Mabuhay Guide Re-born...

I am Happy!!!! Happy, Happy... Happy!!!!

After an agonizing wait of a month and a half I finally recieved my renewal for accreditation as a tourist guide from the Department of Tourism. Officially, today... I am a Mabuhay Guide again.

I was at the Tourism office this afternoon after Mr Bimbo Cruz of the accreditation department confirmed that my renewal finally went through. He sent me a text message at around 10 or 11 this morning. I went to see him after lunch...a little past two, actually. I just waited a little, was called to her desk by Ms Yoli and then she sent me off to pay the fee of Pesos, 180.00. Down I went to room 114 to pay the fee and was issued a reciept which I presented to the window at room 206. A little more waiting and voila! My accreditation and ID were handed to me. There's just one catch - the laminating machine was busted... talk about bad timing...

For a paperless transaction this one seemed to have taken forever. I hope the new secretary of Tourism resolves this problem soon enough. I guess Secretary Bertie Lim has an eye out for the many opportunities that will boost tourist arrivals in the country.

In the papers today, writer/columnist Bernardo M. Villegas points out certain facts about tourism in the country that the former administration (thanks to former Secretary Ace Durano) has set up like the nautical highway, better airports, improved roads. They had all of nine years to do as much as they could... and the results were astounding!

Get this:
- for the last nine years international tourism grew by 5.2% annually notwithstanding the downtrend in the global markets
- tourist arrivals hit the 3 million mark in 2007 expanding by 1.5% to 31 million in 2008
- tourism dropped by only 3% in 2009 during the worst economic crisis compared to other asian countries
- tourism reciepts grew by 3.9% annually from $2.2B in 2000 to $2.96B in 2007.
- tourism employed 3.3M persons in 2008, 23.7% higher than in 2000.
- the average annual tourism employment was 9.5% which means tourism generated one out of ten jobs over a period of ten years.
- the average annual tourism employment rate was 2.37% which closely approximated the national employment growth rate of 2.7%
- the passenger transport industry was the largest employer at 42.7% followed by restaurants at 23.7%, retail enterprises at 4.7%, hotels at 4%

Given these statistics* Secretary Lim is looking into integrating nature, culture and history as a means of providing a total package for tourist spots so that potential visitors get a "tight"and neat little experience that will make them want to come back.

The poor guy has been much maligned after he was misinterpreted/misconstrued/ misquoted ( you select the proper term) for his pronouncements regarding tourist arrivals. He has a quite an interesting view on attracting tourists to the country opting for quality more than quantity. I think it makes a lot of sense. We can't compete with the tourist arrivals from other countries in europe who can attract 50M tourists each season. Do we really want hordes of noisy, backpacking tourists descending on our virgin beaches and frolicking naked in the sand?

Aside from the physical and moral pollution that it entails, we've been touted for ruining our destinations because of our penchant for catering to every whim of tourists. That's Pinoy hospitality for you. In the seventies and eighties we were known for the sex tours and what a horrible reputation we had back then.

Just go to Boracay during Holy Week and you get the idea... I loved Boracay when it was virtually unknown to the outside world. Nipa huts rented for P500.00 a night and you had to take a shower with a pozo to rinse of the sea water from your body... and then you used a "buhos" toilet to do your morning ritual... That was the Boracay i knew and loved... nowadays, you can't make me go back there specially during peak season. For one, I could no longer afford it. It has become too expensive. For another reason, i dread the hordes of people who go there and party all night.

It's time to rethink what we're known for... eventually visitors will want something of a novelty. They did it in CamSur with the wakeboarding. Caramoan's jagged primeval coastline came alive with it picture-perfect beauty. Danao started to offer extreme activities aside from its historical significance owing to the Dagohoy rebellion. We want to attract tourists who will stay and spend their hard-earned money and not commit acts of loutism while they're here. Naturally, it's families who will want to come and bond with each other while enjoying the best of what our country has to offer. I think this is what Secretary Lim meant when he said it's not the number of people you want to come trampling on our shores... it's the quality of tourists...

I'm with you there... I'm a Mabuhay Guide again...



*Manila Bulletin. Business and Society. "Nature, History, Culture". Bernardo M. Villegas. Monday, 16. August. 2010