A tourism master plan

Inasmuch as we can’t expect our political leadership to abolish the tourism department anytime soon, we might as well make sure those who are now pretending to lead it are able to do some good.

We need a plan. And I am not surprised we have such a plan… We are very good in drafting plans as if drafting plans is an end in itself. Indeed, we have an update of a previous plan ready for implementation.

But I am almost sure none of the tourism top brass is really familiar with it. Some may not have even read that plan… We spent good money over the years on drafting such plans, but government officials being what they are, nothing really gets implemented.

So, you might ask, what are the Duterte appointed tourism officials doing? Oh, they are busy pretending to be busy. They are finding it difficult to pull up our tourism visitor numbers so they are boosting the tourism visitor numbers of other countries with their frequent trips abroad… supposedly to promote our tourism program, as if they have one.

Kasi naman, President Duterte thought so lowly of this industry that he appointed people who are not competent in delivering on the mandates of the department. A Pinoy reporter was said to have approached Cesar Montano in New York hoping to ask him a few questions about tourism. He declined and offered to sing instead.

When Wanda Teo was screened by the Commission on Appointments, they should have asked her questions based on the 2016-2022 National Tourism Development Plan. Indeed, Sen. Dick Gordon would have been disappointed to find out that Ms. Teo is not familiar with the Tourism Act which he sponsored some years ago… How can she be expected to act on the law’s mandates if she doesn’t know what these are?

Actually, the strategic plan should be considered heaven-sent by a new tourism department head. It contains all the details of the tourism industry, all the facts and figures necessary for decision making.

The National Tourism Development Plan also outlined the many things the department can do to produce the results we claim we want. We must have spent a bundle on the consultants, the market surveys and the collation of private sector sentiment on how to move the industry forward.

I went through the plan last weekend and I don’t see how the hosting of Miss Universe early this year jives with the strategy verbalized in the plan. Of course, they will say that plan was written under the guidance of the last administration. But continuity demands that they take that plan seriously and improve on it if they can.

For example, the plan confirms the need for infrastructure to enable our tourism sector to fly. We commissioned a study done by the Korean International Cooperation Agency to tell us the obvious: NAIA is congested and we ought to have prepared for the era of low cost carriers which dramatically increased flight frequencies.

Another study cited by the Tourism Development Plan, this time made by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) suggested the need for capacity enhancement measures for NAIA. The transfer of general aviation out of NAIA was one JICA suggestion. Introducing direct flights between foreign airports and other gateways like Mactan-Cebu or Clark was also suggested.

JICA also called for expansion projects to improve capacity at NAIA, construction of new airports in Bohol and Albay. All of these suggestions are common sense solutions we shouldn’t have paid consultants to tell us.

Indeed, bringing the tourists directly to the beaches in Cebu, Boracay, Bohol, Palawan and Davao is an obvious way of sparing our guests the horrors of starting their vacation or holiday in the chaotic NAIA. Tourists want to relax. There’s nothing relaxing in Manila.

And speaking of JICA’s recommendation for capacity enhancement measures at NAIA, there is also the no-brainer offer of PAL to finance expansion of Terminal 2’s capacity. I last heard the proposal is being studied by the Government Corporate Counsel. No one knows when the government lawyers will come out with their legal opinion. There is no sense of urgency in government service.

The Tourism Development Plan also lists down our key markets and how to generate more visitors from these countries. The demographic data generated by the study should help tourism officials focus on specific target groups and not the current bahala na “to whom it may concern” approach.

Another study mentioned in the plan was done by TNS, a marketing research firm. The market survey was done across 10 urban capitals worldwide and all respondents are non-Filipinos. This is what they found out:

Fun is the almost universally-dominant motivation for leisure travel, followed by another equally strong motivator which is self discovery. Travelers fall mostly in the 25-44 year old bracket and are more likely to be male. Travelers planning their own trips have become the norm with Asian travelers, organizing their own trips at about a month or two before their flight.

Internet and word-of-mouth are the primary sources of travel information, except for Indonesisa and India, who rely more on brochures and media. Taiwan utilized travel agents. A key driver of tourists coming to the ASEAN region is value-for-money. The Tourism Development Plan is a rather thick document, but just from the portions I excerpted here, I can see that it is ignored and wasted. For example, where in the plan can they justify the blind retired (not a regular tourist) Japanese and the Experience the Philippines tag… or for that matter, the first television ad, Anak.

It is so clear the tourism people are off strategy. McCann should have known that and should have had the guts to guide their client. The two ads may be “feel good” ads for Filipinos, but not hardworking enough to bring in tourists, the principal objective.

We should be talking to foreigners, not Filipinos. We should address what those foreign tourists are looking for in a destination. We should let them know why we are the answer to their prayers.

We should direct our communication to the most prospective markets, using media they are likely to consult when they plan their trips. For all the expense and heartache in producing and airing those television commercials, we may even be using the wrong medium to reach our market… or at least it is not the most cost effective.

I am sure Wanda Teo and her gang of world junketeers in our tourism department is clueless about marketing imperatives. As a taxpayer, I can only shake my head and complain that my hard earned money is being wasted by people who don’t know what they are doing.

But I want them to succeed. I suggest they dust off their National Tourism Development Plan 2016-2022 and follow the master plan.

Crowd sourcing the next campaign, announced by a tourism assistant secretary, is a populist approach, but not a good idea. Our tourism efforts should always be on strategy and crowd sourcing will just get them off strat.

Review the strategic plan, revise as needed and use it as the basis of everything they intend to do… whether to join a tourism expo or do another commercial.

Well… that’s what professional marketing people will do. The amateurs who got their jobs on sheer political influence have other objectives.

And yes, the plan also listed down infrastructure needed. Without good infra like decent airports, we will be struggling to keep up with our regional neighbors. We know that, too.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco