Just when the world has been going into the dizzying space of travel, when life began to be defined by experiences in other lands, when social media made everyone look into the journey versus the trip, the fuel crisis hits. And tourism takes a step back to watch the long existing cracks, widen into urgent challenges.
Our local tourism relies heavily on mobility. With this fuel crisis now, flights, long road trips and boat transfers to reach remote areas becomes more expensive. What once was a quick accessible weekend to Palawan now becomes a luxury. We are already seeing the direct impact on small, community-based tourism enterprises. While the big hotels and airlines are seeing the cancellations and drops, community-based tourism gets the direct hit.
And of all the times, it is now that I decided to become a member of PHILTOA (Philippine Tour Operators Association), the oldest private sector tourism industry group now celebrating its 40th year anniversary. When PHILTOA president Malou Japson took the helm of the organization this year, she asked me to join the organization because of the social enterprise we are doing in Mount Banahaw, Dolores Quezon. Through our Department of Tourism-accredited Mabuhay level bed and breakfast destination place called Banahaw Circle Nature Retreat, we have hands-on-the-ground, opened the “doorway to the sacred mountain” of Mount Banahaw. So I said yes, and found myself one of 25 new members being inducted last week into a 497 active and strong membership group.
Malou’s message was clear: “We are not just building an organization — we are shaping a connected, empowered and future ready eco-system.” It is the mindset of one who understands and is committed to link the gaps in the value chain, and to build a resilient eco-system to survive in these times.
My personal view of tourism has always been as a living eco-system deeply tied to culture, community and sustainability. Indeed, related cultural work I did in the past, and social impact enterprises such as ECHOstore and our ECHOsi Foundation not only allowed us to product develop and retail community based green products, but also mentoring them how to develop products that reflected the pride of their place. Specialty coffee, artisan food and handwoven textiles (under our GREAT Women indigenous communities) brought forth touchpoints as tourism retail products. Before pandemic, we had already started to mentor community groups for sustainable community tourism directions.
Now stepping into this new collective of PHILTOA stakeholders and network, I personally feel that the crisis of the times will serve as catalyst for deeper business collaborations that can reimagine Philippine tourism for the better.
Japson’s report highlighted PHILTOA’s continuing mission to help shape the future of tourism as the partner to government, engaging partners in government and private sector partners through strategic dialogues that align tourism priorities.
With a partnership now with TIBFI, The Farm Tourism Board and Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA) at PHILTOA is firmly positioned in both the national and ASEAN tourism landscape.
Another key direction is the partnership with TESDA for the Technical Vocational Educational and Training in the tourism sub-sector. PHILTOA is now the key training and accreditation-support institution, further strengthened by a Formal Training of Trainers (TOT) Program. This will hopefully align standards for more industry players. But I do hope that training be done beyond the technical re-skilling and up-skilling of the tourism workforce, but to further the capacity building for people to look within their unique cultural practices, as well as how to conserve ecological spaces.
Now that travel becomes more challenging, PHILTOA has chosen to revive the Caravan Circuits, marking the start of the structured program to revive domestic bus and joiner consortium model. Not only will this bring together member stakeholders to collaborate, but the public will have new tours all the way to the regions that badly need tourism influx. Multi-destination circuits are planned covering Ilocos (Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpud), CAR Circuit (Baguio- Benguet-Sagada), La Union, Pangasinan-Bataan, Batangas-Tagaytay, Bico (Legazpi-Sorsogon- Albay), Donsol, Camarines Sur, and Quezon-Laguna.
This is great news, because now, anyone can just hop on the bus and get to these places in an organizing manner. This answers one the biggest negative feedback of local and foreign travelers — that it is so hard to get around the country! These multi-circuit tours on buses will be so easy, that even a solo travel need only to check schedules and hop on to the bus.
PHILTOA’s direction of tightening the tourism ecosystem during this crisis period means making the industry more coordinated, efficient and locally resilient. Now that rising travel costs makes international travel uncertain, our country will benefit from stronger linkages between transport providers, community enterprises and digital platforms so that resource are used wisely and leakages minimized.
During the plenary event and the questions being raised, I could clearly feel the anxiety and uncertainty everyone had. It was the same for all: as a small destination place in a sacred rainforest mountain in a third-class municipality, my concerns for Banahaw Circle Nature Retreat are for the continuing traction to build visitors because livelihood of the very small people depend on this. And there are numerous small destination places like ours. For others who handle large Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), run large hotels of many rooms, or have inbound and outbound tour groups, it is about sustaining businesses and yes, livelihood for their employees too. In some way, the business organization gave strength and made the collective know that there is a network from where each can draw out something as the crisis continues. At 40, PHILTOA will be defining that this ecosystem is not only for business sustainability, but a force for transforming and reimagining the Philippine tourism industry.