Packaging the RP for domestic and international tourism

WE don't envy Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon these days. With all the things happening in the peace and order front, we are surprised that he hadn't yet thrown in the towel. But we certainly admire his tenacity and patience.

Dick is one of these rare individuals who thrive and perhaps blossom under difficult circumstances. These days he is promoting the country in many different ways - print and broadcast ads and international fairs, etc. He has certainly been quite imaginative in his approach and I am sure these initiatives would eventually pay off - if not in pesos, at least in terms of a more positive image for the country. The most recent idea is that of promoting the country as an attractive retirement haven for both foreigners and Filipinos abroad. Of course the recent award - the Overall Best Marketing Travel award which the Philippines recently won in the Internationale Tourismus Borse, the biggest event held annually in Berlin is a recognition of his talent in promoting tourism.

The most difficult hurdle is the budget. We understand that he has only the equivalent of $9 million as compared with Malaysia and Thailand which have allotted some $40 to $70 million for promotions. Last year (which was a bad year because of the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings), we only had 1.8 million tourists as compared again with our Asean neighbors, Malaysia and Thailand which had about 15 million visitors. And of course many of the 1.8 million included our balikbayans.

Even academic institutions in the United States are aware of our "reputation" since they had deleted the Philippines from the list of Asian countries recommended for field work of their academics. Just recently, a granddaughter from Princeton University sent us a list of countries where she was asked to select from in connection with her field research. What was really disturbing is that only the Philippines and another country were not included in the list. Cambodia, Nepal, Vietnam and even Indonesia were in the list. I suspect some countries like the US still have advisories on not allowing their citizens to visit certain "hot spots" in the country. It is a pity since in the case of the field work I mentioned, the area of research was assessment of NGO initiatives in credit management. In terms of dynamism and track record, our NGOs are far more advanced than many countries in Asia. But of course the kidnappings in Mindanao and the like had prompted some countries to list us under dangerous or troubled spots.

We appreciate the efforts of Secretary Gordon who is ably assisted by Undersecretary Evelyn Pantig (also chairperson of one of the committees of the World Press Freedom Day Organizing Group) and Director of Domestic Tourism Cynthia Lazo. We are aware of many of the creative initiatives of Cynthia in promoting domestic tourism and especially commend what she is doing in a very important development concern - ecotourism.

On May 1-3, the country will be host to fifty journalists and some 20 officials from UNESCO Paris and other regional offices in connection with World Press Freedom Day. To date, we have confirmation from journalists and media experts from Ecuador, Jamaica, Jordan, Maroc, Colombia, Poland, Rwanda, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United States, Zimbabwe, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji Islands, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor and Vietnam. The media NGOs which have confirmed participation include Aliansijurnalisindependen, the Asia-Pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development, Article 19, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Committee to Protect Journalists, Confederation of ASEAN Journalists, Freedom Forum, Human Rights Watch, Inter American Press Association, International Federation of Journalists, Reporters sans frontieres, World Association of Newspapers, World Press Freedom Committee, Pacific Islands News Association, Southeast Asian Press Alliance, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, About seventy participants from the Philippines will be invited and these include members from the various press and media organizations, community media and NGOs involved in media freedom advocacy.

Needless to say the foreign journalists are the eyes and ears of their respective countries and what they would have to say about the country will be significant to our objective of improving our image. Some of them may stay beyond the three-day conference which will culminate in the awarding of the Guillermo Cano Prize which will be given to a courageous freedom fighter from Zimbabwe, Geoffrey Nyarota. The award will be given in Malacañang by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo together with UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura. Mr. Nyarota is editor-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Daily News.