Former Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano expounded on the ties that bind culture and tourism in an interactive discussion with the future hoteliers and hospitality practitioners from the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde during the 38th Travel and Tourism Exposition: Cultural Diversity Celebration at the Halle de Aquitaine in Hotel Benilde Maison de La Salle.

Hosted by the school’s premier organization Travelers in Progress, the conference explored how distinct Philippine traditions that range from art, music, literature, architecture, lifestyle, politics and religion affect the country’s tourism.

“Whenever we go to different destinations, my children — both young adults — would say ‘I like the vibe of this place,’” Durano, who currently serves as the chairperson of the Board of the Colegio de San Antonio de Padua in Danao City, shared.

“The word ‘culture’ is not used anymore. We now use the word ‘vibe,’ which pretty much captures what we are trying to talk about.”

Durano stated that there are four intelligences — mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. He opined that the latter is the most important classification.

“In my opinion, what makes the vibe of a locale more intense or better than the others is, if it does not only interact with the mind, the body and the heart of the traveler but also engages with the spirit of the person,” Durano affirmed. “Spirituality is not about religion; it is about encountering, experiencing or having a relationship with your transcendent may it be principle, love, friendship or God.”

He reiterated that a great location speaks beyond the senses, comfort and convenience. It must create a deeper connection with an individual. “I believe the ultimate goal is to make visitors experience something bigger than themselves,” he noted.

Durano believes that anyone can contribute towards making Philippine spots meaningful destinations. One of which is through volunteerism, a growing phenomenon wherein people travel not just for leisure, but also to assist locals may it be through building homes for the homeless, providing aid to the less fortunate or participating in various conservation programs.

“My challenge to volunteerism students here is to use their creativity, entrepreneurial balance and capabilities to choose any place in the country where they can help enhance it so that more and more parts of the Philippines will not only engage the body, mind and heart of the tourists but will also engage their spirit,” he beamed. “I believe this is one way we can make a significant contribution towards the Philippines’ sustainable tourism.”

“Our nature and our culture are our heritage,” he stressed. While Filipinos can save nature through conservation initiatives, Durano voiced out that the next step towards improving the cultural diversity of the country is to promote greater awareness and to give rightful opportunities to all local cultural groups to showcase and present themselves.

He also noted that one of the challenges today is the effect of the rise of globalization and of the Internet. “I believe that it is the strength of Filipinos that we assimilate easily but, at the same time, we must also take pride and preserve what is really Filipino,” he exclaimed.

“When we are here in the Philippines, we tend to take our culture for granted, but it is when we are away from our homes that we really value it. Although we accept these new things, we should not lose what is really ours.”