Attracting tourists and making them buy more in the Philippines

Where to buy souvenirs is a challenge to Taiwanese tourists.

I had been traveling a lot during last holiday season.

I went to London before Christmas Eve to enjoy some free time with my friend, had my first English afternoon tea, listened to my first musical, and visited a lot of Christmas markets in London.

Surprisingly, since I have lived in the Philippines for almost four years, and the weather in Manila is always pleasant, it was quite difficult to get used to the weather in London. Unlike the brilliant sunny days people enjoy in Manila, the chilly wind and drizzle in London really made me hesitate to go shopping or sightseeing and just wanted to stay indoors and have hot chocolate or coffee with my friend.

Another thing I didn’t expect was that the Christmas lights in Manila were actually as splendid and resplendent as London and the festive atmosphere here was no less than London.

Coming from Taiwan where Christmas is not such a big thing as in the Philippines, I had been amazed at why Filipinos are buying so many things and so many people flocking into the mall during the Christmas season. But considering the characteristics of Filipinos such as fun-loving and familyoriented, it’s easier to understand why people enjoy Christmas so much here.

Nevertheless, I found it a pity that Filipino cultural touch seems a bit lacking in the terminals of the Manila International Airport, and the terminals are not designed for tourists to spend money, to put it simply.

For most Taiwanese, when mentioning gifts or souvenirs from the Philippines, the first thing that pops into their minds is usually dried mango or banana. While there are many delicate and affordable handcrafts in the Philippines which can easily catch people’s eyes, it’s not easy to find them. That’s why I am always asked by my Taiwanese friends: What can we buy as souvenirs for my friends when going back to Taiwan? Where can I find them?

Before I came back from London to Manila, my friend told me that “You must go to the airport earlier, you’ll shop till you drop!” My friend isn’t someone who loves shopping, so it was quite convincing, and when I got into the airport and went on the way to the boarding gate, it was like I wanted to buy almost everything I saw and bring them all back to the Philippines because they seemed so British, and I was thinking who else I can give those gifts to.

One week later, I went to Coron, Palawan for New Year’s Eve and found the next day that my friend and I were stuck in Coron and couldn’t go back to Manila because of the power outage at the Manila Airport and cancellation of flights.

It was disappointing and tiring waiting in line at the Busuanga Airport to book the next flight available back to Manila. But most important of all, the airport shops were all closed due to the cancellation of flights, and even though they were open, tourists were not eager to shop or spend time inside as the items in the shops were not very attractive to trigger purchase.

So I started wondering what the differences were.

I heard many Taiwanese saying that when they visit Japan, they can’t stop shopping because the products are so cute, easy-to-use, or just meet their needs. The same things also apply to the items in the airport shops in London which will instantly trigger impulse buying as you don’t know when you’ll visit the country again.

Thus, tourism and transportation agencies should really take into account the fact that tourists want to buy more as long as you give them the reason to and upgrade the shops in airports around the country which is beneficial to both consumers and the tourism industry.

Tourists want to buy more as long as you give them the reason to.