Part One
Some 15 countries, including Philippine representatives, spoke during the 2017 Ecotourism Leaders Conference and Festival held recently at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.
Surprisingly, out of the more than 350 delegates to this event, we spotted Gov. Sol Matugas of Surigao del Norte; Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr. of Occidental Mindoro; Vice Gov. Angel Magsaysay of Zambales: Mayor William Angos of Poblacion Cortes, Surigao del Sur; Mayor Antonio Chavez of San Jose, Camarines Sur; Mayor Renante Inocando of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon; Mayor Honey Lumayag-Matti of Polomolok, South Cotabato; Mayor Rolen Paulino of Olongapo; Mayor Vicente Pimentel III of Carascal, Surigao del Sur; Mayor Luciano Rama Jr. of Poro, Cebu; Mayor Salem Tancingco of San Fernando, La Union; Mayor Marlon Ferdinand Sales of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; Mayor Rachel Ubana of Lopez, Quezon; Vice Mayor Daniel Laño Jr. of Sugpon, Ilocos Sur; and Vice Mayor Zoilo Bernardo Tubianosa of Sibalom, Antique. I am singling them out because every time the local leader of a place attends one of these important educational gatherings, we can be sure something somewhere a new and positive development is bound to happen in that area.
I am reprinting here with permission from the writer, Imtiaz Muqbil, one of Asia-Pacific region’s longest-serving travel trade journalists who was one of the speakers, his piece that would best describe the event.
From a Vietnamese farm to Forbes: The start-up that wowed Subic Ecotourism Fest
Of the many erudite presentations at the Subic Ecotourism Festival held from May 28 to June 2, the most inspiring was the story of how a young Vietnamese girl overcame poverty, illiteracy, an alcoholic father and single motherhood to land up on the cover of Forbes Asia magazine as a rising-star millennial. In doing so, Shu Tan, now 31, founder and director of the social enterprise-cum-tour operator Sapa O’Chau, epitomized all the values and principles advocated by both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic and sociocultural integration process, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Organized by the International School of Sustainable Tourism, headed by former Philippine Tourism Secretary Dr. Mina T. Gabor, the festival was designed to commemorate the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development declared by UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). With seven board members of the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) and Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN) as speakers, a turnout of 335 delegates from all over the Philippines heard some outstanding stories from Africa and Costa Rica, from Japan to Jordan, from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines, covering topics from architecture to ecotourism site development to media and communication.
In her welcoming remarks, Wilma Eisma, administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said that this year was the 25th anniversary of the United States military’s departure from Subic Bay following the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo, an act of God against which the formidable US military didn’t stand a chance. The giant military base was wiped out, leaving 8,000 people jobless. It took two years to clean up the devastation, mostly by unpaid volunteers, including herself, then just a young teenager. Today, she said, the base is being reinvented into a giant economic and tourism entity, with its great beaches and forests pretty much restored to what they were before.
Adding to that, Dr. Gabor said, it also marked 15 years since the Philippines was supposed to have held the 2002 World Expo under the theme of Global Ecotourism—Growing with Nature, the first time that ecotourism was chosen as a World Expo theme. The Philippines eventually opted out of hosting the expo, due to economic difficulties. Nevertheless, the dream has been fulfilled exactly 15 years later. “We have gathered here with the best minds in the field of ecotourism. We finally did it,” said Dr. Gabor.
It was also a welcome introduction for an upcoming event. In addition to chairing Asean in its 50th anniversary, the Philippines will soon host one of the most important conferences in the field of sustainable tourism—a UNWTO event that will, for the first time, set up statistical indicators for measuring the ecological impact of global tourism.
Of the many learned planners, policy-makers and practitioners who spoke on foreign and Filipino best-practices, the most outstanding was by the youngest and least-educated speaker.
In her presentation, Shu (a.k.a. Tan Thi Su) said that as a 12-year-old child street seller, her curiosity was aroused by the tourists coming to visit her Lao Chai village, belonging to the Hmong ethnic community. Why did they come? What did they want? Simply by talking to them over the years, her English became good enough to start guiding them herself. In 2007 she developed the concept of Sapa O’Chau with four Australian friends, and then grew it into the only not-for-profit tour operator in Sapa. After covering costs, all the tourist income goes to support the community. Tours are the main income, not donations. Her own income helps support her three sisters and her mother. She does not give any money to her father because “he will only take it and drink, drink, drink.”
She only finished high school in 2010 and began attending university in 2011. In an interview, she said she had become a single mother at 19. Her boyfriend fled before her daughter was born, as they were denied parental permission to marry. She is now happily married to a Singaporean mathematician whom she met on one of the tours. In 2016 she landed up on the cover of Forbes Vietnam under 30 list. The same year she helped Sapa O’Chau obtain international accreditation from World Responsible Tourism Awards 2016 (Silver) and World Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2016 (Finalist).
The Sapa O’Chau web site, www.sapaochau.org, hails all visitors, “You and our high-profile international partners are helping to change tourism into a more ethical, responsible and sustainable industry.”
The Philippines is also unique in that its Department of Tourism has an undersecretary for “Faith, Farm and Ecotourism,” probably the only country in the world with such a unique combination. The said undersecretary, Silvino O. Tejada, said it was the government’s objective to develop ecotourism into a global standard as an engine of inclusive and sustainable growth. He hailed the potential for ecotourism as a catalyst for a climate-resilient, robust and vibrant tourism industry in the Philippines.