I lived in General Santos, I got so many e-mails from people who wanted me to help them book a hotel room (maybe a dozen e-mails a week), and even if I called the hotels or went there it was hard to get them to take care of the booking. The system is broken.
Hi bob, well thats too bad. I think you can only blame the goverment for that through lack of infastructre. Also I think the main problem with the lack of tourists, as others have stated, is the image problem the phils has. I find this especially so in mindanao, where even people from other areas of the phils think its an unsafe place to venture. I find this a dissapointing view of the island where we both know that most places are indeed safer than manila and not everyone thinks you are a walking donation machine. I think the media has a big role to play with this attitude as only last week it was splashed all over the news here about the marines killed in western mindanao and they just portray the whole island as being a 'trouble spot'. The australian government has had travel warnings about the phils for many years now and especially mindanao.
Hi Jason – You know… you made me think about something. We have had some comments about the press saying bad things and that scares tourists away. Another problem is that Filipinos themselves scare tourists away a lot. They certainly steer everybody away from Mindanao. And, there are other areas that they warn people about too. Also, when I think about how a foreigner is treated when they come to visit, the Filipinos always want to send family members with them everywhere they go because "it isn't safe" for the foreigner to go alone. This reinforces the idea that the Philippines is unsafe. I am not trying to speak bad against Filipinos, it's just an observation. I feel that it is part of their hospitality that they want to have somebody accompany the foreigner to make sure that everything goes OK for them, but they do seem to always say it is not safe to go alone. I had never thought about that, and how it also gives an image of the country being an unsafe place.
I am telling everyone i know back in the UK to come here, all say its too dangerous but I am glad to say I have persauded five friends to come later this year. Well its a start
When I first travelled to Cebu my company made me sign an agreement not to travel to Mindanao. Part of it was that the company contracted to do the cultural sensativity training cited the CIA and State Dept warnings about traveling to Mindanao. My company also filed an itinerary with the US Embassy. They sent me updated "travel advisories" about not going to Mindanao almost every 2 weeks. Part of it was the fact that I am known to take a few risks just for the experience and ability to say I did. I would have visited then if I could have worked more than three straight days of free time into my schedule.
Hi John – I also promote the Philippines to my friends! It's hard to find takers, though! I do have a friend from Australia visiting right now, though!
Hi wol4997 – When you make it down to Mindanao, let me know!
Hi Bob:
I guess I did not do and adequate job of explaining myself. For example take the Ferry incident it was reported a total of seven times and each time it was written about the story was a bit different. Instead of waiting until the news are complete and accurate and report it once it was reported 7 times, or they could have had an initial report and then wait until the news was completely verified rather than 5 other speculative stories. Thats sensationalizing, oral diarrhea, just like someone talking just to hear themselves talking and making themselves feel important with out much that is useful. It's irresponsible reporting. Same thing with the rebels blowing up the cell tower and their engagement with movement troops. As long as the news is covered in that fashion and those events keep happening the RP will never be a major player in the tourist industry.
HI Wayne – I understand what you mean, and I tend to agree. I do see the same thing (probably more of it) from US media, though. Especially with the Cable News 24 hours and such, they report the same stories over and over again (and over!). 🙂
I have found that the 4 star hotels are internet able, but I still call to confirm after booking….why? Its the Philippines ! Ithink the problem is most americans look at the PI as an adventurous destination, unknown and a bit dangerous is thier perception. Unfortunatly these tend to be 'younger' people whcih prefer to hit the less expensive places , which are not internet able. As I always say, get past the taxi drivers and the place is great.
Hi brian – Yep, what you are saying is pretty accurate, with a few exceptions. The problem also comes in because there are not 4 star and 5 star hotels in the city.
Hi Everyone–There is one advantage to not improving Philippine tourism, and i'll bet no one has thought of it yet. It'll keeps the price down for a poor guy like me to travel to or live just about anywhere in the country. If the Philippines became commercialed and exploited like Hawaii, Tahiti, and other popular tourists traps, then the country will lose its laidback ambiance, and life will become more competitive. I know this sounds selfish, but who isn't thinking selfish reasons why want the Philippines commerciaized? Till next time….
Hi Julius – I believe that you are correct that if travel to the Philippines catches on, the cost of living here will indeed increase. However, how many times do we ex-pats say how sorry we feel for the poor people here, etc. We can't help them all, etc. No matter what happens that makes people have a better life here, it will impact on the cost of living here. I think most ex-pats would like to see some improvement for these folks.
Hi Bob–I agree with what you're saying about improvement of the overall infracstructure in the country to improve the quality of life but, and I should be the last person that should be saying this because I do love the Philippines and the people, it would be very hard to do because of the way the people in position (government officials and big businessmen) think. It's the every man for himself mentality; and it's been this way for as long as I can remember.
Now it may sound like I'm taking sides here, but Marcos–and his dictatorial policies under martial law–had actually experience some growth in the tourism industry, as well as, in other economic sectors. Granted he ruled with an iron fist, and pilfered a lot of the nations wealth, but the Philippine economy was actually much better off. Now, a lot of people may argue with my opinion, but just do the research on the economic history of the Philippines during Marcos' reign and interview the people on the streets, and it'll show evidence of a much wholesome economy then. Till next time….
Hi Julius – I do understand what you are saying as well, and I do agree with you. But, improving tourism doesn't have to be a government thing! That is one problem that the Philippines has in my opinion, they look for the government to do everything! Private industry can make big strides in improving tourism too, by implementing things that are successful in other countries!
Hi Julius–And I agree with you that the goverment shouldn't be involved in the day-to-day dealings of the private industries, including tourism. Heck, if you and I were having a beer on the beach, I'd say let's all invite the "Parrothead" in the world to come to the Philippines, and contract Jimmy Buffett to do a concert for us. We'll all just have a good time and leave our worries out the door. That is the answer. The government needs to stay out of the private industries and let them come up with a system of their own to improve the tourism industry. Till next time…..
Hi Bob–I meant to say, "Hi Bob".
Hi Bob.. oops… Julius! I was wondering why you said hi to yourself! 🙂 Ha ha.. that's OK. Yeah, Government intervention is probably the worst thing that can be done for any business! Remember the old joke – "Hi, I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help you!" Ha ha…
I 100% agree. Oh believe me, Bob, I've suggested the online booking to a local hotel management :wink:. No luck there. If I lived in Davao and had certain responsibilities in a hotel, I would have jumped on the online thing a decade ago. Such a no-brainer.
As it stands, the local system for the hotels in Davao is pretty much an email system. Registering for a possible reservation and the hotel emails back. Not a guaranteed booking/income if you ask me. And very archaic.
Hi Macky – Yeah, the system in place now just is not reliable! Most hotels don't even respond to email inquiries! It's a shame!
Hi Bob,
Just back from a short break in Cairns where I bumped into plenty of your compatriots (and not an Ugly one amongst them).
I think the changes that are required to the Phil tourism industry need to be driven by the Universities. They should be offering Hospitality courses (both degree and diploma) that provide graduates with the necessary skills in services and marketing (particularly over the internet).
If they are already offering such courses then perhaps they should be re-evaluating them and seeking expert advice from overseas.
Hi Laurence,
Degrees in hospitality and tourism have been offered in Philippine universities since 1971. I think the problem we have in the Philippines is the decision-makers/owners have to be educated regarding the use of technology, specifically the Internet, in marketing to international travelers.
Hi Laurence – Glad to see you back! 😀
I have to go along with what Tina says. She has a pretty accurate take on the issue!
BEST WAY TO PROMOTE TOURISM IS THE PEOPLE TO KEEP PROMOTING IT WHO ARE ABROAD IN EVERY COUNTRY ALSO THE TOURISM BOARD OR WHATEVER DOES NOT POMOTE IT .OVER HERE I IRELAND EVERY OTHER ASIAN COUNTRY IS ANVERTISING ITS GOOD SIDE AND GREAT TIMES PLUS THE PHILIPPINES AS SO MANY TYPES OF TOURISM TO EXPLOIT AND GAIN
Hi Derk – Yes, that is one way to help promote tourism! No doubt about that. Just like others have said, recommend the place to your friends, and some will come.
I am involved with a tour operator based in Manila and mainly catering to travel agencies in Scandinavia. Some of the big problems that we can see in terms of attracting more tourists to Philippines are:
– Hotel rates are actually too high compared to rates e.g. in Thailand. This makes it a bit harder for the travel agency to earn enough margin and therefore they invest there marketing money in promoting e.g. Thailand.
– Air fares are way higher going from Europe to Philippines. This makes the holiday packages too expensive.
– Philippines is not really well-promoted, in particular, not in Europe. You can see advertisement for Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, China everywhere, but Philippines i not really in the picture.
– Infrastructure is not really a big problem, if we are not talking about charter-tourism. When people actually do find their way here, I believe that they find the "insufficient" infrastructure exciting and part of the experience 🙂
So to sum it up. A vacation in Philippines is too expensive compared to a similar length stay in Thailand and people in Europe dont know what Philippines has to offer.
Have a great day!
Hi Ole – I would say that in terms of high air fares, part of that has to do with the lack of open skies in the Philippines, don't you think? A few local companies have monopolized the air traffic here, and most European carriers have pretty much abandoned Philippine routes.
What do you think?
Hi Bob – you do have a valid point. I think that KLM is the only airline with a direct flight from Europe to Manila.
However, it has to do with the demand. I have quite a few contacts with managers of European airlines, and for them it is pretty much cool business, because it is too expensive to fly with an empty plane. I believe that mass-tourism (high demand) is what have brought the airfares from Europe to Thailand down.
A few years ago we made some campaigns together with Singarepore Airlines where we were able to offer a really competitive price from Denmark to Philippines. A Danish travel agency did the marketing, and as soon as the price was reasonable and the holiday pacakge got promoted, it was no problem at all to sell out.
So to fix the "problem" (it is also a little bit nice that Philippines is not hit by mass-tourism), we need lower package prices and more marketing IMO.
Hi Ole – Thanks for sharing your knowledge. You have some interesting points to think about there.