Why the Philippines isn’t a country worth visiting -yet
As a writer in the travel industry, particularly of Asian destinations, it frustrates me greatly that nobody is interested in visiting the Philippines. In this weekend’s New York Times’ travel section, the “Asia Issue,” they list 37, count them 37, cities within Asia worth visiting in 2011. Not one of them is in the Philippines.
As a Filipino born and raised in the Philippines, and as a travel writer who has visited a large swath of the country, I believe that at least one city or island —whether it’s Cebu, someplace in Palawan, or even Manila— deserves to be on that list. Not because I’m a zealous patriot; on the contrary, it disturbs me when Filipinos want recognition for something or someone on the merit of being remotely associated with the Philippines (really, get over it, people —most half-Filipino, half-another-race Youtube sensations and mini-celebrities should have little or nothing to do with what makes you proud of our country. They are not validation that Filipinos and the Philippines are worth taking seriously).
The main stumbling block for why magazine editors and travelers interested in Asia aren’t interested in the Philippines isn’t because it’s not interesting. It’s because they don’t know what to think about it. You’ve heard this before —the Philippines has a massive PR problem. And don’t blame it on selectively negative news coverage —enough countries get reported on for their problems with terrorism, corruption, poverty, and natural disasters, yet they are able to sell themselves effectively as an appealing tourism destination. Up until last year, Sri Lanka was embroiled in a bloody, bloody civil war. Despite that, it has become a hot destination, even the “next big thing.” Up until a few months ago, culturally sensitive travelers were adamant about not visiting Myanmar (or Burma, as I’m sure they would insist on calling it) because of its oppressive military regime that held a Nobel Peace Prize activist under house arrest for 15 years. When Aung San Suu Kyi was released in November 2010, there was a demand for travel to Myanmar. I know this because I am in the business of promoting travel to Asia, and in the past year, there has been an uptick in interest in these two destinations, despite the fact that one very recently experienced genocide, with still simmering ethnic tensions, and the other is still run by a tight-fisted military government. Both Sri Lanka and Myanmar, by the way, are listed in the New York Times’ feature.
Yet the Philippines can’t sell itself, with its relatively peaceful political situation, its unique mix of cultural heritage, and its arguably superior beaches. Click on the map of the Times’ article, and you’ll see how sad and pathetic it is that this entire country, with over 7,000 islands, can’t get a nod from the the world’s most influential editors. And it’s not just the Times —pick up any travel publication, even ones focused on Asia like Destinasian or Lonely Planet Asia, and if you haven’t noticed this already, you’ll find that hardly anybody writes about, i.e. promotes, the Philippines.
I strongly believe that it’s because nobody knows how, or nobody has tried hard enough. I’m tempted to assign blame —to the ineffective Tourism Board, to insular and unambitious travel industry professionals in the Philippines, to a corrupt government that does not facilitate a tourism-driven economy, to well-meaning but misguided Filipinos who want to wave the national flag but do not raise the Philippine profile in ways that get the world truly interested in us, as a people and as a country worth visiting. All of us Filipinos are to blame, including I who actually have an avenue, through my job creating customized trips for rich travelers, to promote the Philippines. But my knowledge and my passion for the Philippines as a worthy destination has limited reach and it is hampered mostly by travelers’ ambivalence about how to perceive this tropical archipelago with a democratic government.
We are not a country at war, we have abundant natural beauty, and we have enough tourist attractions and cultural sites. For all intents and purposes, the Philippines should be recognized as a place worth visiting. But as I’ve pointed out, good intentions aren’t going to get us anywhere. Philippine tourism professionals need a more thoughtful approach to what makes the Philippines at least as worthy as Thailand, or even Vietnam, and they need to put more effort and resources to marketing beyond a local or regional audience. Needless to say, we also need government support. The average Filipino, for his or her part, can not only patronize domestic destinations (always a good thing) but also become more educated and self-aware about how the Philippines represents itself, beyond American Idol contenders.
I do believe that one day people around the world will want to add the Philippines to a must-visit country list. I plan to be at the forefront of that campaign.
