Innovation in the margins

Malou Guanzon-Apalisok

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry is doing a splendid job of raising Cebu’s visibility as a choice MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) venue through its hosting of the Tourism Innovation Forum last week and the Innovation Forum Summit and Expo which opens today at an uptown hotel. Both events are part of the 2018 Cebu Business Month with “innovation” as overarching theme.

“Innovation is a buzzword that businessmen can’t live without,” says an observer and if you think that the pressure is being felt only by enterprises of the traditional mold, think again.

Mark Zuckerberg, the digital giant whose net worth is pegged at more than US64 billion and whose flagship enterprise Facebook embodies technological innovation in every respect is still bothered that the company has gotten too big and stops staying ahead.

The innovator’s success can be its own undoing, in other words.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO describes innovation in the context of the Gold Rush wherein one thinks the challenge is done once the last gold nugget is unearthed.

With innovation, there is no last nugget. “Every new thing creates two new questions and two new opportunities,” Bezos asserts.

Interestingly, innovation was also at the heart of my conversation with retired Major General Gilbert S. Llanto of the Philippine Air Force and current chairman of the country’s biggest and highly diversified ACDI Multipurpose Cooperative.

With over 152,000 members limited to active and retired members of the Armed Forces, ACDI has an asset base estimated at P18 billion, making it the wealthiest self-help organization in the country today.
ACDI was founded in 1982 by 15 combat pilots of the Phil. Air Force.

The co-op ran by dyed in the wool pilots would later set up an aviation academy, agricultural farms, consumer stores, travel and ticketing agency.

Ever the trailblazer, ACDI will roll out the charter plane service in August this year, the first of such a business capitalized by a cooperative.

According to General Llanto, the country’s top tourist destinations like Boracay and Siargao have been overran by hordes of tourists creating a host of social problems. He hinted that time will come when in bound tourists will shy away from such popular destinations.

Through its charter plane service ACDI is keen to bring domestic and foreign tourists to off-the-beaten track destinations, like Calaguas in Camarines Norte or Cuatro Islas group of islands in Hindang, Leyte, both scenic spots that are unspoiled in beauty.

Two insights emboldened ACDI to go into sustainable tourism: its wide knowledge of the cooperative sector and the interest of local government units who believe in the power of community-based tourism as driver of inclusive economic growth.

Llanto cited the governor of Eastern Samar who earmarked the lgu’s savings of P60 million for the upgrade of basic facilities in anticipation of tourist-driven demand once visitors descend on Guiwan, and Borongan via ACDI’s chartered aircraft service.

And if I may add, the third insight would be social media powered by millennials who will fuel the interest of local and foreign tourists and draw them to off-the-beaten track destinations.

The Philippines travel and tourism T & T sector has been badly beaten in last year’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index wherein we slipped 5 notches from 74 to 79 in the World Economic Forum’s bi-annual report.

As if this is not enough, the Department of Tourism was also pounded by allegations of corruption committed by DOT echelon.

It’s a good thing to talk about new ideas and ways of doing things but when it comes to concrete action, hats off to a cooperative for factoring innovation in an enterprise that targets the most unthinkable and unexpected places: unreachable destinations populated by marginal societies but whose unique culture and pristine communities make for a winner in sustainable, community-based tourism enterprises.