By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
The Department of Tourism (DOT) is working toward promoting more inclusive tourism goals by helping local impoverished communities around destinations to benefit from its tourism efforts.
“Tourism, no matter how profitable it becomes, is irrelevant if it will not help improve the quality of life of the ordinary people,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo in a statement said.
She said the DOT and other government tourism agencies will work hand in hand with local government units (LGUs) to get the local communities involved in the country’s tourism program.
“If we aspire for inclusive growth, then we must encourage inclusive participation at the domestic level,” Teo added.
This developed as the DOT chief expressed appreciation over the inclusion of the Great Santa Cruz Island (also called Isla de Santa Cruz) in Zamboanga City in the list of the 21 Best Beaches in the World by the international publication National Geographic.
“We are so proud about this citation and happy about its very timely announcement, which comes right after our visit in December, when I had pushed for the island’s immediate improvement and development as an ecotourism destination,” she said.
Teo added she had instructed DOT Region 9 Director Antonio M. Blanco to coordinate with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) to assist the local government in upgrading the island’s facilities, providing additional cottages, as well as offering more nature-based recreational activities.
“The planned development will highlight its conservation and preservation, the island being a protected area. Nonetheless, the outcome should enable locals and foreign visitors alike to enjoy the island’s beauty, but still strictly maintaining it as a day destination. We would like to attract genuine ecotourists as they take ‘responsible, ethical and sustainable tourism’ to heart,” she stressed.
On its web site (www.nationalgeographic.com), NatGeo said: “Hardly lacking in gorgeous beaches, the Philippines claims a pink-sand variety, too. The blush color comes from billions of pieces of crushed red organ-pipe coral, seen in every handful of sand. The number of visitors to the island is regulated, and advance arrangements should be made through the tourist office in Zamboanga.”
The Great Santa Cruz Island used to be under the Tieza, formerly the Philippine Tourism Authority. In 2011 it was turned over to the local government under the City Tourism Office, Protected Management Unit.
Teo also noted that the DOT needs the LGUs’ and the communities’ help to identify every region’s “tourism gaps”, defined as the difference between what the markets expect and require and what the destinations can offer and actually serve.
“Together with other national government agencies and LGUs, we will identify the tourism gaps in our regions and their localities. And together, we will fill them up with our respective resources and every support we can muster,” she said.
“It is imperative for us to work hand in hand with the LGUs, because of the huge contribution of tourism to national employment, tax revenues, GIR [gross international reserves] and the local economy, as expressed in GDP,” she added.
Data from the DOT showed that the tourism industry added some 5 million jobs to the economy, generated visitor receipts amounting P227.62 billion, and accounted for 10.6 percent of the GDP.
“Domestic tourism is a prerequisite and the foundation of a successful global tourism. A nation of a domestically well-traveled citizenry has more effective and active marketers than the world’s biggest advertising agency,” Teo said. “By sheer number and actual experience, the Filipinos who have traveled around their own country can effectively generate WOM (word-of-mouth) marketing even outside the Philippines through their friends and relatives abroad, especially with social media.”
The DOT chief said the upcoming Travel Tour Expo (TTE) will showcase this ideal partnership with the LGUs and local communities, which are essentially its primary beneficiaries. The TTE will be held from February 10 to 12 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.