THEY SAY tourism is one of the economic dragons that brings in billions of pesos in revenue for our country. And that is one point nobody can argue with. A group of coffee-loving individuals from the hospitality industry gathered at a café to reflect on this topic over their favorite brews.
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“Often, I find it hard to believe that when I travel with my family to other Asian countries, we’re taken to tourist destinations that are very similar to what we have here in the Philippines. What makes it work better over there?” began a hotel manager, opening the conversation.
“That’s exactly what I’ve noticed too,” agreed a resort owner. “There was one tour we joined where they brought us to a destination featuring animals and pets. When I saw one that looked just like our carabao, I asked what it was. The host proudly said, ‘That’s a carabao from the Philippines!’” he added with a laugh, amused by the irony.
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“What I see here is that there are just too many diskartidor — people who try to game the system — and they ruin our reputation,” chimed in a tour guide as he sipped his cappuccino. “Even at the airport, there are dishonest taxi drivers. Worse, I hear there are airport personnel who extort money from these drivers. That’s the hellish side of our tourism image.”
“It’s been a long-standing problem at our airports,” responded the resort owner. “But now that Manila’s airports have been privatized, at least there’s hope. A private operator can enforce discipline and stricter rules to put things in order.”
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“I agree — the airport situation has been a mess. But now that San Miguel’s Ramon Ang is at the helm through privatization, even TNVS and regular taxi services have a proper venue to pick up passengers smoothly. With government personnel running the show, there was just too much corruption,” added the tour guide.
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“Another major turn-off in this country is our poor toilet culture, especially in smaller malls, office buildings, and even restaurants,” noted a frequent traveler. “Even places that serve good food fail miserably when it comes to maintaining decent restrooms.”
“Hay naku, exactly!” exclaimed the resort owner. “Why is it part of Filipino culture to neglect toilet standards? I’ve been to so many restaurants that don’t even have a functioning water closet. You pay for the meal, and you end up flushing the toilet yourself with a bucket of water. Ano ba yan, mga Pinoy?”
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“What’s worse,” added a businessman who had just joined the group, “is that the local health offices still give these food establishments a health clearance when they renew their business permits. Does this mean we’ve accepted that we’re naturally unhygienic?”
“This isn’t the fault of our tourism agencies or officials,” he continued. “Filipinos themselves are to blame. Is it really part of our culture to be this unhygienic? Oh my.”
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“In other countries, you’ll be amazed by the sheer number of tourists,” the resort owner reflected. “You see hundreds of tourist buses and vans on the roads of Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Japan. But here? You’d be lucky to spot a dozen in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, or even Palawan. Why is that? We have world-class destinations, yet we seem to fall short when it comes to hospitality.”
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“To say the least,” concluded the businessman, “we’ve become a nation of diskartidors — cutting corners instead of building a solid system. If we want our neighboring countries to truly Love the Philippines, we need to aim higher. We need to do better.”/PN
