Recent events in Mindanao can be considered an eye-opener for government to fully adopt a “one-country approach” in tourism marketing, a tourism official said.
In a coordination and networking meeting between tourism stakeholders from Central Visayas and Mindanao on Friday, Tourism Undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez said that although the country’s Muslim-dominated island may stand to lose tourism revenue due to martial law currently in effect there, the Philippines as a whole does not have to.
“One thing we can do to mitigate the effects of this crisis is to make sure we don’t lose the market,” she said during the gathering held in Cebu City.
The continued siege in Marawi City as well as the declaration of martial law over Mindanao has caused massive hotel and tour cancellations there, with thousands employed in the tourism industry at risk of losing their jobs if the situation continues.
But Jimenez said that if they are able to keep tourism revenues in the country by diverting Mindanao’s market to other regions, the income generated from this can be used to help depressed areas to recover.
The official said this should have already been the mind-set even before all the challenges confronting the tourism industry today.
“It should be Philippines versus others, not region versus region or province versus province,” she said.
Inventory
Under the “one country, one program” approach, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will take an inventory of all the country’s tourism products and market these according to the climate.
This way, the country has something to offer tourists all year round as a more sustainable way of promoting what the Philippines can offer.
Last month, Sarangani province canceled the SarBay (Sarangani Bay) Festival, an event which would have attracted 120,000 people, following the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
Jimenez said big events like these can always be transferred somewhere else, so regional tourism offices need to be ready for sudden transitions.
She said regional offices are now preparing transition plans.
Friday’s coordination meeting, Jimenez added, was an example of how tourism players in Mindanao can determine what they are capable of doing and where to divert their market during times of crisis.
Representatives from Regions 9, 10, 11 and 13 took part in the discussions.
“It can be a crisis in Mindanao, but it can also be an opportunity for other regions. It can also be reversed,” said Jimenez.
Nonetheless, she said this was one way to spread the benefits of tourism such that in limiting the usage of products in one area, markets are farmed out to other regions where those with less can gain.
Alternative destinations
DOT Central Visayas (DOT-7) Officer-in-Charge Judy Gabato said Mindanao players can refer their markets to alternative destinations found outside Mindanao.
“We have similar attractions and so much more, but so do the other regions. We are not competing against each other, but complementing one another,” she said.
The recent coordination and networking meeting was a result of a previous discussion among Cebu tourism stakeholders, whom Gabato described were very supportive in coming up with the arrangement.
She said this was timely since there has been a growing concern on the number of cancellations brought about by events such as the Marawi siege, martial law declaration and even the Abu Sayyaf and government skirmishes in Bohol last April.
Gabato said the gathering was only the first step in government’s thrust toward interregional coordination as the tourism department still plans to mount more exchanges in the coming months.
Alice Queblatin, president of the Cebu Association of Tour Operation Specialists (Catos), said they even plan to bring tour operators from Mindanao to Cebu so they can see how things are done here.
She said that through this familiarization tours, they will also be able to sell Cebu in Mindanao.
“There are times when we don’t have to look at personal profit. What we have to look at is the sustainability of the industry,” said Queblatin.
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