they say know your product before you sell it. (as said by my cuz).....
each and everyone of you in my email list have traveled places outside the Philippines. And through each exploration and experience, I know you've brought along memories of the environment, structure, landscape, maintenance, etc.
What I would like to ask from you is to email me back any suggestion you have in mind to further improve the tourism in the Philippines. I've been researching lately, trying to compare the standards that we have in terms of national parks, hiking, backpacking, etc... unfortunately, we have a long way to go. If you see something that you come across with during your travels, maybe here in NZ or another country (Missy Foy i know you've got a lot to share on this one).....then please take note of this.....
Last week I've been reading the news and found that the Department of Tourism will try to set our standards at par with the other Asian countries....setting 2015 as the target year to materialize all of the plans and missions.
I know the Philippines is a little bit underrated in terms of tourism, as compared to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia. But we've got a lot to offer.... one step at a time. It would be great if people from different countries would have the courage to explore not just our beaches, dive sites, wreck sites but also our sierras (mountains) and other landscapes.
As I've read once, "It would be great if everyone can travel, then maybe the world would be a better place, because people would be more tolerant".
We are all guilty of ignorance at one point or another. (Site for example, I didn't know people from Chile have more German influence). In exploring and trying to understand the culture, you get to experience the exchange of knowledge. I beg you to be a traveler and not just a tourist....don't just take pictures for the sake of saying you've been to that place.....don't be afraid to extend to the locals and continue learning...for travel is an exchange. We learn from them, and they on the other hand learn from us too......and everytime, I try to add more to their knowledge of the Philippines.
From my 2 months away....traveling the different countries in South America......going back home to the Philippines is the culmination of this all. Never have I been more appreciative and more proud to be a Filipino. Yes, we've got a long way to go...but we've got to start somewhere right?
~ Jowe
I agree, the philippines has a lot to offer.
ReplyDeleteThe tourism dept been promoting the islands as a diving destination. They feature prominently in diving expos here in London. So i guess, they're making real progress on this point. We have a lot of responsible diving groups in tubattaha. and still a lot of irresponsible ones - like in Boracay. I say give the department of environment some teeth to punish those operators who have no ethics.
1. Check DOT accredited hotels. During my travels in the Philippines, I've been staying in DOT accredited hotels/lodges/inns. I think they should be regularly checked. I've stayed in some which looked clean, but maybe because they're not cleaned regularly, houses a lot of cockroaches. and bedbugs (though this can be a problem even in hotels abroad). Maybe i should have done my part and complained about them.
2. Hard to get around. And because we've got some 7000+ islands, it's hard to get from one island to the other. In Cuyo, Palawan - seaair flies there - pero kung hindi enough passengers, cancelled ang flight. you can get stuck in the island for days waiting. of course, you can take to the seas. the passenger ferries sometimes looks dangerously overcrowded. facilities on these ferries plying cuyo are very third-world.
Travelling within an island is also a problem. Unless you get a private tour, hire a car, jeepney, or motorbike. And when you're on a budget, can't afford any of these.
3. Security. And syempre, security is one of the reasons why I advise to other people not to travel to the South. kidnap for ransoms still abound. how does the DOT fight that?
4. Campsites. i think there are a few campsites in the philippines. i've never been. but i heard from people who camp - you dig your own toilet. not sure if everyone knows what it takes to camp responsibly. it would be great to have more campsites with basic facilities - toilets, cooking area. and it's good to contain the damage some irresponsible campers do.
5. Hiking. You can usually hire guides, lalo na in going up mountains where the paths are quite hard to find. I just wish it would be a lot easier to find DOT accredited ones. We had to ring around and ended up in a local environemnt office who rang their contacts.
6. Websites. it would be nice to be able to do research on far flung islands in the philippines. find a list of accomodations and things to do. There's a lot of info on the net on the more popular destinations. pero not so much on other equally beautiful places. We relied on guidebooks tuloy. it would be great if you can book hotels online too.
7. Let the towns run it themselves. Here in the UK, each town is responsible for their own promotions, updating their own websites. pero syempre they need guidance from the DOT. Pero that way, everyone should get their time to shine, hindi puro boracay at palawan lang and pino-promote.