Punto De Vista: Hindi nagpapahuli ang Pilipinas pagdating sa magagandang tourist destinations
Punto De Vista: Hindi nagpapahuli ang Pilipinas pagdating sa magagandang tourist destinations
Transcript
00:00The Philippines does not lag behind when it comes to beautiful tourist destinations.
00:04It has proven several times that it is known for its tourism sites,
00:08such as beautiful beach and heritage sites.
00:11But it is not without its own problems and challenges that tourism is facing in the country.
00:15This is what Professor Antonio Contreras will discuss in Punto de Vista, Professor.
00:20Good morning to all of you in the studio.
00:32The other day, we read on a post on social media
00:38that Shell Cow is one of the four most affordable tourist destinations.
00:46And a lot of people were asking,
00:48is it affordable?
00:50Is it really cheap?
00:52Because personally, I can attest to that.
00:55Because of course, we are also planning our family vacations
00:58and we are looking at the post of Shell Cow
01:01and it shows that it is very expensive to go there.
01:04Massages are expensive, hotels are expensive.
01:07So when we say affordable,
01:09it is only affordable for tourists from other countries.
01:14But one of my friends who is a frequent traveler,
01:18he said that if you compare the cost of traveling to the Philippines
01:23to various destinations,
01:25to destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,
01:31it is still a bit more expensive for us.
01:34That is one point.
01:36Second, one of the reasons why it is not attractive
01:40if you compare traveling to the Philippines
01:43and this is not because we don't have beautiful sceneries.
01:47In fact, he said,
01:49I can attest to that because I have been to other places,
01:52to other countries.
01:53Our beaches,
01:54the beaches in other countries,
01:56our marine areas,
02:00our diving areas are very beautiful.
02:03It is very rich in biodiversity.
02:05So my friend said that
02:07we will not lose when it comes to beauty.
02:10That is why he said,
02:11aside from being a bit expensive,
02:13the inconvenience of travel,
02:15when you travel between islands,
02:18the energy level or stress level is too high.
02:23And the airports,
02:25there are regional airports,
02:27even though there are new airports,
02:29there are still regional airports
02:31that are not competitive compared to other countries.
02:34So that is the second.
02:35The third reason why my foreign friends said
02:40that they are looking for a Filipino culture.
02:43Because when you go to Thailand,
02:44and I witnessed this,
02:46when you go to their resorts,
02:48you will see the culture of Thailand,
02:50the food,
02:51their shows.
02:52In the Philippines,
02:53and I can say this myself,
02:55when you go to Boracay,
02:56what will you see?
02:57Korean food,
02:58Italian food.
03:00Right?
03:02Those are the restaurants.
03:04And when you go to the cultural shows,
03:06you will see fire dance.
03:08That is a Filipino fire dance.
03:10That is a Pacific Islander.
03:12So they are looking for a Filipino tourist.
03:16So,
03:17that is what the foreigners themselves are saying
03:21that it is hard to travel in our country.
03:25They are foreigners.
03:27So how can we ordinary Filipinos
03:32who really love to travel.
03:35In fact,
03:36it is cheaper to travel to Taipei,
03:39or Bangkok,
03:40or Singapore,
03:41or Hong Kong
03:42than to go to a tourist attraction
03:43that is really beautiful.
03:46You will go to Siargao,
03:48a whole family,
03:49or even better,
03:50you will go to Disneyland in Hong Kong.
03:53Right?
03:54Because it is cheaper.
03:56So that is what the Department of Tourism should be looking for.
04:00There are a lot of improvements that we are doing,
04:03but we still have a lot to do
04:05so that we can be more competitive
04:07with other countries.
04:09And we should also think,
04:11when we say tourism,
04:12even though our primary market
04:14is other countries,
04:16other nationals,
04:17because they bring dollar revenue to us,
04:21let us not forget our fellow Filipinos.
04:24Let us also make it affordable
04:27for our fellow Filipinos,
04:29for our fellow Filipinos to travel
04:32and to travel to many beautiful places in our country.
04:37So that is my point of view for today.
04:40Thank you very much.
04:41And I will see you again in the studio.
04:45Thank you very much, Professor Contreras.