Learn from Bali, let tourists see through our own eyes

Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez

The Philippines could learn to imbibe marketing and presentation practices from Bali, Indonesia.

Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte’s 4th district said that if this would be done, then it would be easier for us to make tourists see things through “our own eyes.”

Torres-Gomez gave this advice to industry leaders during the 25th Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC), which opened in Ormoc City yesterday.

She said she believed that the Visayas, even in its “raw and rugged” state, would be ready for a greater economic boom.

“The time is now. We don’t have to be the best in the world. We just have to be the best version of ourselves,” she told close to 500 delegates from Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), 8 (Eastern Visayas), and 18 (Negros Island).

The VABC is an annual conference held by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). This year the chamber group in Ormoc City hosted the annual conference which aims to promote regions in the area and the rest of the country.

The conference will cover tourism, agriculture, energy connectivity and governance.

Torres-Gomez, who heads the Congressional committee on tourism, said there was no greater time to invite more people to come to the Visayas than the present.

She said that the area may not be as sought-after as the US, Europe, or China and not even as “glossy” as Makati in Metro Manila, but Visayas is what it is.

“We are different, but just as beautiful,” Torres-Gomez, who hails from Ormoc City, added.

She said the soul of tourism isn’t so much about its physical aspects, but more of the feeling one walks away with after a visit.

Bali experience

She recalled her visit to Bali, Indonesia with three other celebrity friends five years ago, following the release of the Julia Roberts-led film “Eat, Pray, Love,” where some scenes of the movie were shot on the island.

She said that Bali might be tagged as among the top tourist destinations in the world, but whatever it had, the Philippines also had it and even so much more.

“But everything there is presented with a confidence that isn’t present in many areas in the Philippines,” she said.

A glass boat fishing service on the island, for example, was advertised as an experience where tourists would get to see different kinds of fish through a glass panel that doubled as their boat’s flooring.

She said she and her group of friends did not expect the fish that they would see were as small as dilis, but she did have a fun experience nonetheless.

Human capital

She also pointed out that Bali recognized and organized its human capital, which was a practice being done in places where tourism had boomed.

She said if the country could learn to market and do the presentation practices that Bali did, then it would be easier to let tourists see things through “our own eyes.”

She also suggested that the tourism industry learn to diversify its products and take advantage of features that would only be available in certain areas.

Mysticism, food

Amor Maclang of Geiser Maclang Marketing Communications, Inc. agreed with Rep. Torres-Gomez and said that the industry should be true to itself to be considered world-class.

“You don’t have to go to Bali to experience mysticism. You can always go to Siquijor. Negros Oriental, which is also known as the most environmentally conscious province, having planted 10 million trees already. Believe me, that is what Bhutan is doing,” she said.

Maclang also said that eating in the Visayas had been so underrated, adding that different regions had distinct takes on a certain types of food such as torta, quiseo or chorizo.

Complement

Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan, meanwhile, said regions in the Visayas should not compete with one another, but instead complement one another.

She said there are tourist spots that are present in Samar that have no counterpart in Leyte and vice versa; thus, she added, resource sharing can be done.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has been advocating a unified Visayas, with the theme “one culture, one people, one destiny.”

Karen Tiopes, DOT-8 regional director, said that regions in the Visayas could offer common products to boost tourism in the area.

She cited longer diving packages, where tourists could easily go from region to region for dive spots, as well as cultural tours.