Have ride, will travel

After a sentimental in-out visit to Palawan province last Saturday, I can’t help recalling my many tourismrelated adventures and experiences as a tourist/traveler and as a resort builder in Busuanga, Palawan. Those were the days when travel options were limited to flying with “Tutubi Airlines” which meant flying those 4- or 6-seater planes, two seats up front for the pilot and the student or apprentice pilot and four passengers in the back. Yes, those were exciting days as well as sometimes frightening every now and then. My wife and I actually saw smoke come out from the instrument panels followed by a “stall warning” a buzzer telling you that your SINGLE engine is seriously considering stalling or conking out.

We once avoided being plastered on a hill called Susong Dalaga or Maiden’s Breast when we were flying through clouds and I caught a glimpse of the shoreline and alerted the pilot that we were too low and about to hit the hill if he did not pull up. We were flying by sight and compass and luckily, he believed me and pulled up with 20 feet to spare!!! On one flight, a lone passenger was asked to walk back toward the tail lift the floor cover and try cranking the rear landing gear down because it was stuck! Back then those planes had such a scary reputation that some made jokes of them by calling their companies Pacific Scare and Aerospirit or Aerosplit.

In the 80’s and 90’s, many airports were nothing more than gravel tarmacs and the most “sophisticated” or upgraded would be those with a concrete landing pad just wide enough and long enough to take the initial landing or contact of the planes that carried 40 passengers, etc. The cement pod would prevent the plane from sinking into the gravel whenever it was rainy. Actually nine times out of ten, if the “airport” in those provincial destinations report rainy weather, especially in Palawan, chances are the airport would be closed and the flights canceled. Even then, the flights were very pricey, and the sad thing is that even today, when airports are so much better and comparatively modernized and planes have more capacity, the airfares are very expensive compared to regional fares versus distance.

For this reason, families and groups have opted to go by boat. In the early days, we traveled via wooden cargo ships called “batil” – they were slow, cheap but got you there. The only hitch was that the best accommodations were a canvas cot, sardines and rice or biscuits and they were slow to load, slower to leave and slower to get to your destination. Nowadays, the ferries are very modern, faster, affordable, clean and comfortable. The only problem is that a couple of those ferries recently caught fire enroute, and they are few in comparison to the many destinations and volume of passengers all over the country.

In fact, it is an undeveloped industry with major potential for revenues and economic growth. In spite of all these, Filipinos continue to travel and have become even more adventurous and are now going to uncharted, out of the way places using cars, motorcycles, bikes, SUV campers, tents, Airbnb, etc. There would be millions more who would travel if only the government could properly address their many challenges.

At the moment, first and foremost concern is the high cost or expensive airfares. Yes, there are justifications up to some levels, but even airport and industry experts have been saying that the prices need to be addressed in light of a “duopoly” controlling the block of local flights. Even companies have resorted to sending their sales forces, supervisors via land because the airfares are so expensive and the total travel time of going to airports, check-ins, delays, flights etc., ends up not making much difference.

While in Ilocos Sur, I learned that bus companies were not using the expressways in order to save money. But as a result, the travel time becomes two hours longer. Tourists and travelers were wondering why the bus companies did not simply add the difference to the ticket and cut the trip by two hours and save fuel as well. In the meantime, travelers from Metro Manila going north are still complaining about the inconvenience created by government and the MMDA regarding the ban on tourist bus terminals on EDSA from 5 am to 10 pm. Given the limited number of tourist buses and the adoption of the in-out arrival and departure at terminals, any sort of congestion or obstruction had long been solved.

I recently read that the incoming leadership at the Department of Tourism is looking into a review or study of airports in the Philippines in relation to tourist expectations and requirements. I’m sure that quite a number of people will be reacting to this, given the fact that airports are merely transition points in a traveler’s journey and not the magnet or the driver for tourism, both local and international. Yes, we can all use nice and comfortable airports, but most travelers really just want to get in and out of the airport when traveling as tourists.

Tourists want to get the most for their money, make the most of their time, and get to see the beauty of the Philippines. Rationalize the cost of travel and accommodation, address the third world quality of telecoms and internet, and address the need for safe quality transport. If anything, the BBM administration should address the corruption and kilometer-long congestions delays in many ports such as the Matnog-Allen port as well as shipping lines, ferries and bus companies who refuse to take online reservations or don’t provide such. Address these and leave airport concerns for later.

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