MIDDLE of last week, I had a series of meetings with a Korean businessman who is deeply into the tourism business in Lapulapu and the province of Cebu.
We were discussing about the possibility of converting a useless and virtually idle piece of land in Cebu for tourism purposes.
Because the land is unstable, where soil collapse and erosion are a regular occurrence, vertical infrastructure is impossible in the area. Hence, it is useless.
But the Korean has an idea to convert this useless piece of land into something that will surely attract tourists, both local and international.
How?
Install a Luge entertainment hub.
And what is that?
Luge entertainment offers gravity-fueled, wheeled cart rides down specially designed winding tracts, combining thrills and scenic views.
This kind of business, according to the Korean, is the “only” possible way to transform the useless lot into a revenue-raising high-end tourism hub, because according to him, if the plan pushes through, his group will be investing several billion dollar capital.
So that subject matter naturally triggered several meetings because of the scope of the project, more so because they have no lawyer yet.
* * *
Anyway, I contacted a retired geologist to help the Korean go through the soil stability tests, analysis, and all that heavy stuff.
While waiting for some documents from his staff, we came up with a sad tale on his island-hopping business, restaurant, travel and tours business in Lapulapu and he had one word – the number of tourist is fast declining.
Is that because of seasonal grounds, I asked and he right away said No.
It’s not because of the season, he premised, it’s because of several factors.
One is the fact that tourism is very expensive in the Philippines, many tourists would rather go to other Asian countries like Vietnam. Vietnam he said is more attractive than the Philippines and the principal reason for that is the high cost in the Philippines.
The other thing is infrastructure. Take a look at Da Nang in Vietnam, the infrastructure is definitely amazing, a one-of-a-kind tourism haven. Most tourism stakeholders in the Philippines, he said, hardly allocate huge amount for enhancements, more so with equipment maintenance. Just go to the bathroom/comfort room and what you see or smell speaks volumes of the state of tourism in the country.
Ahem.
And that’s not all, he quickly said.
Security and peace and order is another thing. Killings, muggings, kidnappings and other violent crimes are widely reported not only in the print and broadcast media but also in the social media. This means going to the Philippines is a security-risk.
* * *
I could not help but agree and concur with his evaluation.
My friends would rather visit places other than the Philippines because of the high cost.
Mahal diri sa Pinas, maayo pay mo-byahe sa gawas kay mas barato pa, more especially kay dunay huge discounts sa mga airline companies.
And this massive exodus means a huge dollar evaporation for the Philippines. Instead of spending their money in the Philippines, they are spending them elsewhere. And for sure, the DOT knows this.
But what are they doing about it?
Nada.
Except of course hold plenty of summits, picture-taking, make colorful speeches, make plenty of plans, promises, target-settings and all of that.
Sa papel nindot kaayo pero sa actual, way hinungdan tanan.
And in the meantime, the number of tourist arrivals continues to dip and nobody is doing positive about it.
Husto o dili?
* * *
Asa na man tong mga mayor nga nakadawat og award for a fee or binayran nga award?
Nag-ostrich na lang ba?
Tiaw bay perteng ulawa man nang modawat ta nga dili ta deserving, sagdi na lang tong angayan gyod nga modawat kay nagbinuotan sa trabaho unya nakahimo pod og mga maayo nga buhat.
Samot pa gyod nga makaulaw kadtong nag-program pa gyod para pasidunggan sa award kunohay unya nagpusot-pusot ang pisbok posts.
Anyway, hopefully, ma-leksiyon na siya nga imbes magshort-cut, magtinarong lang god sa ilang trabaho ug dili na magpa-badlong.
Amen.
