Destination of the year

Europeans tell me that President Aquino’s recent visit to Brussels, France, Germany and Spain helped raise public awareness of the Philippines in a continent where perceptions of our country have not progressed beyond Imelda Marcos and her shoes.

On the heels of the visit, the Philippines was chosen at the start of this month as Asia-Pacific’s “Destination of the Year” for 2014 during the 25^th Annual TTG Travel Awards held in Bangkok.

Yesterday there was another piece of good news: Palawan was chosen as the world’s top island destination while Boracay ranked 12^th in a poll taken by Conde Nast Traveler, which caters to the high-end tourism market.

If P-Noy wants to build on the gains of these accolades and his European tour, his administration should do more to improve tourism infrastructure as well as peace and order, from Metro Manila to Mindanao.

TTG is the Travel Trade Gazette. We should feel particularly honored that its award was given in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s top travel destination and the world’s 10^th most visited country in 2013, with 26.5 million arrivals, according to statistics compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Even the political tumult could not keep out foreign visitors from Thailand.

Perhaps the recent recognitions of our country’s attractions will translate into an improvement in actual numbers in terms of tourist arrivals, wherein the Philippines is still a regional laggard.

* * *

Last year in Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Even Vietnam had 7.5 million arrivals – nearly double that of the Philippines. Size obviously does not matter for international travelers. Apart from Thailand, last year’s top destinations in the Asia-Pacific were Hong Kong (25.6 million visitors), Macau (14.2 million) and Taiwan (8 million).

Europeans account for much of those enviable arrival numbers in Southeast Asia. 

I’ve asked European travel industry players and government officials why their people are skipping the Philippines.

The answers are common. One is the lack of air connectivity. Unlike the Philippines, the top Southeast Asian destinations have direct flights to Europe and many other parts of the world. Travelers who want to visit several countries in the region also tend to pick those near each other.

By the time tourists have seen this, done that from Bali to Borobudur, Jakarta, Singapore and Sipadan or Kuala Lumpur (with a stop in Genting Highlands), their energy and vacation leave have run out. Or they country-hop from Thailand to Cambodia and Vietnam before flying back to their countries. On this route, if ever Europeans pick a fourth Southeast country to visit these days, it may turn out to be Myanmar rather than the Philippines. We’re still a flight of three to four hours away, and Myanmar is still largely unexplored.

We need more effort to persuade travelers that the flight to Manila will be worth it. Or dangle incentives for inclusion in the tour packages of our Southeast Asian neighbors.

Direct flights between Manila and European capitals are slowly being resumed, starting with the Manila-London route. But Europeans also want flights that skip the NAIA and take them directly to destinations such as Boracay and Palawan.

However, since we can’t even install navigation systems for night flights in our secondary airports – one of the causes of traffic and delayed flights at the NAIA – such direct flights will have to wait until the end of this administration and its teka-teka team.

* * *

Another common complaint of foreign tourists here is poor land transportation. It’s not enough to console them with the reassurance that Filipinos are just as frustrated as foreigners by the problem.

An Asian visitor, for example, groused that he spent an entire day just trying to reach Boracay from the NAIA. After disembarking from the plane from Manila, he had to take a bus ride and then a boat ride, with long waits in between, before reaching the island. Not everyone thinks getting there is half the fun.

Since most international travelers pass through the NAIA before going to their main travel destinations elsewhere in the country, we should also improve Metro Manila’s attractions for tourism. Shopping malls and lively bars aren’t enough.

There’s a lot of potential especially around bodies of water. A group is putting together a cruise package around Manila Bay, which includes stops in the fishing villages and historic sites of Cavite, and Bataan’s attractions including the Dambana ng Kagitingan on Mt. Samat, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar and Corregidor Island.

This will require a decent cruise port in Manila. Unfortunately, this looks like another project that must wait for the retirement of the teka-teka gang.

Perhaps within my lifetime I will see the Pasig riverbanks turned into prime real estate with a river cleanup, restoration of old structures and development of riverside parks and commercial areas. Then tourists with limited time in Manila can enjoy a river cruise, just as travelers do in most European capitals.

Of the European countries P-Noy visited, three are among the world’s top 10 destinations in 2013: France (No. 1 with a whopping 84.7 million arrivals), Spain (No. 3 with 60.7 million) and Germany (7^th with 31.5 million). Surely we can get some tips from these countries on how to become a tourist magnet.

All three countries offer enjoyable and informative cruises through rivers that run through their capitals. They also have cruise ports, with Barcelona in Spain ranking fourth in the world (after three ports in Florida) in terms of ship calls, passenger arrivals and visitor spending.

Low awareness of the Philippines in Europe is another problem often mentioned by industry players and government officials. The “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign has helped, but its limited resources can’t compete with the marketing blitz of countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

P-Noy’s trip improved European awareness of the Philippines. But the gains of that visit are now threatened by the negative publicity from the kidnapping of two Germans by the Abu Sayyaf. The bandits are still holding other Europeans hostage.

We can say that the kidnappings are confined to no-man’s land in the southern Philippines. But even travelers in Metro Manila now fear for their safety – as the Koreans and Japanese will tell you.

The country has been getting raves from travelers in recent years, and that 10-million tourist arrival target for 2016 looks attainable. It would be a shame if the momentum would be lost.