EDITORIAL — Taking care of what draws tourists

There have been two recent developments involving our tourist attractions.

In the first one, a guide on the Badian canyoneering adventure was suspended for a month for being disrespectful to a foreigner. In a video, the guide is heard cussing and making fun of the foreigner as he swings from a rope to jump into the canyon.

The second development involves the closure of the Spartan Trail in Cebu City by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources after it found traces of vandalism and encroachment on the trail.

Let’s address the canyon guide development first. Those who deal with tourists, both local and foreign, must always show proper behavior, including being patient and respectful.

The guide must have been counting on the fact that the foreigner couldn’t understand what he was saying at the time. Unfortunately for him, after the video was posted, others could understand what he was saying and informed authorities.

Damage has been done; it certainly doesn’t help our image as a hospitable and welcoming people if we make fun of them or disrespect them.

To be fair, the guide has apologized for his actions. But this cannot undo what happened. He was being rude and disrespectful and deserves what was meted to him.

Regarding the second development, we must always take care of what nature provides us, including hiking trails.

Cebu has several hiking trails, but that doesn’t mean they will be there forever; we should take care of them and not abuse them

Letting them fall into disrepair or allowing them to be slowly destroyed isn’t the only threat.

With human settlements always expanding into areas not previously touched, we don’t know how long some of these trails can still be used or accessed. With climate change looming, some of them might also be incorporated into protected areas.

We should always take care to maintain our reputation as a tourist-friendly destination and what makes the tourists come, again both local and foreign.

Of course, we won’t miss the tourists until they stop coming, or our hiking trails until we can no longer use them.