How can the philippine tourism industry become more attractive to foreign tourists?
the philippines have a lot of natural assets that should make the country competitive in the tourism industry, but stats show that the philippines is underachieving in tourist numbers.
tourism numbers show just under 3 mil for philippines in 2007, over 21 mil for malaysia and over 4 mil for bali.
apparently, philippines should be up to par with these countries.
so, in your opinion, whats keeping people from visiting the philippines?
please dont take my reply as bashing but here is my honest opinion.
there is really not a great reason to go to the philippines. its not that nice of a place. what would make somebody fly for hours and spend thousands of dollars to visit there?
you have old fat white guys visiting because they can spend the night with a young filipina. ok, thats not exactly the kind of tourist you want to attract but looking at it from the tourist’s point of view thats one of the few reasons to pick the philippines over another country.
what other reasons are there to visit? beautiful tourist attractions? hmmm, i dont think so. the most interesting thing i have seen as far was corregidor island. i dont think there are too many tourists interested enough to come all the way to the philippines to see it. the philippines isnt known for world class art museums or anything like that.
it does have a very beautiful beach at boracay but what a pain in the butt to get there!! the airport setup is horrible in manila and there is no clear way to get from one terminal to another as is the standard everywhere else in the world. there are beautiful beaches in many other places that are closer to home. why go to the philippines over someplace closer and at least equally as nice if not nicer.
shopping? who is going to spend over a thousand dollars on airfare and sit on a plane or in airports for 27 hours in each direction in order to buy cheap chinese fakes? most of the genuine items, such as genuine electronics are cheaper to buy in america anyway.
medical tourism? sorry, i dont see an advantage the philippines has over places like bangkok. most americans have health insurance and medically necessary procedures are paid for in the usa so cost is not an issue. bangkok seems to be the place of choice for non-necessary procedures (plastic surgery).
there is not actually anything "keeping" people from visiting the philippines. (although it does have a reputation as being a destination where people try to rip you off). there just isnt anything making the philippines a "must visit" destination.
there are easy things that can be done to improve the image of the philippines to people that actually do visit. some of these will cost almost nothing. here is a small list:
1. stop charging people more because they are not filipino. i challenge anyone to call any hotel in manila and try to book a room and get a rate. then call back and say you want a rate for your american boss. watch how much they rip you off. now imagine if you only spoke english and wanted the room.
2. stop spitting and pissing all over the place. its disgusting.
3. get your airport straightened out. every tourist comes through your airport and it is a nightmare. you need to keep stopping at booths to pay things that should just be included in the tickets. things regularly get stolen out of luggage. getting from one terminal to another is somewhere between confusing and impossible.
4. get rid of the smoke belching jeepneys and get a real public transportation system that doesnt hold up traffic every 10 meters.
5. wash your buildings and enforce air pollution laws. there is dirt from diesel fuel on everything. it makes your capital city look even more dirty than it already is.
6. stop aggressive beggars. in fact, stop the entire attitude of just putting your hand out every time you see a foreigner. i give plenty to charities inthe philippines so money isnt the issue. being followed everywhere by people holding their hand out sucks and isnt exactly making vacationers happy. december is a nightmare to be in the philippines as you here a constant repetition of "we wish you a merry christmas" with people sticking their hands at you with their palm facing upwards. apparently this is what christmas means here.
7. get all the vendors off the sidewalk so people can walk on them.
8. when you see a foreigner with a younger woman it doesnt mean she is a prostitute so stop yelling insults at her. even before i could speak tagalog it was very easy to understand what the insults were. while you are at it stop yelling "hey joe" as that is an insult too. probably even more insulting to those that arent even from america. i dont yell "hey chink" to asian people in my country.
You don’t want Brits there because they get drunk, walk around chanting football songs and bothering people, everywhere else around the world.
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crime rate, too much taxes for no reason,bad gorvernment., who likes to spend money with that.
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The crime rate is high. Its too dangerous to go to most places at night. I mean you run the risk of getting robbed or assulted when you go out. Plus the pollution is a MAJOR problem. Its hard for tourists to go to a country that is as polluted as the Philippines.
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please dont take my reply as bashing but here is my honest opinion.
there is really not a great reason to go to the philippines. its not that nice of a place. what would make somebody fly for hours and spend thousands of dollars to visit there?
you have old fat white guys visiting because they can spend the night with a young filipina. ok, thats not exactly the kind of tourist you want to attract but looking at it from the tourist’s point of view thats one of the few reasons to pick the philippines over another country.
what other reasons are there to visit? beautiful tourist attractions? hmmm, i dont think so. the most interesting thing i have seen as far was corregidor island. i dont think there are too many tourists interested enough to come all the way to the philippines to see it. the philippines isnt known for world class art museums or anything like that.
it does have a very beautiful beach at boracay but what a pain in the butt to get there!! the airport setup is horrible in manila and there is no clear way to get from one terminal to another as is the standard everywhere else in the world. there are beautiful beaches in many other places that are closer to home. why go to the philippines over someplace closer and at least equally as nice if not nicer.
shopping? who is going to spend over a thousand dollars on airfare and sit on a plane or in airports for 27 hours in each direction in order to buy cheap chinese fakes? most of the genuine items, such as genuine electronics are cheaper to buy in america anyway.
medical tourism? sorry, i dont see an advantage the philippines has over places like bangkok. most americans have health insurance and medically necessary procedures are paid for in the usa so cost is not an issue. bangkok seems to be the place of choice for non-necessary procedures (plastic surgery).
there is not actually anything "keeping" people from visiting the philippines. (although it does have a reputation as being a destination where people try to rip you off). there just isnt anything making the philippines a "must visit" destination.
there are easy things that can be done to improve the image of the philippines to people that actually do visit. some of these will cost almost nothing. here is a small list:
1. stop charging people more because they are not filipino. i challenge anyone to call any hotel in manila and try to book a room and get a rate. then call back and say you want a rate for your american boss. watch how much they rip you off. now imagine if you only spoke english and wanted the room.
2. stop spitting and pissing all over the place. its disgusting.
3. get your airport straightened out. every tourist comes through your airport and it is a nightmare. you need to keep stopping at booths to pay things that should just be included in the tickets. things regularly get stolen out of luggage. getting from one terminal to another is somewhere between confusing and impossible.
4. get rid of the smoke belching jeepneys and get a real public transportation system that doesnt hold up traffic every 10 meters.
5. wash your buildings and enforce air pollution laws. there is dirt from diesel fuel on everything. it makes your capital city look even more dirty than it already is.
6. stop aggressive beggars. in fact, stop the entire attitude of just putting your hand out every time you see a foreigner. i give plenty to charities inthe philippines so money isnt the issue. being followed everywhere by people holding their hand out sucks and isnt exactly making vacationers happy. december is a nightmare to be in the philippines as you here a constant repetition of "we wish you a merry christmas" with people sticking their hands at you with their palm facing upwards. apparently this is what christmas means here.
7. get all the vendors off the sidewalk so people can walk on them.
8. when you see a foreigner with a younger woman it doesnt mean she is a prostitute so stop yelling insults at her. even before i could speak tagalog it was very easy to understand what the insults were. while you are at it stop yelling "hey joe" as that is an insult too. probably even more insulting to those that arent even from america. i dont yell "hey chink" to asian people in my country.
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@unicorn- tourists dont care of the fighting is only in mindinao. it doesnt matter to them. the will pick a country where there is no fighting over one that has it. (and there are plenty of incidents in manila so it is not only mindinao)
Fizz is right and I would say stop ripping of the tourists
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that’s easy, clean up the place and kill the rebels.
Oh yeah, and fizz reminded me that the airport looks and sometimes smells like something I would rather not write in this answer.
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Corregidor? Oh my Gosh Fizz that is not even a pinch of what the Philippines has to offer. You are right on a lot of things but not on the sights.
The Philippines would be more attractive if it were easy to travel from one place to another especially to tourist spots. Yah, the airport sucks. Think of it as a mountain. It’s always worth the climb once you reach the peak. Some fantastic places to go to are the Banaue Rice Terraces, Sagada (one of the best caves based on lonely planet!), Palawan (from there you can go to Tubataha Reef, one of the best places to dive) and tons more! A lot of tourists go to the Philippines for diving. Yes, people would spend a lot (airfare) to dive in the Philippines because it is too beautiful to miss. People should go around the Philippines first before criticizing. Please don’t expect much things to see in Metro Manila, seriously. Or places near it like Corregidor and Tagaytay. You really have to take a long ride from Manila to see the untouched wonders it has to offer.
One of the biggest reasons why tourists don’t go the Philippines is because of the high crime rate. I doubt if this will change soon but never the less, still beautiful!
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I agree with almost all the big eye says,except I think Karen is right when she says there really are some interesting things to see. But I would add one thing cause I have friends who will never return for one reason. Police corruption and shake downs. If you cant trust the people hired to protect you then your country is worse then lawless. They make the foreign men who are NOT perverts feel like they are and the ones who ARE can do as they please by having money to bribe the police to look the other way!
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1. Settle your problems down south in Mindano and the sulu archepelico. Stop making the Philippines a safe haven for terrorists.
People read the Embassy warnings and don’t understand the problems are confied mostly to the southern tip of Mindano and sulu. They just see "Philippines" and terrorist and kidnap warnings.
2. As Fizz pointed out, your airports are confusing and you keep getting nickel and dimed to death on things that already should be included in your ticket.
3. Stop overcharging tourists. Everything from the taxi driver to the hotel your paying double the going rate for everything just because your a foreigner. I have nothing against people making a decent profit or living, but double or triplecharging tourists with the "long nosed tax" just plain pisses us off.
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USN Retired, married and living in the Philippines since 2002. Visiting the Philippines since 1983.
foreigners think the rebel fighting (confined only in some parts of mindanao) is happening all over the philippines. this is like saying dont go to middle east coz theres war there but in reality war is going on in certain parts of iran only.
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Our South East Asian neighbors are spending more on tourism promotion and come to think of it they do have most of what we offer (pristine beaches, friendly smiles, exotic places —yes even our handicrafts, "halo-halo" dessert and "guryon" kite).
Here’s one we have which our neighbors don’t:
OUR CENTURIES-OLD CHURCHES!
Our neighboring countries does not have this Spanish colonial history like ours and our old churches are simply beautiful. Many of these churches pre-dates those in the United States and even Europe. Some are World Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO.
Oh and all we care to shout out about is Boracay.
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My nationalistic heart and mind.