Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable
Tourism
Challenges for the Philippines
Sustainable
Tourism
Challenges for the Philippines
Edited by
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay
Copyright 2005
By the Philippine APEC Study Center Network (PASCN)
and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)
Printed in the Philippines. All rights reserved.
The findings, interpretations and conclusions in this volume are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect those of PASCN and PIDS and other institutions associated
with the PASCN project on sustainable tourism development. The publication of this
volume is funded by PASCN and PIDS. The members of PASCN include: Asian Institute
of Management, Ateneo de Manila University, Central Luzon State University, De La
Salle University, Foreign Service Institute, Mindanao State University, Philippine Institute
for Development Studies (Lead Agency and Secretariat), Silliman University, University
of Asia and the Pacific, University of San Carlos, University of the Philippines and
Xavier University.
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ISBN 971-564-083-4
RP 04-05-500
List of tables and figures vii
Preface x
Chapter 1. The Challenge of Sustainable Tourism
Development in the Philippines
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay 1
Chapter 2. A Comparison of Tourism Policy Frameworks:
The Philippines and Thailand
Maria Cherry Lyn S. Rodolfo 23
Chapter 3. Toward the Development of Sustainable Tourism
Indicators: An Analysis of Sustainable Tourism
Programs and Practices Among ASEAN National
Tourism Organizations
Reil G. Cruz 81
Chapter 4. A Framework for Classifying Ecotourism
Initiatives in the Philippines
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay and Carlos Libosada 127
Chapter 5. Perceived Tourism Impact on Indigenous
Communities: A Case Study of Sagada
in Mountain Province
Juline R. Dulnuan 161
Chapter 6. Impact of Whale Watching on our Cetaceans and
Coastal Populations in Bais City, Philippines
Florence C. Evacitas 205
Table of Contents
v
Chapter 7. Contested Space: Tourism, Power and Social Relations
Jose Eleazar R. Bersales 239
Chapter 8. Maintaining Competitive Advantage in Tourism
Organizations: Emerging Patterns of Employment
and Challenges for HRD
Susan L. Solis 275
vi
Chapter 1
Figure 1 Proposed conceptual framework for research
on sustainable tourism development in the
Philippines 4
Figure. 2 Perceived effects of increased tourist arrivals on
family livelihood 19
Chapter 2
Table 1 Visitors arrivals in Southeast Asia (1999-2002) 24
Table 2 Number of tourists and dollar receipts in Asian
countries: 1968-1970 29
Table 3 Arrivals and receipts from 1971 to 1977 30
Table 4 Arrivals and receipts (1978-1986) 32
Table 14 Market dependency ratio (2000) 51
Table 15 DOT budget vs. total government appropriations
(in pesos) 53
Table 16 Indices of centralization and decentralization 54
Table 17 Impediments to individual travel 57
Table 18 Summary of manpower trainings (1997-2001) 67
Table 19 Measures of tourism development 69
Figure 1 Comparison of NTO budgets 60
Figure 2 Number of brochure pages and courses of top 10
Japanese travel agencies devoted to ASEAN beach
destinations 61
Figure 3 Comparative air access in major Asian airports (2002) 62
Figure 4 Air access from Northeast Asia to Bangkok and Manila 62
Figure 5 Comparative landing fees in Asia 64
Figure 6 Number of hotel rooms in Asia (2001) 66
Chapter 3
Table 1 Tourist arrivals and receipts (2000) 81
Table 2 Evaluation of Quality and Sustainability
of Bang Tao Beach 118
List of Tables and Figures
vii
Chapter 4
Table 1 A Comparison of shallow vs. deep ecotourism
Table 2 Characteristics of hard and soft ecotourism
Table 3 Summary of ecotourism programs in the Philippines
by location and by type of tourism resource base
Table 4 Examples of ecotourism sites or programs identified
for each type of tourism resource base
Table 5 Ecotourism criteria as suggested by the Mohonk
Agreement
Figure 1 Ecotourism as a form of sustainable tourism
Figure 2 Proposed classification framework for ecotourism
programs
Figure 3 Map of Olango Island Birds and Seascape Tour
Figure 4 Location of Ulugan Bay on the Island of Palawan
Figure 5 Location of Gardens of Malasag on map of Cagayan de
Oro City
Figure 6 Advantages and disadvantages of each ecotourism
category
Figure 7 Planning implications of category of ecotourism
Chapter 5
Table 1 Popular tourist destinations and their indigenous
inhabitants
Table 2 Distribution of regional travelers in the Philippines
(2000)
Table 3 Population by barangay and number of households,
municipality of Sagada (2000)
Table 4 Chronology of tourism development in Sagada
Table 5 DOT-accredited accommodation establishments in
Sagada (2001)
Table 6a Standard cave guide rates in Sagada
Table 6b Standard trekking guide rates in Sagada
Table 7 Visitor arrivals in Sagada by classification (1995-2000)
Table 8 CAR tourist arrivals by city/province (1990-2000)
Figure 1 Map of the Cordillera Region
Figuer 2 Map of Sagada in Mountain Province
Chapter 6
Table 1 Relevant information on the five regular operating
vessels in the whale watching industry in Bais City
Table 2 Cetacean species found in Taon Strait in 1992 and 1998
Table 3 Demographic profile of Capiahan, 1995-1999
Table 4 Sociodemographic characteristics of the majority of
the respondents from each household type
viii
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134
138
139
154
135
141
143
145
148
150
151
163
165
171
172
175
177
178
179
180
164
170
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225
227
227
Figure 1 Vicinity map of Bais City, Negros Oriental
Figure 2 Conceptual framework on the assessment of the
impact of whale watching on cetaceans and coastal
population in Bais City, Negros Oriental
Figure 3 Map of Bais City Showing Baranggay Capiahan
Figure 4 Map of Barangay Capiahan showing the location of
the Hindungawan wharf and other government
owned facilities in the barangay
Figure 5 Number of whale watching visitors in Bais City, by
month (1998)
Figure 6 Number of visiting domestic and foreign whale
watchers in Bais City, 1996-1998
Figure 7 Income derived from whale-watching (based on
specific schemes)
Figure 8 Catch per unit effort in barangay Capiahan (1975-2000)
Figure 9 Mean perception scores of the different household
groups
Figure 10 Mean attitude scores of different household groups
Chapter 7
Table 1 Sample of households and household size
Table 2 Role of tourism in the local economy
Chapter 8
Table 1 Profile of establishments
Table 2 Summary of flexible employment arrangements and
positions assigned
Table 3 Minimum qualification requirements, recruitment
methods, and screening measures
Table 4 Rate of pay: regular versus nonregular employees
Table 5 Benefits of regular versus nonregular employees
Table 6 Types of training of regular versus nonregular
employees
Table 7 Performance evaluation of regular versus nonregular
employees
Table 8 Comparison between regular and nonregular
employees on occupational standards for the
position of front office agent
Table 9 Comparison between regular and nonregular on
occupational skills standards for the position of food
and beverage attendant
Table 10 Comparison between regular and nonregular
employees on occupational standards for the position
of room attendant
ix
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Preface
In his 1994 book Global Paradox, John Naisbitt described an increasingly
integrated world order where the geographic boundaries of the nation-state
would be blurred by formation technology. However, in the paradox described
by his books title, people and communities would more strongly assert their
individual identity and cultural heritage even as they continued to participate
in the global economy. Travel and tourism, he argued, was an industry well
positioned for this new state of things. Tourism links countries together, yet
it encourages uniqueness of place, identity, and tradition.
In many ways, the challenge of instituting sustainable tourism
development in the Philippines exhibits the elements found in Naisbitts
paradox. Through tourism, the Philippines aspires to become a stronger
player in the integrated travel industry of today. Yet, the country realizes that
to do so, it must conserve, protect, and strengthen the cultural, historical,
and natural resources upon which the Philippines draws its unique
competitive advantages. All these are in a manner that can be sustained for
the benefit and enjoyment of future generations of Filipinos.
This collection of papers reflects the scope and complexity of sustainable
tourism development. In terms of scope, the articles were written from a
range of perspectives.
Rodolfo and Cruzs articles views the issues of sustainability from
international or regional perspectivesboth of which seek to compare
Philippine tourism development policy with those of other Southeast Asian
countries. Rodolfos comparison of Thailand and the Philippines is more
broadly defined and covers national tourism policy as a whole. Cruz, on the
other hand, specifically tackles sustainable tourism development policy in
the Philippines as compared to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In contrast
with these two papers are articles written from a micro perspective, where
sustainability is discussed in the context of hotel operations (as in the article
by Solis) as well as specific tourism communities such as Sagada in the
Mountain Province (discussed by Dulnuan), Bais City in Negros Oriental (in
Evacitas paper), and Mactan and Panglao islands (Bersales). Alampay and
Libosadas thesis on classifying ecotourism initiatives lies somewhere in the
middle as it touches on both national level policy as well as destination-level
strategies through four case studies.
The various papers also mirror the complexity of sustainable tourism
development, and they hint at the multidisciplinary approach that this mode
of tourism needs to succeed. Each paper applies a different disciplinary
framework to its particular tourism problem: economics, sociology,
anthropology, environmental science, management science, human
resources development, etc. Each provides a unique academic angle on
sustainability and tourism. But, much like Kiplings parable of the elephant
x
and the seven blind men, it is only when the separate accounts are brought
together that one gets a complete picture of sustainable tourism development.
Thus, this collection of papers is auspicious in that it represents the first
attempt to look at tourism policy from a cross-disciplinary, research-oriented
viewpoint. In this light, we must acknowledge the initiative and support of
Dr. Mario Lamberte and the Philippine APEC Study Center Network. This
project would not have been possible without their support. Moreover, their
decision to invest in this undertaking represents a much needed
endorsement of tourism development as an important subject worthy of
national policy research and action. The challenge for researchers and
policymakers will now be to sustain the effort and interest in this form of
tourism development.
As a compilation of research on sustainable tourism development in the
Philippines, this collection is far from complete. It should be viewed for what
it isan incipient look at an area of policy research that seeks to lay the
foundation for future investigations. Some of these future directions are
suggested by the articles included here. For example, the community studies
by Dulnuan, Evacitas, and Bersales hint of future research on maximizing or
enhancing the poverty alleviating potential of tourism. Our hope is that these
papers will spur more thinking within the Philippines about the problems of
tourism development and, most importantly, more action to ensure a
sustainable tourism industry for all.
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay, Ph.D.
xi
Chapter 1
The Challenge of Sustainable Tourism
Development in the Philippines
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay
Introduction
Early in 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sought to raise the profile
of the Philippine tourism industry by visiting selected tourist destinations
around the country. Each visit subsequently resulted in frontpage coverage
of the President enjoying the countrys best tourist sites and activities. Dur-
ing her visit to the Tubbataha Reef, southeast of Palawan, the President was
photographed underwater, smiling through her diving mask, her hands on
top of some coral branches.
Public response to the image was predictably mixed. Some sectors praised
her for taking the lead in boosting a key dollar-earning industry of the coun-
try. Others, however, took issue with her perceived violation of a cardinal rule
of responsible diving tourism by touching the corals. However one views her
action underwater, the image of President Arroyo at the Reef is a fitting
symbol of sustainable tourism development in the Philippines today.
Undoubtedly, tourism holds the promise of increased employment and
income opportunities, particularly for Filipinos living in the coastal and ru-
ral areas of the country. Yet, it is an industry built upon the most fragile of
natural and cultural environments, where the most inconsequential and in-
nocent of human gestures can easily wreak havoc on the sites resources.
This is the challenge of sustainable tourism development. Tourism is
expected to become an even more important weapon in the Philippines
economic arsenal. However, both our tourist markets and the Philippine
tourism industry itself have become more aware of the negative environmen-
tal and social costs associated with tourism development. The country has
thus begun to recognize the need to adopt new development approaches in
order to come up with tourist products that are environmentally sensitive
and economically viable.
Moreover, sustainable tourism as a research topic has been gaining popu-
larity. Articles about Asia-Pacific destinations can already be found with in-
creasing ease in many academic publications (e.g., Shaw 2000; Edmonds and
Leposky 1998; Smith 1992). However, most of these have been case studies of
specific localities. There have been even fewer publications dealing with
broad national or industry-level inquiries.
2 Sustainable Tourism
Cognizant of the growing importance of the subject, the Philippine APEC
Study Center Network (PASCN) sponsored a team of researchers from the
University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, UP Los Baos, and the Univer-
sity of Asia and the Pacific, to conduct a series of studies on the issue. More
specifically, the project sought to evaluate the current state of the Philip-
pine tourism industry from a sustainable tourism development perspective.
The project involved analyzing the existing policy framework of the Phil-
ippine tourism industry and the place of sustainable tourism within it. It also
included studies of trends, cases, and projects related to the industrys at-
tempts to apply the philosophy of sustainability to actual practice. This inte-
grative article thus synthesizes the findings from the individual studies and
identifies new directions both for industry and academe, as suggested by
these studies.
The article discusses the conceptual framework for sustainable tourism
that unites the independent researches. The model provides a thematic
umbrella for the component studies of the project, which addresses one or
more key elements of the framework. Later, this conceptual framework will
also be used to synthesize the findings of the individual studies into a set of
research and policy implications related to sustainable tourism development
in the Philippines. Thus, the model reflects the thinking that sustainable
tourism development involves both planning philosophy and development
technology.
Overview of sustainable tourism
The 1987 Brundtland Commission Report (WCED 1987) has been generally
acknowledged as having introduced the concept of sustainability. It defined
sustainability as development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Taking off from the basic principles of the Brundtland report, the global
tourism industry has adopted the following definition of sustainable tourism
development:
Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host
regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. It is envisaged
as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social, and
aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential eco-
logical processes, biological diversity, and life support systems (WTTC 1998).
In addition, the World Travel and Tourism Council identified nine pri-
ority areas for action by national tourism organizations and industry-based
associations or organizations. These included 1) assessing the capacity to
bring about sustainable tourism planning for sustainable tourism develop-
ment, 2) planning for sustainable tourism development, and 3) measuring
progress in achieving sustainable development.
Chapter 1: Alampay 3
In the Philippines, the blueprint for tourism development has been the
Philippine Tourism Master Plan (TMP). Begun in 1989 and completed in
1991, the TMP was developed when sustainable development was not yet a
buzzword. Thus, nowhere in the TMP can one find an explicit reference to a
policy or philosophy based on sustainable tourism development. Yet, in its
assessment of the Philippine tourism industry, the TMP did note the potential
negative economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism development:
Whilst the long-term costs of these impacts cannot be determined
precisely, there is a need to ensure that these costs are not exacer-
bated by new tourism development and that future planning aims to
reduce these costs (DOT 1991).
In a 1993 presentation to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), then
Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary Narzalina Lim pointed out specific
elements of the Plan which reflected the governments commitment to
sustainability. First, the TMPs projections for visitor arrivals had been delib-
erately understated based on the countrys economic and population growth,
as well as the foreseeable infrastructure capabilities of the country. Second,
the cluster development strategy had been designed to promote regional
equity by distributing tourism flows to the Visayas and Mindanao. Finally, the
TMP had acknowledged the limits to the future carrying capacity of the Phil-
ippine tourism industry imposed by its economy, natural environment, and a
social fabric strained by overpopulation, extensive poverty, large regional
income imbalances, and lack of livelihood opportunities outside the major
urban centers (DOT 1991).
A research framework for sustainable tourism development
The basic elements of sustainable developmentecological sustainability,
economic sustainability, and equityform the core elements of the research
framework. These represent the primary objectives of any sustainable tour-
ism initiative. Thus, they can also be viewed as the key variables for assessing
the success or failure of sustainable tourism projects.
Applying the concept of sustainability to the study of tourism develop-
ment requires that these elements are related to the tourism system in place
at a destination. Typically, the stakeholders in a destination can be classified
into three major groups with their respective interests: national government,
the local destination, and the tourism sector or industry operating in the
destination. The national governments interests in tourism are usually rep-
resented by the DOT and its attached agencies. However, as the concept of
sustainable tourism development matures, the other resource-oriented de-
partments, such as Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, as well as Environment and
Natural Resources, increase their involvements in tourism development at
the national policy level.
Locally, there are numerous stakeholders. These include the local gov-
ernment units (LGUs), including the barangays, as well as the local members
of civil society, usually represented by nongoverment organizations (NGOs)
and community-based organizations. Managers of local tourism resources
such as parks, museums, and historic sites would also be involved in tourism
development at the local level. Finally, the tourism industry grouping covers
the private business establishments engaged in the delivery of accommoda-
tion, transportation, and other services needed by the touristin transit to
and from the destination, as well as during their stay. All three stakeholder
groups have an interest in the development of an area as a tourist destina-
tion. This implies that some form of cooperation or partnership between the
three groups is necessary for a coordinated and sustainable form of tourism
development.
Combining the three stakeholder groups with the core elements of
sustainability gives one a conceptual picture of sustainable tourism
developments scope. The various components of the model suggest differ-
ent points of focus for prospective researchers.
Figure 1. Proposed conceptual framework for research on sustainable
tourism development in the Philippines
In summary, Figure 1 depicts the interactions and relationships of the
three major stakeholder groupsnational government, the local commu-
nity, and the tourism industryin their quest to develop a sustainable tourist
destination. The model may also be extended to individual tourism busi-
nesses that aim to operate in a similarly sustainable manner.
The three stakeholder groups, acting independently or in concert, will
thus determine the degree to which the goals of sustainable development
can be achieved through tourism. In the process, each group will likely pur-
sue varying objectives related to the core elements of sustainable develop-
ment. A community, for example, may focus more on the ecological
sustainability and equity dimensions of tourism development whereas an-
other may be more inclined to pursue a business-oriented tourism industry
by giving emphasis on its economic sustainability.
While the framework has generally been applied to local tourism, a study
of sustainable tourism development should not ignore the role of national
agencies and industry-wide agencies in creating an environment conducive
to sustainable destination development. National development policies and
priorities can either facilitate or inhibit a destinations ability to achieve
sustainability, depending on how well that particular locality fits in with the
national development agenda. Similarly, strong and active trade associations
can strongly influence the degree of adoption by local businesses and
communities of the principles of sustainable tourism development through
their advocacy, promotion, and self-regulation of responsible tourism
practices.
This was the overall conceptual framework employed by the PASCN-
sponsored Research Team on Sustainable Tourism Development in the Phil-
ippines. Five independent studies were undertaken under the aegis of this
project. Each examined particular issues of sustainable tourism from the
perspective of at least one major stakeholder group: national government,
local destination, or tourism industry. As the studies differed in their stake-
holder focus, so did the levels at which they viewed the issue of sustainability.
With varying perspectives, research focus changed from relatively abstract
policies at the national level to more concrete programs and practices at the
community or industry level.
Developing a sustainable national tourism industry
Rodolfos (2003) examined the role of national government in facilitating or
constraining the sustained growth of the national tourism industry through a
comparative analysis of the tourism development policies of Thailand and
the Philippines. Applying the three core principles of sustainable develop-
ment to the national tourism industries of Thailand and the Philippines, his
study showed that the economic sustainability of tourism is the primary driver
of both countries tourism industry.
It is thus not surprising to encounter many similarities between the two
countries in terms of their respective national tourism organizations (NTO)
policy priorities. For example, both countries have taken explicit steps to-
ward the pursuit of sustainable tourism development. Both have national
ecotourism strategies. Thailand developed a National Sustainable Tourism
Plan in 2001, which now serves as a guide to the regional provinces and cities.
The Philippines Tourism Master Plan is similarly committed to pursuing
sustainable development.
Both countries emphasize domestic tourism development markets in
addition to their traditional focus on international tourist arrivals. Rodolfo
notes, however, that in the case of the Philippines, certain national policies
may threaten the industrys economic sustainability by preventing the expan-
sion of business activities in the country. Examples of these include the lim-
ited access between the major East Asian markets and the Philippines. Regu-
lation has also raised the international carriers costs of doing business in the
Philippines, which are considered higher than those of other Asian destina-
tions.
Thailand, for its part, has shifted its priorities from simply trying to boost
the volume of international traffic to a more selective approach that encour-
ages more long-staying, high-spending tourists to come. This shift has in-
creased the yield from tourism and protects the countrys environmental and
cultural heritage. Where the environmental aspects of tourism development
are concerned, the Thai national government appears to recognize the im-
portance of protecting and enhancing the tourism product, particularly the
natural and cultural resources on which the industry is built. At the NTO
level, there are official affirmations of the commitment to environmental
sustainability.
Comparing four ASEAN NTOs (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the
Philippines), Cruz (2003) notes that all four governments are signatories to
Agenda 21. All four NTOs claim to have a sustainable development frame-
work in place as well as national planning documents that expressly state this
framework for development.
The NTOs involvement in monitoring the impact of tourism develop-
ment appears to be limited. Only the Philippines Department of Tourism
and Malaysias Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism use indicators to moni-
tor the impact of tourism. Yet, in Malaysia, there are no government bodies
tasked to monitor tourism. In the case of the Philippines, the indicators
function as benchmarks and decision-making tools prior to certification or
endorsement of particular tourism development projects. No system appears
to be in place for the NTO to track these projects impact once they are
underway.
This is the case perhaps in the Philippines because the DOT sees its
primary function (as is the case with the other ASEAN NTOs) as continuing
to revolve around policy setting and tourism promotion. Thus, the function
of monitoring tourism impact generally falls under the jurisdiction of a dedi-
cated environmental office, that is, the Department of Environment and Natu-
ral Resources (DENR).
In Singapore and Thailand, the limitations of the NTOs regarding envi-
ronmental monitoring have been mitigated by greater private sector and
community involvement. Cruz specifically notes Singapores heavy depen-
dence on NGO support for its sustainable tourism effort. In particular, he
cites the Singapore Environmental Council for maintaining a Green Volun-
teer Network as well as managing the Green Label certification system for
businesses. The Singapore Hotel Association has also demonstrated the
industrys commitment to the environment through its environmental train-
ing and awareness-raising programs. Similarly, the Thai Hotels Association
has cast its lot with environmentalism by administering the Green Leaf Pro-
gram in Thailand.
To date, the Philippine tourism industry does not offer anything similar.
The national government remains the primary certifying body for ecotourism
projects. More accurately, the DOT commonly reviews tourism projects be-
fore endorsing them to the Board of Investments. The DENR provides an-
other layer of certification through its system of Environmental Clearance
Certificates and Environmental Impact Assessments (Alampay and Libosada
2003). However, there is no private-led, self-regulating organization respon-
sible for the certification process for sustainable tourism or ecotourism
projects and programs. Unlike those of other countries, the Philippine tour-
ism industrys private ecotourism sector is neither strong nor interested
enough to spearhead the certification process. Much like the NTO, the na-
tional tourism trade associations appear to be limiting their scope of opera-
tions to marketing, destination identification, and tourism awareness building.
Thus, Alampay and Libosada (2003) argue that there may be an opportu-
nity for environmentally-oriented NGOs and community organizations to fill
the vacuum and to take the lead in establishing a sustainable tourism certifi-
cation process in the Philippines. However, even in such a setup, it will still
be necessary for commercial tourism organizations as a sector to guide the
group with respect to the market-related or economic aspects of the tourism
certification process. That is, the accreditation should not be limited to envi-
ronmental considerations but should also recognize that the economic vi-
ability of the operation also directly affects the long-term ecological concerns
of the project.
Although NTOs generally operate from a macro-perspective, they still
exert a significant degree of influence on local development. One way would
be through the direct ownership or management of tourist facilities and
services. Rodolfo notes, for example, that the Philippine NTO exhibits a
higher degree of influence and involvement in the industry, as evidenced by
the ownership of tourism facilities. Many of these, however, were acquired or
established in the1970s and 1980s when the DOT also ascribed importance
to their role as pioneer developers and investors in new and emerging tour-
ist destinations.
However, the Philippines (just like Thailand) seems to be moving away
from a direct ownership model toward a facilitating or mentoring relation-
ship with local communities. Both the Philippines and Thailand have made
moves to strengthen their tourist products at the local level by devolving
many tourism development functions to the local communities. In addition,
the NTOs have provided the technical support that many local communities
and businesses may not have regular access to. The Tourism Authority of
Thailand, for example, provides brochures on sustainable tourism to tour
operators and tourists (Cruz 2003).
Sustainable tourism development is more generally understood to apply
to tourism activity at the destination or community level, as well as at the
enterprise or business level. Thus, the studies that focused on community or
place-specific issues magnify better the interplay between economic, equity,
and environmental concerns of sustainable development.
Tourism is primarily a business. As the WTO states:
It is . . . important to ensure that ecotourism is a good, economically
sustainable business and that profits are generated from it. If there are no
prospects for profit, then private entrepreneurs will not invest and there
will be no benefits to distribute for local communities or conservation
purposes (Vereczi 2002).
Operators of many destinations are primarily motivated by the expected
economic returns from tourism. It is therefore not surprising that the
economic effects of tourism tend to be noticed by residents and researchers
alike. In Sagada, for example, Dulnuan (2003) notes that the perceived main
benefit of tourism is the income it generates. Similarly, in Bais, Evacitas (2004)
observes that the respondents scored high on the items related to percep-
tions about the economic benefits of tourism, specifically whale watching.
She also reports that the income of households employed by or engaged in
the tourism industry was relatively higher than those outside the industry.
Because of this, tourism households in Bais spent significantly less on basic
necessities while spending more for recreational services than did house-
holds primarily engaged in fishing and nontourism-related businesses.
Bersaless (2003) comparison of two resort communitiesPanglao in
Bohol Province, and Mactan in Cebuindicates that community residents
tend to identify income generation as the key benefit of tourism. Direct
employment was the most commonly-cited economic benefit. The communi-
ties also appeared to acknowledge the multiplier effect of tourism through
opportunities to sell goods or offer services (e.g., hupo-hupo tour guides) to
the resorts or to the tourists themselves. Finally, tourism was broadly credited
with improving infrastructure in both sites.
However, both Dulnuan and Evacitas note that the host communities
perceived that these economic benefits tend to reach a limited portion of the
population. Dulnuan (2003), for example, states that in Sagada, the eco-
nomic gains from tourism are not felt by all. Furthermore, not all economic
effects were positive. Residents also perceive tourism as encouraging local
businesses to engage in price-fixing behavior.
Evacitas reports that the residents of Bais scored high in terms of their
perceptions of the economic benefits of whale watching. She concludes that
they may have seen more economic gains from conserving the dolphins than
hunting them. Yet, she also writes:
When asked about notable improvements in the barangay since the
establishment of the whale-watching industry, most of the fisherfolk
answered that their economic conditions have not improved over the
years, not even with the coming in of the whale watching ecotourism.
The same view was shared by the nonfishing/nontourism related
households. Neither have the different social services and facilities
of the barangay improved after the establishment of whale watching
tourism.
In contrast, Bersaless study involved communities where tourism was a
dominant economic activity. The majority of his respondents belonged to
households where at least one member was directly employed in tourism.
However, significant proportions of respondents from both study sites ob-
served that the tourism jobs for locals tended to be low-paying. Nevertheless,
tourism jobs are still seen as more lucrative than the traditional agricultural
and fishing activities in Bohol and Cebu. As a result, young residents prefer
resort jobs to farming and fishing.
Is tourism a truly clean, nonexhaustive industry? In large part, much of
the argument for tourism as a vehicle for sustainable development has been
built on the claim that tourism, properly and responsibly implemented, re-
sults in minimal damage to the natural resources of an area. At the very least,
tourism (or so its advocates claim) produces much less negative impact than
other traditional resource-based activities like fishing, forestry, and mining.
The difficulty in validating this claim is that the damage to the natural
environment from tourism is often subtle and takes years to be noticed. For
example, Evacitas found that whale watching has not significantly influenced
species diversity and population size of the cetaceans in Taon Strait in the
three years since the activity was introduced to the area. Nor does it appear
that fisheries in nearby areas have been affected by ecotourism.
However, she also warned of potential long-term effects, such as changes
in mortality and birth rate that might be expected given the experiences of
similar destinations in Australia and other countries. Related to this, Evacitas
found that the residents scored relatively low in their awareness of the impact
of human activities on cetaceans. The level of awareness was significantly
correlated with the respondents level of education. This suggests that envi-
ronmental education must be an important part of any long-term develop-
ment strategy to address the potential long-term impact of tourism on the
environment.
Similarly, the tourism programs in Cebus Olango Island and Palawans
Ulugan Bay are still in the very early stages of their development cycles. In
terms of tourist arrivals in each site, they are still fairly low and manageable.
Furthermore, tourist activity has not been around long enough to produce
the cumulative effects that warrant attention.
In the cases of Olango, Ulugan, and Bais, the tourism planners environ-
mental agenda seemed to be oriented toward providing residents with ecol-
ogy-friendly livelihood alternatives. Through ecotourism, the planners hoped
to engender more positive attitudes toward conservation within the local
community. Dulnuan reports that this may already observed in Sagada to the
extent that tourism has made the community more environmentally aware.
However, she also writes that Sagada now has problems related to the destruc-
tion of stalactites and stalagmites, as well as vandalism of caves and burial
grounds. To a large extent these problems could be attributed to visitors who
do not seem to care about the environment.
Because it has hosted tourists much longer than Bais, Olango, and Ulugan
Bay have, Sagada already faces some of the long-term environmental prob-
lems that are still nonexistent in the other destinations. These include the
accumulation of trash in the community, conflicts arising from the depletion
of the local water supply, and increased levels of noise.
The benefits of responsible tourism are not limited to minimizing the
negative effects of human activity on the environment, advocates aver. They
say, ecotourism, if properly implemented, can enhance the environmental
quality of a place and can even reverse the deterioration brought on by hu-
mans. Evidence, however, of tourism as an agent for ecological rejuvenation
(not just conservation) is still very limited. This is seen, for example, in the
case studies of places like the Anilao area in Batangas as well as Apo Reef and
Danjugan Island in the Negros region, which have had relative success. This
is on account of the fact that research, such as that of Dulnuan and Evacitas,
has focused largely on improvements in local attitudes toward conservation
rather than on concrete changes or improvements to the quality and quantity
of the natural resources.
It is interesting to note that most of the issues involving many cases of
sustainable tourism development in the Philippines revolve around eco-
nomic-environmental tradeoffs. Such a dilemma lies at the core of the
ecotourism classification framework proposed by Alampay and Libosada
(2003). They propose to categorize different ecotourism projects in the coun-
try in terms of how the natural or cultural tourism resources are to be used.
How intensively these resources are to be used will depend on whether the
host community or proponent prioritizes environmental goals over economic
objectives, or vice versa. However, since the two authors define tourism devel-
opment in terms of the ecology-economics balance, the social equity dimen-
sion of sustainable tourism would seem to be an afterthought. One criticism
of their working draft pointed this outthat the framework was relatively
silent on the issue of who benefits from tourism development. The authors
responded by saying that the classification framework was based on the as-
sumption that the basic principles of sustainability, including social equity,
would underlie any program purported to be ecotourism.
Alampay and Libosadas response notwithstanding, the question remains
valid: who benefits from tourism development? More to the point, do com-
munities, developers, and tourism officials assume that the social benefits of
tourism will come as a result of responsible management of the economic
and environmental aspects of tourism? This seems to be the implied position
of sustainable tourism advocates. The value of this stance takes on greater
significance in light of the litany of social issues and concerns that Dulnuan
cites from residents related to the presence of tourism in Sagada. These
range from the potential negative effects on the local youth of their exposure
to the values and behaviors of tourists to the commercialization or, worse,
desecration of local ceremonies, rituals, and sacred places.
The same position would also appear valid when one considers that 10
percent of the income from whale watching in Bais goes to the barangay.
However, as Evacitas notes, tangible improvements to the social service infra-
structure of Bais have yet to be seen. The barangay road is still in poor condi-
tion while medicine and water supply remains inadequate. The only signifi-
cant additions to the barangay following the implementation of ecotourism
are the tourism facilities themselves, says Evacitas.
Bersaless study also highlights several social effects of resort develop-
ment on community life. In both sites, access to beach front areasvalued by
both resorts and fisherfolkwas a key concern voiced by community repre-
sentatives. As with Sagada, local residents have also decried the negative
influences of tourists on community values, particularly those of the local
youth. Finally, Bersales recounts the stress on family and neighbor relations
that can result from sudden prosperity, increased land valuation, and new
sources of income. All of these serve to provide a cautionary tale for other
communities seeking to harness their economies to the sustainable tourism cart.
Human resources as exhaustible tourism industry resources
Most discussions of sustainable tourism focus on the responsible use of natu-
ral or cultural resources. Fragile ecosystems as well as sensitive cultural trea-
sures are viewed as tourism industry raw materials that must be properly
managed to ensure their viability for future generations. There may be dan-
ger, however, for planners and researchers to lose sight of the fact that tour-
ism is a service industry. As such, the tourism industry depends on the quality
of its human resources as much as its natural and cultural assets.
As Alampay and Libosada (2003) note, the educational or interpretation
component of the visitor experience is a vital element of ecotourism. In many
cases, relevant information must be delivered by local guides to tourists.
Thus, how well the guides can get the message across will determine in large
part the tourists overall perception of the experience.
Flores (1999) recounts how the Coastal Resources Management Pro-
gram (CRMP) team involved in the Olango Island project recognized the
importance of human resources in interpreting the areas natural and cul-
tural resources:
In Olango, an articulate naturalist guide who did biological work on
the birdlife and mangroves in the sanctuary was hired by the commu-
nity to do the natural interpretation. Interpretation of village cul-
ture, however, was performed by the community
As further proof of the vital role of human resources in ecotourism, the
CRMP team involved in the Olango project had to prepare the community to
take on management responsibilities for the project. This was not an easy
task, as only two members of the community had gone beyond the third grade
of formal education. Ultimately, these same people were prepared to take on
responsibilities that included accounting, web page maintenance, budget-
ing, and marketing.
From the perspective of the tourism industry as a whole, there is also a
need to ensure the consistent supply of well-trained and well-qualified tour-
ism workers. Solis (2003) states that the tourism industry is characterized by
distinct peaks and seasons. Thus, tourism companies, specifically hotels,
adjust their manpower size according to the demands of the season.
It appears that hotel companies view their human resources in two dif-
ferent ways. First, human resources are cost elements that need to be man-
aged to ensure the financial stability and economic viability of the enterprise.
Second, human resources represent the core ingredient of the companys
product (service), and thus must be maintained or improved to ensure the
quality (and subsequent marketability) of the service.
Soliss framework views the sustainability of the tourism enterprise pri-
marily in terms of economic viability. When the situation entails recognizing
human resources as cost elements, companies employ cost reduction pro-
grams and labor flexibility measures to reduce operational costs. When hu-
man resources are viewed as defining inputs to the companys product, com-
panies focus on improving the efficiency and quality of worker performance
to achieve competitive advantage. However, during slack times, hotels are
more likely to resort to cost reduction and labor flexibility measures than on
service improvement measures. Many companies thus choose to reduce their
complement of regular employees and use any combination of temporary
and transient employees to fill in any emerging gaps.
One of the problems with this approach is that such arrangements, if
continued on a prolonged basis, may adversely affect the ability of the com-
pany to sustain a consistently high level of service. As Solis found, the estab-
lishments themselves perceived a significant difference in the competence
of regular versus nonregular workers. Continued dependence on nonregular
workers could adversely affect the sustainability of companies service quality.
Rapid and regular turnover of tourism workers will eventually affect the
type and quality of training that companies may implement. Often, compa-
nies must attempt to train their nonregular staff on the fly because they
simply cannot afford to pull them out when the peak season is at hand.
Solis also found that tourism establishments appear to be flexible in
their adherence to the legal guidelines on the hiring of nonregular employ-
ees. This brings to the fore the question of whether the current legal frame-
work supports or hinders the sustainable use of such resources that are
deemed as important as natural and cultural assets in building a tourism
industry. It may also be that the industry is not aware of opportunities for
growth within the legal framework, as many companies see the legal regula-
tions more as constraining elements rather than external factors that may
also be sources of strategic opportunities.
Stakeholder roles in sustainable tourism development
The DOTs vision of Philippine tourism by the year 2010 is one that will
establish the country as a premier Asian destination. It will be an industry
that creates jobs and generates revenues. The DOT targets 5 million tourist
arrivals by 2010. Achieving this target is expected to generate at least 8.3
million jobs and $17 billion in revenue. Part of the DOTs vision is an indus-
try that will on a sustainable development path that protects our land, our
culture, and our people through the development of tourism (Gordon 2001).
The DOT recognizes the enormity of the challenge. Hence its call for coop-
eration between and the government (including the LGUs) and the private
sector in achieving its goal.
It appears that the DOT sees the role of the national tourism organiza-
tion as facilitating a climate conducive to the tourism business. During former
tourism secretary Richard Gordons administration, he identified the so-
called three As of Philippine tourism: attraction, assurance, and account-
ability. The DOT, the LGUs, and the private sector, he said, should pursue
these three As together. However, DOTs strategic planspublicly unveiled
at a series of Travel Industry Congresses (TRICON)seem to focus only on
two As: attraction and assurance. Based on DOTs strategic plans for market-
ing, planning and development, and tourism standards, it appeared that
much of the departments energy and resources would revolve around build-
ing awareness and attracting key market segments. It would also concentrate
on policy making and facilitating access infrastructure and support services
(e.g., highways, airports, police and sanitation services) for priority destina-
tions. All of these were intended to assure visitors as well as investors that the
country was peaceful and orderly and that they could expect to be provided
quality service.
In publicly discussing its marketing priorities, the DOTs emphasis on
immediate economic returns is clear and unequivocal. Describing them as
high-value segments that can easily be served, the DOT intends to give the
highest priority to the following market segments: a) short-haul sightseeing
segment; b) short-haul beach tourists; and c) the domestic tourist market.
Where markets classified as low-priority are concerned, DOT recognizes that
segments like short-haul ecotourism, short-haul recreation, and long-haul
backpacker are relatively small. These segmentson their face, more com-
patible with the idea of low-impact, sustainable tourismare seen to have
lower economic potential simply from the criterion of size. Although the
country has the attractions and facilities for these market segments, their
relatively smaller sizes dictate a lower priority for them. Another medium-
priority market is the long-haul mass comfort segment. The DOT sees this
traditional, mainstream tourist segment as having high potential. Unfortu-
nately, the country may not have the facilities in place yet to adequately serve
these markets.
DOTs policymaking and planning functions will include taking the
lead in establishing a tourist environment conducive to the operation of a
vibrant tourism industry. These include pursuing initiatives that remove the
restrictions on tourist organizations and individual travelers alike. Rodolfo
(2002) recommends several infrastructure and access-related areas for DOT
to consider. However, some of his concernsfor example, removing restric-
tions in capacity through bilateral open skies and liberal charter arrange-
mentsare not exclusively within DOTs domain. Resolution of this par-
ticular issue requires the inputs of agencies like the Departments of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) and Transportation and Communication, as well as various
committees in both houses of Congress.
Similarly, Rodolfos recommendations regarding the relaxation of cer-
tain visa requirements and the provision of incentives for upgrading tourist
facilities will ultimately be addressed by the DFA and the Department of
Finance, respectively. All this, highlights the character of the Philippine
NTO as being a coordinating body more than an actual implementor of ini-
tiatives that will affect the industry in a major way.
According to Cruz (2003), the DOT is not alone in this respect. In fact, it
appears that this is the norm internationally. NTOs worldwide, in their bid to
maximize the use of their limited budgets, necessarily focus on a limited
portfolio of functions. Often, however, this portfolio does not include actual
development and management of tourist facilities, attractions, or services.
Rather, it seems limited to identifying priority destinations to rationalize the
allocation of marketing, product development, and infrastructure budgets.
The DOT defines its role in destination development more as a coordi-
nator rather than actual implementor. For example, in its National Ecotourism
Strategy (NES), the department identified 31 sites as priority ecotourism
destinations. In addition, the draft plan highlighted 55 emerging and po-
tential ecotourism sites (Draft National Ecotourism Strategy, April 2002).
However, the short- and medium-term action plans talk about assistance pro-
grams for operators, promotion and advocacy work, as well as the establish-
ment of accreditation and classification systems. It conspicuously avoids men-
tion of the national government being directly involved in building and
operating destinations.
As the national government continues to delineate what it can and can-
not do in its quest for a truly sustainable tourism industry, it will be even more
necessary to strengthen the public-private partnerships throughout the in-
dustry. The experience of successful tourist destinations like Thailand should
spur the industry in this direction. Rodolfo (2003) points out that Thailands
success in rejuvenating Pattaya and in instituting environmental protection
measures would not have been possible had these partnerships not been
forged.
In a similar fashion, both the public and private sectors should build and
sustain partnerships between them. Given the desire of the national govern-
ment to focus on a few specific functions, it will be necessary for private
industry, local governments, and community groups to work in an integrated
manner so that all concerns relating to sustainable tourism are properly ad-
dressed. Among the key areas requiring such partnerships are the following:
Planning and development of tourist destinations involving sen-
sitive natural and cultural resources;
Identification and provision of readily available sources of fi-
nancing for tourism projects, particularly those involving com-
munity-based projects;
Training and education of current and prospective tourism in-
dustry workers;
Sustainable tourism advocacy campaigns on the national and
local levels; and
Establishment of a continuous and credible system of evalua-
tion, monitoring and accreditation of tourism organizations, ser-
vices and destinations.
Local communities, LGUs, and entrepreneurs will have to take the lead
in ensuring that destinations are developed in a sustainable manner. Our
initial findings suggest that this role is best assumed by local communities or
private developers. In most cases, the development process is locally initi-
ated, coming as it does from the community (either independently or with
assistance from an NGO or private commercial group). The examples of
Olango Island, Boracay, El Nido, Sagada, and similar destinations illustrate
this point most clearly. In these cases, the local folk stand to benefit the most
from a sustainable use of local resources.
However, once the destination and its tourism potentials have been properly
identified, the local capability to sustain tourism activity must be enhanced.
Do local communities have the financial wherewithal to build and maintain
the necessary infrastructure that prospective visitors need? Some may argue
that the promise of ecotourism is that communities can launch an industry
with minimal tourist comforts. That may be true, but even the most basic
infrastructureboth for visitor convenience as well as for resource protection
may require some financial outlay that some rural communities may not afford.
How to source funding for such projects may not be easy. Postings on a
recent Internet conference on financing sustainable tourism development
seemed to indicate a lack of commercial financing options for such projects.
Most of the conference participants own projects were likely to be funded
either by state governments, foreign aid groups or national and international
NGO consortia. In most cases, funding for a tourism project has been justi-
fied by the conservation interests of the sponsors. However, banks and other
commercial lending institutions have not been as quick to enter the sustain-
able tourism development field because few projects have been packaged as
viable investment vehicles. This is where communities must forge strong
partnerships with private tourism groups.
When donor fatigue comes into play, or when national government pri-
orities dictate that specific destinations get priority over others, the argu-
ment for financing a sustainable tourism project will have to be made on
economic grounds. Private partners will play a crucial role in bringing in the
needed funds, especially when the local proponents do not have the exper-
tise or experience in operating tourist enterprises.
In addition to building up the financial capabilities of their respective
destinations, local communities and tourism organizations will need to join
hands in upgrading the human resources of their local tourism industry. At
the local level, private investors may be encouraged to put up training institu-
tions or to run training courses for prospective tourism employees. These
courses should not be limited to basic tourism and hospitality skills. If the
community is truly committed to a sustainable form of tourism development,
it will need a complement of environmental workers who will ensure that use
of tourism resources is kept at a manageable level.
At the national level, the governmentprimarily DOT, the Technical
Educational Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission
on Higher Educationneeds to link up with national tourism trade associa-
tions to establish training standards for the industry. Given the fluidity of
labor supply and demand in the Philippine tourism industry, tourism orga-
nizations must get some assurance about the quality of training received by
prospective job applicants, whether they be based in Metro Manila or else-
where.
However, the human resource needs of tourism organizations will vary
depending on how developed their respective communities are as tourist
destinations. Furthermore, the needs of the industry as a whole will evolve as
the tourism products evolve themselves. Unfortunately, national government
agencies may not have the capability to respond quickly to these evolving
needs. For example, TESDAs skills training standards were designed in
accordance with a career framework patterned after the European hospitality
model that is built around areas of specialization, standard procedures, ap-
prenticeships, and defined career ladders.
What if the industry needs generalists rather than specialists? What if
specific hotels have their own procedures for performing particular tasks?
Although the accreditation of tourism training institutions is now a function
of the national government, neither DOT nor other government agencies
can reasonably be expected to stay ahead of the market. Over the long term,
the private sector will need to shoulder more of the burden of standard
development and accreditation.
The private sectors role in establishing quality standards for the indus-
try should not be confined to training and education. Eventually, it should
also take a lead role in developing standards for compliance with best prac-
tices in sustainable tourism development as well as for varying levels of ser-
vice quality from tourist businesses.
Just as the national government is beginning to relinquish or devolve
some of its functions to the local government, so, too, must it devolve other
functions to the tourism industry. In the process, there must be a correspond-
ing initiative from the industry to take on these new and additional func-
tions.
Is not the devolution of the accreditation function to the LGUs suffi-
cient? If the concern is simply to ensure the quality of the product at the local
level, then oversight by the local government may be enough. However, ac-
creditation also guides the markets in their decisionmaking process. As such
there should be a national standard that applies to all localities so that indi-
vidual and industrial consumers can compare tourist facilities and services.
On the other hand, the accreditation system for the destinations, attractions,
and facilities to be included in DOTs marketing portfolio should ensure
that these meet the minimum internationally accepted tourism standards.
For sustainable tourism projects, an internationally accepted standard is
expected to be in place within a year or two as an offshoot of the World
Ecotourism Summit in Quebec from May 16 to 22, 2002. In the meantime,
programs like Green Globe and Green Leaf, as well as documents like the
Mohonk Agreement (Honey and Rome 2001) and the Quebec Declaration
on Ecotourism should give one enough clues as to what this international
standard will look like in its final form.
Still another pressing need of the tourism industry is regular and reli-
able information. Hard data borne of research are needed if the industry
truly recognizes that monitoring, evaluation, and proper certification or ac-
creditation schemes are essential to sustainable tourism development. As
Cruz notes, whatever research data are collected by DOT on sustainable tour-
ism projects tend to be pre-launch or benchmarking ones. Longitudinal track-
ing of the impact of these projects, be it economic, social, or environmental,
is hardly done on a sustained basis.
At the national level, DOT tends to focus on tracking market-related
information about international visitation: volume, market profiles, prefer-
ences, satisfaction, etc. Generation of domestic tourism statistics by DOT has
been sporadic. Local, site-specific information from DOT regional offices or
from LGU tourism offices is even more difficult to obtain. This is probably a
reflection of the local units limitations, not of their disinterest in getting
data.
The private sector has also been remiss where data generation is con-
cerned, not having actively sponsored industry-related research. While some
organizations do conduct research relevant to their corporate concerns, there
is a dearth of publicly available research outputs from various trade associa-
tions. Academic tourism research is no better. For one, it is often conducted
in isolation. For another, publication and dissemination has been very lim-
ited because most of the output tends to be written as graduate theses or
dissertations.
Building the research capability of the tourism industry (involving gov-
ernment, commercial and academic units) should be one of the priorities of
the sustainable tourism development drive. Given the volume and diversity
of information that is needed, the research activity may be distributed among
the different sectors according to each ones capabilities and interests. Such
activity could take the form of a national network of tourism research offices.
A national tourism research agenda may then be defined so it can be prop-
erly undertaken by this network.
Conclusion
The article has attempted to describe the challenges of sustainable tourism
development in the Philippines in terms of economic sustainability, ecologi-
cal sustainability, and social equity. It has also outlined the roles that three
key sectorsnational government, private industry, and local communities
need to play in building partnerships for sustainable tourism development
at both the national and local levels.
In many cases, tourism development decision has become a cost-benefit
equation involving tradeoffs between expected economic and environmen-
tal impacts. In the process, the social equity objective seems to receive the
least attention from tourism planners and advocates. It is as if social equity is
assumed to follow once the economic condition of the community has been
successfully uplifted. As Dulnuan and Evacitas have noted, this is not neces-
sarily the case. Although there may be some immediate economic benefits to
those directly engaged in tourism, there is no assurance that these benefits
will automatically trickle down even to those whose livelihoods have little or
nothing to do with tourism.
Dulnuan and Evacitass observations square with earlier surveys of the
Social Weather Stations (2001). Secondary analysis of SWS data from 1995 to
1998 suggests some pessimism about the direct benefits of tourism. Alampay
and Bosangit (2001) found that the percentage of Filipinos who expected an
increase in visitor arrivals to have a positive impact on their livelihood dropped
from 42 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 1998. More worrisome is the finding
that among lower-income respondents (classes D and E), more people felt
that increased tourism would have a bad rather than good effect on their
livelihood.
Figure. 2. Perceived effects of increased tourist arrivals on family livelihood
Probably good Probably bad
Source: Alampay and Bosangit (2001) from SWS (2001) data
The studies also seem to suggest that the economic effects of tourism,
ecotourism or otherwise, appear to be limited to income and jobs. Both
policymakers and academic researchers have paid little attention to tourisms
alleged contribution to improving the quality of life at the destination.
Evacitass study shows that, at least in Bais City, ecotourism has yet not deliv-
ered the improvements to social service infrastructure that tourism textbooks
routinely promise. The condition of the barangay road remains poor while
water supply and basic medicines in the barangay are still inadequate.
Admittedly, such improvements may not come overnight, particularly in
areas like Bais City, Olango, and Sagada, which handle only a small volume of
tourists at any given time. The same thing may not be said, however, of desti-
nations like Boracay and Bohol, which seem to be making progress much
more rapidly along their respective life cycles. Yet, very little research has
been done on the impact of ecotourism in the quality of life in these areas.
For instance, has the quality of education on Boracay improved? What about
the water supply? sanitation and hygiene? sense of community? All of these
could be indicative of the impact of a successful tourism initiative on the
community. The evidence, however, is sorely lacking.
One final point needs to be made about sustainable tourism develop-
ment. Achieving sustainability takes time. In the same manner, any negative
impact will take time before they will begin to manifest. Tourism planners
and managers must recognize that tourism is not an investment that quickly
brings in the desired returns.
In a presentation at an international ecotourism conference early this
year, Peter Raines, managing director of Coral Cay Conservation, Ltd., talked
about his organizations reef conservation work in two Philippine communi-
ties off the island of Negros: Danjugan on the Oriental side, and Apo on the
Occidental side. Danjugan Island had previously been recognized by the
DENR as the best-managed reef in the Philippines. On the other hand, the
successful partnerships between academics from Siliman University, NGOs,
tourism companies, and local residents had similarly accorded Apo Island
recognition from both the tourism industry and the environmental community.
Raines was quick to point out, however, that whatever success is being
enjoyed by both sites today is due in large part to years of preparatory commu-
nity work that preceded actual implementation. The education, training and
trust-building components of community-based tourism development should
not be sacrificed for expediency. All stages of development, including those
of tourism, will take some time to complete.
The Philippine tourism industry is no exception, especially given the
existing economic and political realities that affect its development. To ad-
dress the countrys need for a revitalized tourism industry, government will
have to rely on the more developed, traditional destinations that have both
the markets and the infrastructure (e.g., Metro Manila, Cebu, and their envi-
rons). In the meantime, all the key players, namely, the national government,
private industry, and local communities, must strengthen their partnerships
and lay the foundation for developing the other destinations (e.g., Palawan,
Boracay, Bohol, etc.) in a sustainable manner.
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edited by V.L. Smith and W.R. Eadington. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
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City, Philippines: SWS.
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conditions for the sustainable development and management of
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ism industrytowards environmentally sustainable development.
WTTC: London.
Chapter 2
A Comparison of Tourism Policy Frameworks:
The Philippines and Thailand
Maria Cherry Lyn S. Rodolfo
Introduction
In the 2001-2004 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP),
the Arroyo administration devotes a separate chapter to tourism, entitled
Putting the Philippines on the International Tourism Map. The adminis-
tration aims to implement reforms that would meet the industrys develop-
ment requirements; rebuild the countrys image; strengthen its competitive-
ness in attracting foreign visitors; and further stimulate domestic travel while
protecting and preserving the environment, its sociocultural heritage, and
the welfare and rights of women and children.
As part of its policy framework, the plan will continue to implement the
1991 Tourism Master Plan (TMP) to optimize the economic contributions of
tourism and develop it on an environmentally sustainable basis. The TMPs
primary objectives include:
Optimizing the contribution of tourism to economic growth at a
national and regional level;
Enhancing and contributing to social cohesion and cultural pres-
ervation at a local level, develop tourism on an environmentally
sustainable basis; and
Developing a diversity of destinations and markets to minimize
exposure to major internal and external threats to tourism activity.
In April 2002, the Department of Tourism (DOT) initiated the imple-
mentation of a National Ecotourism Strategy as framework for sustainable
development, described as development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs(WCED 1987). While sustainable development builds on the old prin-
ciples of conservation and stewardship, it offers a more proactive stance that
incorporates continued economic growth in a more ecological and equitable
manner.
The DOT recognizes that for tourism to become truly competitive in
attracting visitors, the Philippines should measure its performance against
its competitors. Benchmarks are needed to analyze performance, practices,
and processes for improvement. The future competitiveness of tourism de-
pends on organizations getting close to their markets and developing re-
sponsiveness to market needs, and an ability to counter threats and to exploit
opportunities. Benchmarking provides a useful tool for increasing competi-
tiveness and learning from the mistakes of others.
The Philippines lags behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of
volume of arrivals (Table 1) due to higher costs of tourism products and
services in the Philippines relative to Thailand and Malaysia, insufficient air
access, and the lack of variety in attractions and products (MTPDP 2001-04).
A tourist, for instance, would prefer Phuket to Cebu because the latter does
not offer the same variety or level of readiness in terms of access, accommoda-
tion, infrastructure, or attractions as Phuket (McKinsey 2002).
Table 1. Visitor arrivals in Southeast Asia (1999-2002), in millions
Country 1999 2000 2001 2002
Malaysia 7.9 10.2 12.8 11.7
Thailand 8.7 9.6 10.1 10.8
Singapore 6.9 7.7 7.5 7.3
Indonesia 4.3 5.0 5.1 5.0
Philippines 2.2 1.9 1.8 1.9
Vietnam 1.8 2.1 2.3 2.6
Source: MTPDP 2001-04, Pacific Asia Travel Association
In the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand stood out in using tourism as a tool
for economic recovery, especially during the Asian financial crisis of 1997
(WTTC 2001). The share of tourism value-added rose by 2 percent. During
that time, Thailand faced currency devaluation and recession, and revived
the broader economy through intensified policy actions on tourism that in-
cluded:
Increased public/private sector investment in promotional
spending;
Relaxed visa rules;
New domestic and international airline competitionsched-
uled and charter;
Leadership of the ASEAN regional tourism program; and
Cooperation with other countries for promotion and a focus on
regional airline liberalization.
Thailand has been referred to as a success story in tourism development
and marketing (Oppermann and Chon 1997). Even the Philippines used
Thailand as a benchmark for policymaking on air access (Limlingan 1999;
MTPDP 2001-04) and infrastructure development (McKinsey 2002). How-
ever, the Philippines can likewise learn from the mistakes or excesses of
Thailands development. The success of Thailand for the past 30 years has
Chapter 2: Rodolfo 25
been achieved at the expense of environment and culture in popular desti-
nations like Pattaya, Phi Phi Island, and Koh Samui. The World Tourism
Organization (WTO 2001) noted that the use of coastal resources for tour-
ism was not sustainable. Nevertheless, Thailand still possessed the potential
to be the leading tourism destination in Southeast Asia and achieve long-
term growth in tourism. The WTO recommended that Thailand develop its
own model of sustainable tourism development.
As the government and private sector strive to put Philippine tourism on
the international map and incorporate sustainability in their agenda, it would
be useful to learn from Thailands experience, from its successes and fail-
ures and, more importantly, from how it has turned its failures into successes
through policy reforms.
Specifically, this study seeks to:
Compare the overall policy frameworks of Philippines and
Thailand in tourism development;
Examine some directions toward sustainable tourism develop-
ment in the Philippines based on the lessons derived from
Thailands experience.
This study is divided into six sections. The first section discusses the
background of the study while the second one explores the role of policies
in tourism development. The next two sections trace the evolution of policy
frameworks in Philippines and Thailand. The levels of policy influence in
critical decision areas like market priorities, ownership, concentration of
power, nature of development, infrastructure, manpower, and environmen-
tal and cultural concerns, are then compared in the succeeding section.
Finally, the paper summarizes the lessons from Thailands experience and
its findings.
Role of policies in sustainable tourism
In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)
presented a report entitled Our Common Future, which placed the concept of
sustainable development at center stage and promoted it as a vehicle for
deliverance. It described sustainable development as development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs(WCED 1987). Thus, it is not simply a
matter of temporal tradeoffs and intergenerational transfers. While sustain-
able development builds on the old principles of conservation and steward-
ship, it offers a more proactive stance that incorporates continued economic
growth in a more ecological and equitable manner. Sustainability is not at-
tainable without economic growth. It requires poverty alleviation of poverty
and an effective demand for environmental quality changes that cannot
take place on a sustainable basis without growth (Panayotou 1993).
Tourism reflects the diversity of the multidimensional concept of sus-
tainable development. Tourism Canada (1990) states that sustainable tour-
ism development leads to management of all resources in such a way that the
economic, social, and aesthetic needs are met while maintaining the cultural
integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life support
systems. Resource management should reaffirm that tourism is an economic
activity capable of making a profit to survive and benefit the community.
Panayotou (1993) argues that the costs of development are rooted more in
market and policy failures rather than in economic growth.
Who should assume a bigger role in tourism development? Issues such
as the economic importance of tourism as an activity (Go and Jenkins 1997);
market failures, as in the case of monopoly and entry barriers (Johnson and
Thomas 1992); negative externalities (Johnson and Thomas 1992; Go and
Jenkins 1997), or the tragedy of the commons; social costs borne by local
and traditional communities, as in the case of Thailand and Mexico (Elliott
1997); and socially unfavorable distribution of income have been put forward
as strong cases for some form of intervention (Roy and Tisdell 1998). Such
interventions are proposed to correct market failures and ensure that mar-
kets fully and accurately respond to consumer preferences (Hartley and
Hooper 1990). Only government can provide political stability and the legal
and financial framework required by tourism (Elliott 1997).
Roy and Tisdell (1998) argue that the effectiveness of state control and
management can be limited due to ineffective implementation of delegated
power and other administrative difficulties such as lack of willingness or
capacity to enforce rules and regulations as well as the openness to bribery
and corruption by officials. While the private sector can be assigned rights of
ownership of certain areas, such management can lead to the creation of
greater monopoly power and the underutilization of linkages among indus-
tries. The role of the state, therefore, in the struggle for sustainable develop-
ment is critical and fundamentalnot one of direct management or com-
mand and control but one that establishes new rules of the game and creates
an environment that fosters competition, efficiency, and conservation
(Panayotou 1993).
While tourism was an activity sustained mainly by the private sector soon
after the Second World War, governments have since become major players
in the development and promotion of tourism destinations (WTO 1998).
The governments role is more important in developing countries or transi-
tion economies, where government support is needed to jumpstart the
industrys growth. In contrast, there is less need for public sector for the
tourism industry of countries that are at a high level of economic develop-
ment.
The role of government in tourism has already changed significantly
over the last three decades. In the early years of tourism development, gov-
ernments were the only entities with resources to invest in the sector (Jenkins
1997; WTO 1998). Governments emerged as pioneering tourism entrepre-
neurs for lack of private investors with capital, experience, and willingness to
invest in tourism (Jenkins 1997; Oppermann and Chon 1997). Governments
had high hopes that tourism would be able to meet certain objectives such as
increased foreign exchange earnings, employment and income generation,
regional development, and higher government revenues. Incentives were
given for the development of new accommodations, visitor center facilities,
manpower, and infrastructure, as in the case of Malaysia (Khalifa and Tahir
1997).
However, overdevelopment by the private sector eventually led to envi-
ronmental degradation, exploitation of culture, prostitution, and cutthroat
competition, which induced governments to moderate growth in supply by
introducing legislation. Overregulation also spawned fewer investments. Over
the past decade, the pendulum has again swung back toward a more laissez-
faire attitude. Governments now see their role more as a facilitator or stimu-
lator of private sector investment through fiscal and other incentives. In al-
most all countries surveyed by the WTO (1998), government had divested
itself of its direct interests in tourism planning and services. Industry legisla-
tion and regulations are less and less common, except where they relate to
consumer protection or to national heritage and environment conservation.
According to the WTO (1998) the trend now is toward disengagement
from tourism by the public sector and more public-private partnership, espe-
cially at the local level. In addition to easing budget constraints, a public
sector-led marketing organization is often less entrepreneurial and effective
than one managed by, or in collaboration, with the industry itself. In most
countries, semi-public tourism organizations have been established or recog-
nized by the state as autonomous bodies with competence at the national
level to promote and, in some cases, market inbound international tourism.
In countries with high degrees of decentralization, the partnership involves
not only central governments as public partners but also provincial authorities.
In the past two years, institutions such as the World Travel and Tourism
Council (WTTC), the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank have
examined and promoted the link between tourism and the poverty eradica-
tion agenda. The economic impact of travel and tourism cuts across several
aspects of the policy spectrumemployment, transport, communications,
regional development, infrastructure, taxation, trade, and the environment.
However, these government policies are not consistent with each other and
with the overall thrust for sustainable development.
The need to assess tourism policies has become more urgent in the wake
of pressures on environment and cultural resources from rapid tourism
growth. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has
been active in assessing the performance of tourism policies among its mem-
ber countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera-
tion (APEC) Tourism Working Group (1996) conducted a study that exam-
ined impediments to tourism among APEC-member economies and a survey
of 230 government and private sector organizations associated with tourism
in the region. Similarly, member countries of the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission in the Asia-Pacific (UN-ESCAP) have been taking
action at the national level to implement the Plan of Action for Sustainable
Tourism Development in the Asian-Pacific Region since 1999.
There are several approaches to comparing policies. An industry analyst
can reasonably examine tourism policies of nations in terms of major catego-
ries like transportation, accommodation, destination development, invest-
ment, and labor policies. From a political science perspective, some ele-
ments include organization of power affecting tourism policy issues, political
motivations surrounding decisions affecting tourism, and the decisions re-
garding who will be the political constituencies for tourism policy (Richter
1993).
This study compares the tourism policies of the Philippines with
Thailands based on seven policy areas: 1) market priorities, 2) development
form, 3) centralization or decentralization, 4) ownership (as discussed by
Richter 1993), 5) infrastructure, 6) manpower development, and 7) environ-
mental and cultural sustainability as used by UN-ESCAP (2001).
Evolution of policy framework in the Philippines
According to the WTTC (2001), the broader travel and tourism accounted
for 7 percent of the gross domestic product of the Philippines and gener-
ated close to 3 million jobs. The potentials have not been fully realized be-
cause past government policies in the Philippines did not support measures
for developing the tourism sector (UN-ESCAP 2001). Tourism did not enjoy
priority status in the national agenda or in the allocation of budgets, result-
ing in limited support for infrastructure (particularly road, airport, and sea-
port) development.
How did Philippine tourism evolve over the years? What policies were
used to develop tourism? What were the costs of development? What policy
responses were adopted to address the pressures created by tourism on the
environment and culture? What have been the consequences of these policy
responses?
In the 1950s, the private sector initiated the development of the industry
by forming the Philippine Tourist and Travel Association (PTTA) whose
charter was promulgated by Congress in 1952. The need for government in
the early stages of development became evident and was manifested with the
creation of the Board of Travel and Tourist Industry (BTTI) under the De-
partment of Commerce and Industry in 1956. The BTTI and the PTTA worked
together in developing tourism. The BTTI served as the policymaking body
while the PTTA served as its implementing arm. The Philippine Tourism
Commission (PTC) was later created to absorb the functions of BTTI and
PTTA following the failure of these two organizations to effectively carry out
their functions.
For the government, tourisms major economic benefit was basically re-
lated to foreign exchange earnings and employment generation. The pri-
mary objective of development was to cash in on the tourist trade as did other
Asian countries during this period. In 1962 the major markets were the US
(50.25 percent), Australia (7.34 percent), and Japan (5.70 percent). By the
end of the 1960s, Japan had become the second largest market (17 percent).
Table 2. Number of tourists and dollar receipts in Asian Countries: 1968-1970
No. of Tourists Dollar Revenues
(in thousands) (in $ Million)
1968 1969 1970 1968 1969 1970
Hong Kong 675 765 900 162 188 211
Japan 500 609 775 116 135 200
Thailand 375 470 600 65 81 100
Singapore 273 340 550 54 62 104
Philippines 113 123 144 25 27 32
Source: DOT
Four-year Philippine development plan (1974-1977)
Arrivals and receipts increased from 0.62 million and $10.2 million in 1962
to 0.17 million and $38.2 million in 1972, respectively. To further support
tourism, government issued Presidential Decree No. 31, which eliminated
hotel taxes. Presidential Decree. No. 92, on the other hand, included tour-
ism in the Business and Incentives and Reforms of the Board of Investments
(inclusion of a firm to be based on foreign exchange earnings potentials).
Entry and visa requirements were also relaxed.
Under the Integrated Reorganization Plan of 1972, which overhauled all
government offices, the Department of Trade and Tourism was created. Presi-
dential Decree No. 189 was promulgated to rename the Department of Trade
and Tourism as the Department of Trade and to create the Department of
Tourism in 1973 with a Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) attached to it in
lieu of the PTC. The PTA served as the implementing arm for physical and
infrastructure development. The Philippine Convention Bureau was like-
wise created in 1976 to become the marketing arm of the DOT.
Under martial law, the government committed resources to assist the
industry in its bid for a bigger share of the international tourist market. In the
four-year Philippine Development Plan of 1974-77, government policies were
directed only to making Manila and the nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna,
Batangas, Corregidor and Bataan as the priority development areas. The gov-
ernment did not envision the development of other provincial destinations
since the country was attracting only short-term tourists who stayed an average
of one to four days.
Infrastructure development included the construction of the Philip-
pine International Convention Center to boost Manilas bid as a convention
center in Asia, and the Folk Arts Theater, among others.
Air policies were likewise central to the development of the tourist trade
during this period. The one-airline policy in 1973 aimed to establish the
financial viability of the industry and to spread out aviation services to the
entire country. This policy became the basis for Philippine Airlines (PAL)
monopoly for two decades.
Table 3. Arrivals and receipts from 1971 to 1977
YEAR VISITOR ARRIVALS VISITOR RECEIPTS
Volume % Change (in $ M) % Change
1971 144,321 0.17 65.93 -30.40
1972 166,431 15.32 121.97 85.00
1973 242,811 45.90 76.90 -37.00
1974 410,138 68.90 58.20 -24.30
1975 502,211 22.50 109.60 88.40
1976 615,159 22.50 93.10 -15.10
1977 730,123 18.70 130.90 40.60
Source: DOT
With these in place, the government exceeded its arrival and tourist
receipt targets with 730,123 tourists and receipts amounting to $130 million
in 1977. As a result of these economic contributions, tourism was given a new
role as a tool for national development. However, the policies pursued cre-
ated inefficiencies in supporting industries. Competitive air services were
not developed due to the monopoly in both the domestic and foreign mar-
kets. Above all, more communities were marginalized as foreign tourism de-
veloped. The disparity between the core (Manila) and the periphery (prov-
inces) widened. Tourism benefits hardly trickled down to the community
residents where tourism infrastructure and activities were undertaken.
Ten-year tourism plan (1978-1987)
In the midst of public protests against the Marcos administrations human
rights violations, the Philippines emerged as an investment and destination
center in Asia. Arrivals grew at an average of 37.9 percent from 1973 to 1976.
The government then pursued the preparation of a Tourism Priorities Plan
for the comprehensive and systematic development of tourist areas through-
out the country. Based on Presidential Decree 1200, the National Economic
and Development Authority (NEDA) drew up a Ten-Year Tourism Plan cov-
ering the period 1978-1987. Under this plan, the government aimed to spread
the benefits of tourism to the different regions of the country and focused on
developing the Philippines as a tourist, financial, and convention center.
The objectives of the government were as follows:
To make Manila an international convention center;
To fully develop tourism-related facilities and manpower at all
levels;
To restore, renovate, and maintain historical landmarks and to
develop and conserve national parks for Philippine flora and
fauna;
To develop the regions and a cadre of small businessmen en-
gaged in tourism-related activities; and
To make air policies supportive of international tourism devel-
opment and to establish a data and information base on which
plans and projects can be formulated.
A target of three million tourists by 1987 and foreign exchange earnings
of $961.4 million was set for tourism. This was to be achieved through:
Strong foreign tourism promotion in the traditional markets
like the US, Japan, and Australia and in potential markets like
Europe, China, Africa, Middle East, and other ASEAN coun-
tries;
Information campaigns to encourage domestic travel by govern-
ment and private employees, local civic organizations, and local
base of the population such as farmers, fishermen; and barangay
leaders;
Provision of incentives for projects in the following areas: Re-
gion I (Ilocos Sur, Benguet and La Union), Region IV (Manila),
Region IV-A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon), and Re-
gion IX (Zamboanga del Sur); and
Provision of manpower resources and pursuit of
professionalization of tourism in the Philippines and in the rest
of Asia through the Asian Institute of Tourism in the University
of the Philippines.
Priority areas were expanded to include Region I (Ilocos Sur, Benguet,
and La Union) and Region IX (Zamboanga del Sur). In terms of domestic
tourism, the plans during this period aimed to cultivate local travel habits
among Filipinos through programs such as the Pasyalan Campaign, Bakasyon
Program, and Lakbay-Aral Program.
Table 4. Arrivals and receipts (1978-1986)
Year Visitor Arrivals Visitor Receipts
1978 859,396 17.70 210.10 60.50
1979 966,873 12.50 238.00 13.30
1980 1,008,159 4.30 319.70 34.30
1981 938,953 -6.90 343.70 7.50
1982 890,807 -5.10 450.10 1.00
1983 860,550 -3.40 464.80 3.30
1984 816,712 -5.10 366.30 -21.20
1985 773,074 -5.30 507.00 38.40
1986 781,517 1.10 647.10 27.60
Source: DOT
Arrivals reached the one-million mark for the first time in 1980, but the
political unrest coupled with the economic and political crisis of the early
1980s led to a steady decline in arrivals during the period. Arrivals declined
by an average annual rate of 3 percent from 1981 to 1987. Targets for arrivals
were not achieved. However, the country exceeded its target for tourist re-
ceipts ($1.2 billion in 1987) due to the rising costs of services.
Development was primarily government-led and oriented toward distrib-
uting the economic benefits through a trickle-down approach. However, there
was no clear basis for the selection of the priority areas such as Ilocos and
Zamboanga del Sur. Furthermore, the government was primarily concerned
with maximizing the cash potentials of tourism services. As a result, environ-
mental, cultural and economic sustainability of the programs were not priori-
tized. Sex tourism flourished in Manila.
There was also a complete neglect of domestic tourism despite enumer-
ated programs to stimulate domestic travel interests among Filipinos. A more
active domestic tourism campaign was conducted during the last two years of
the Marcos regime to counterbalance the downturn in arrivals and build up
the base for domestic travel. However, mounting poverty concerns limited
the growth of this market (MTPDP 1987-1992).
Five-year medium term Philippine development plan (1987-1992)
The Aquino administration sought to change the landscape of tourism de-
velopment in the country as envisioned in the MTPDP of 1987-92. It inher-
ited an industry with a negative image as another sexual paradise in Asia and
characterized by political instability as well as a string of white elephant
infrastructure projects from the previous administration.
The new administration aimed to pursue a level of tourism development
that would be for and by the Filipino people. While development was driven
primarily by the need to maximize economic benefits, the government also
saw the need to strike a balance between economic growth and environmen-
tal and cultural sustainability.
Year Visitor Arrival Visitor Receipts
1987 794,700 1.70 1,200.00 85.40
1988 1,043,114 31.30 1,301.00 8.40
1989 1,189,719 14.10 146,535.00 12.60
1990 1,024,520 -13.30 1,306.00 -11.00
1991 951,365 -7.10 1,281.00 -2.00
1992 1,152,952 21.20 1,673.90 30.60
Source: DOT
The major policies and strategies of the new administration were di-
rected toward development of high-impact markets such as East Asia; the
review of air agreements to make them more responsive to the requirements
of the industry; the improvement of international and national airports; de-
regulation and self-regulation of the private sector; people empowerment
through local tourism councils; emphasis on the environmental sociocul-
tural welfare of local communities in the development of tourism areas; and
regional dispersion of economic benefits through an expanded list of prior-
ity areas.
A bottom-up approach to planning and development was intended for
the tourism industry. Organizations such as the PTTA, Philippine Tour Op-
erators Association, and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philip-
pines were revived to make them active participants in the crafting of policies
and programs. In 1991 tourism functions were devolved to the local govern-
ment units, thereby empowering the local communities from planning to
implementation. A one-year National Tourism Plan was produced by both
DOT and the private sector. The objectives of sustainable development be-
came more explicit in the 1991 Tourism Master Plan (the blueprint for tour-
ism development over the next 20 years). However, the administration was
criticized for not really prioritizing tourism despite the strategies set under
the MTPDP, as evidenced by the reluctance of NEDA to seek funding for the
plan (Rieder 1997).
From 1987 to 1992, arrivals increased by an average annual rate of 7.9
percent. The decline in 1990 and 1991 can be attributed to a combination of
factors and events such as political troubles (e.g., kidnappings, military
coups), power crisis, Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991, Gulf War of 1990,
and the economic recession which hit major markets like the US and Japan.
Five-year medium term Philippine development plan (1992-1998)
The Ramos administration faced serious challengesrising external debt
problems, high inflation and interest rates, and a poverty incidence of 32
percentin improving the Philippine economy.
The government aimed to achieve greater contribution of tourism to
economic growth and regional development as part of its macroeconomic
goals of industrial restructuring for worldwide competitiveness, increasing
incomes and stronger links between agriculture and industry (MTPDP 1993-
98). Its targets were an annual increase of 16.5 percent in arrivals, with a
corresponding increase in expenditures from $1.8 billion in 1993 to $4.9
billion in 1998. The number of local tourists should have increased from 7.9
million in 1993 to 17.6 million in 1998 with a corresponding increase in
expenditures from P28 billion in 1993 to P58 billion in 1998.
It adopted the cluster development approach embodied in the 1991
TMP and heavily supported infrastructure development to link air, sea, and
land transport services. It focused on the triple Ts (tourism, transport, and
telecommunications) for economic growth and strongly pursued deregula-
tion of these strategic sectors. Government also encouraged the develop-
ment of tourism facilities outside the National Capital Region (NCR) as well
as the implementation of regional tourism training programs in three clus-
ters, namely: Cebu, Davao, and Baguio. The strategy featured aggressive mar-
keting and promotions to project the Philippines as a major tourist destina-
tion and retirement haven focusing on domestic and East Asian markets. In
pursuit of integrated cluster development planning, the government pre-
pared master plans for areas like the Cordillera Autonomous Region, Tagaytay,
and Palawan.
Arrivals hit the 2-million mark in 1996. Incoming seat capacity increased
as a result of expanded bilateral agreements with major markets like the US,
Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong. As a member of the WTTC, the Phil-
ippines signed the Villamoura Declaration of 1997, which aimed at using
tourism as vehicle for employment generation.
1993 1,372,097 19.00 2,122.00 26.80
1994 1,573,821 14.70 2,282.90 7.60
1995 1,760,163 11.80 2,454.00 7.50
1996 2,049,367 16.40 2,700.60 10.10
1997 2,222,523 8.50 2,831.20 4.80
1998 2,149,327 -3.30 2,412.90 -14.80
Source: DOT
The vulnerability of the industry to external shocks became evident when
the Asian financial crisis in 1997 dampened demand for tourism from major
markets such as Japan. Unlike Thailand, the Philippines was not able to
maximize tourism as a tool for economic recovery during this crisis. Most
operators continued charging dollar-denominated prices for their services
because they were protecting themselves from the escalating costs of im-
ported inputs. While the industry expanded in the mid-90s, the rising costs
of development became more evident with cases of pollution (as in the
coliform issue in Boracay), rampant prostitution in Manila and in other key
cities such as Cebu, Olongapo, Laguna, and Baguio, and marginalization of
community residents in largescale tourism projects, among others.
A review of the national plans revealed that the economic importance of
tourism in generating foreign exchange earnings and in creating employ-
ment opportunities had been long recognized by government. However, the
lack of priority for tourisms role in economic development was evidenced by
incoherent plans, heavy politicization of the industry as well as the lack of
leadership in sustaining the momentum of development.
Angat Pinoy MTPDP (1998-2003)
The Estrada administration noted the slowdown in the growth of the services
sector. Among the issues it had to deal were the consequences brought about
by the Asian financial crisis and bankruptcy of PAL in 1998.
The objectives as well as policies for tourism development became part
of the overall targets for the entire services sector. A Transportation and
Tourism Summit was held in 1999 to formulate resolutions by the private and
government sector on transport issues, marketing and product development,
among others. The resolutions were expected to serve as guiding principles
for tourism development during this administration. Its strategies covered
marketing the Philippines as the best place for business, convention, and
retirement; encouraging local government units (LGUs) and local commu-
nities to venture in projects in tourism priority areas; developing and imple-
menting standards and guidelines for physical infrastructure development
to minimize tourisms impact on the environment; promoting domestic and
international tourism and upgrading tourism training institutes and aca-
demic programs for travel and tourism.
Arrivals declined by an average of 3.5 percent from 1998 to 2000. Tour-
ism receipts likewise dipped by 8.5 percent per annum during that period.
The liberalization of air access pursued under the previous administration
slowed down when the government abrogated the agreement with Taiwan in
1999 (leading to a loss of 900,000 incoming seats per week from both Taiwan-
ese and Philippine carriers). The abrogation led to a decline of 900,000
seats per week from both Taiwanese and Philippine carriers.
Four-year medium term Philippine development plan (2001-2004)
The Arroyo administration aimed to implement reforms to meet the industrys
development requirements, rebuild the countrys image, strengthen its com-
petitiveness in attracting foreign visitors, further stimulate domestic travel
while protecting and preserving the environment and its socio-cultural heri-
tage, and secure the welfare of women and children. Arrivals were projected
to reach 2.3 million to 3.0 million by 2004 (lower than the 4 million target set
under the 1991 TMP), with the major markets being East Asia (Japan, Korea,
Taiwan, and Hong Kong), North America (US and Canada) and Europe
(UK, Germany, and France). Receipts were further expected to amount to
$2.2 billion to $2.7 billion in 2001 and $2.6 billion to $3.4 billion in 2004.
To meet these targets, the government set the following strategies:
Improve accessibility of tourist destinations by developing tour-
ism hubs (Manila, Cebu, Davao, Laoag); liberalizing civil avia-
tion to increase weekly air seat capacity at par with Thailand,
Malaysia, and Singapore and to liberalize visa requirements;
encouraging investments;
Enhance tourist products and services by making products bet-
ter and affordable through discussions with private sector and
LGUs; investing in human resource development by reviewing
existing curricula to produce better graduates; conducting niche
and mass-marketing programs;
Instill a culture of tourism by advocating stronger law enforce-
ment, conducting information campaigns, integrating environ-
mental considerations and promoting ecotourism; intensifying
LGU participation and establishing representation and partici-
pation of women in tourism; and
Work for the recognition of tourism by establishing the Tourism
Satellite Accounts; tapping resources for development; review-
ing and assessing tourism development plans.
The country missed its targets once again due to a series of crises that hit
the industry. Highly publicized kidnapping incidents and the political insta-
bility in Mindanao triggered the issuance of travel advisories by the US and
Japan. Furthermore, external events like the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks in the US, the Iraq War, and the 2003 SARS outbreak worsened the
performance of the industry.
Domestic tourism flourished amid all of these crises. The SARS outbreak
caused a shift from outbound to domestic travel by Filipinos and stimulated
the growth in emerging destinations such as Bohol. However, the lack of an
updated and comprehensive data on domestic tourism flows and behavior
revealed an industry that still heavily favored foreign tourism and reflected
the neglect or lack of priority for domestic tourism in the past decades.
1999 2,170,514 1.00 2,553.70 5.80
2000 1,992,169 -8.2 2,133.80 -16.4
2001 1,796,893 -9.8 1,722.70 -19.3
2002 1,932,677 7.6 1,740.06 1.0
2003 1,907,226 -1.3 1,500.00 13.7
Source: DOT
The Philippines has a lot of catching up to do in terms of generating the
volume of arrivals at par with our Asian neighbors. It has missed its targets a
number of times due to a combination of policy and market failures. What
the Philippines has right now is a master plan that needs updating so it can
provide a roadmap for the development of neglected yet high-yielding seg-
ments such as health tourism; long stay and retirement; a set of regional and
community master plans with recommendations and investment potentials
that need to be disseminated; an industry lacking in research and develop-
ment capabilities; and a series of resolutions among various government
agencies that need strong coordination. On the other hand, the industry can
take pride in the private-public sector partnership that has become stronger
in marketing and promoting destinations, developing infrastructure, increas-
ing community participation, and developing more sustainable tourism ac-
tivities at the local levels. Domestic tourism has become a top priority. Most
importantly, sustainability has been incorporated in the National Ecotourism
Strategy, thereby providing a national framework on sustainable development.
Evolution of policy framework in Thailand
In 2002 the WTO revealed that Asia was one of the fastest growing markets
despite the security concerns arising from terrorism. Thailand hit the 10-million
visitor mark in December 2002. This growth posed a threat to the competi-
tiveness of Asian economies vying to become tourism hubs in the region.
Tourism has become a national priority in Thailand because of its poten-
tial for generating jobs, income, and foreign exchange. In 2002 the TAT
commissioned research to the Tourism Satellite Accounts, the results of which
revealed that tourism directly and indirectly created 3.4 million jobs (11
percent of the workforce) and $1.57 billion worth of economic activity (11.4
percent of gross domestic product or GDP).
How did Thailand achieve its competitive position today? What policies
were used to develop tourism? What were the costs of development? What
policy responses were adopted to address the pressures created by tourism
on the environment and culture? What have been the consequences of these
policy responses?
First five-year tourism development plan (1977-1981)
International tourism began with the early visits of European travelers, nota-
bly Portuguese, English, Dutch, and French in the 17th century. Mass tour-
ism, particularly the entertainment industry, developed in the late 1960s
due to the presence of American servicemen in Asia. Around one-third of
the total spending of overseas visitors went to entertainment during the pe-
riod 1966-1971 (Meyer 1988). From 1960 to 1973, arrivals increased by 20
percent per year, leading to a growth of 32 percent in the supply of rooms.
Indeed, tourism generated foreign exchange revenues, employment, and
income for the Thai people. At the same time, Thailand gained notoriety as
a sexual paradise in Asia.
1960 81,340 32.11 10
1965 225,025 6.18 24 140.00
1970 628,671 33.82 105 337.50
1971 638,738 1.60 106 0.95
1972 820,758 28.50 131 23.58
1973 1,037,737 26.44 169 29.01
1974 1,107,392 6.71 193 14.20
1975 1,180,075 6.56 227 17.62
1976 1,098,442 -6.92 200 -11.89
Source: TAT
To develop the industry, the government set up the Tourism Organiza-
tion of Thailand (TOT) in 1969. Recognizing the economic value of tourism,
the Thai government incorporated tourism development for the first time
into the Fourth National Economic and Social Development Plan of 1977-
1981. The major objectives of the government then were to increase foreign
exchange earnings and help reduce the national deficit in the balance of
trade and payments through tourism (Meyer 1988). The primary focus was
on marketing and physical development to facilitate the growth of interna-
tional as well as domestic tourism. The rising tension between economic
growth and culture was not immediately addressed.
Volume % Change (in $M) % Change
1977 1,220,672 11.13 230 15.00
1978 1,453,839 19.10 435 89.13
1979 1,591,455 9.47 549 26.21
1980 1,858,801 16.80 867 57.92
1981 2,015,615 8.44 983 13.38
Source: TAT
In 1978 the TOT was upgraded and renamed the Tourism Authority of
Thailand (TAT). The commitment of the government to promote tourism
development included budgetary allocation to TAT. Strong promotions con-
tributed to the growth of tourism revenues from 4.6 million baht in 1977 to
21.4 million baht in 1981. This apparent success led the government to aim
for projected tourism revenues of 49 million baht at the end of the Second
Five-Year Tourism Development Plan (Li and Zhang 1997).
While the plan recognized the environmental effects of tourism devel-
opment, it did not specify any concrete suggestions to solve them. The gov-
ernment simply issued strict regulations as a tool for environmental protec-
tion. Both the government and the private sector lacked the technical and
management knowhow about conservation of destinations. Inappropriate land
use activities and construction were hardly controlled by the regulator. The
result: deterioration of coastal destinations.
Second five-year tourism development plan (1982-1986)
The tension between economic gains, on one hand, and environment and
culture, on the other, continued in the mid-1980s, but the government re-
mained committed to developing mass tourism in Thailand. The Second
Tourism Development Plans primary objectives (incorporated in the Fifth
National Social and Economic Plan) focused on expanding the industry by
intensifying promotion and marketing, supporting public investments to
develop tourist destinations, and encouraging private sector investments in
the services businesses.
When tourism became the largest foreign exchange earner in 1982, the
government used fiscal policy to stimulate expansion of infrastructure. It
granted tax breaks to promote hotel construction, resulting in a 44 percent
increased in hotel rooms from 1986 to 1990.
The government continued to concentrate on mass tourism develop-
ment despite mounting public criticism of the environmental and cultural
deterioration arising tourism. Thus, the government did not have definite
strategies and policies to address the conflict between increasing tourists
and the local environment and culture.
1982 2,218,429 10.06 1,038 5.60
1983 2,191,003 -1.24 1,089 4.91
1984 2,346,706 7.11 1,156 6.15
1985 2,438,270 3.90 1,171 1.30
1986 2,818,092 15.58 1,421 21.35
Source: TAT
Third five-year tourism development plan (1987-1991)
The Third Five-Year Tourism Development Plan (1987-91) was produced
amid three major economic problemsa balance of trade deficit, unemploy-
ment, and uneven distribution of income. To solve these problems, tourism
development and promotion were used as major instruments to realize the
national development targets. Two courses of action for tourism develop-
ment were set:
Emphasis on marketing, research, and advertising and promo-
tions and public relations; and
Development and conservation of tourism resources, including
improvement of facilities.
To implement this plan, TAT received 20 million baht annually starting
in 1987 to develop tourist destinations. This amount was increased to 150
million baht annually during the 1990-91 period (Li and Zhang 1997). In
1987 Thailand launched the first Visit Thailand Year to celebrate the 60th
birthday of the King. Visitor arrivals from Europe and East Asia and the Pacific
increased, as volume rose by 20 percent per year between 1987 and 1988.
1987 3,482,958 23.59 1,946 36.95
1988 4,230,737 21.47 3,121 60.38
1989 4,809,508 13.68 3,753 20.25
1990 5,298,860 10.17 4,326 15.27
1991 5,086,899 -4.00 3,923 -9.32
Source: TAT
In 1988 the Thai government approved additional projects to improve
tourist facilities, preserve the environment, and develop convenient trans-
portation routes. A total of 1310.9 million baht was distributed to 73 tourism
development projects in eight geographic areas between 1989 and 1991
(TAT 1992). Under this plan, the government started to place higher value
on environmental and cultural conservation. A bigger budget was used for
the restoration and maintenance of destinations through agencies like the
Royal Forestry Department, the Fine Arts Department, and the Department
of Local Administration. However, coordination problems prevented these
agencies from improving the environmental and cultural conditions in Thai-
land. The Plan also emphasized rural industrialization and aimed to encour-
age the development of smallscale industries through the promotion of en-
trepreneurship, strengthening of management, improving market informa-
tion, and easing financial constraints.
The Fifth National Plan emphasized economic restructuring and cen-
tered on export-oriented industrialization and the diversification of the ru-
ral economy. The underlying objective of the latter strategy was to ameliorate
the problem of seasonal unemployment in rural areas. Because of their ca-
pacity to absorb labor during slack periods in the agricultural calendar, rural
handicraft and agroprocessing industries provided the cornerstone of this
policy. Traditional handicraft products were singled out to play an important
future role in boosting earnings. They were seen to draw peripheral prov-
inces more centrally into the limelight as they contributed their best prod-
ucts to the countrys portfolio of tourist resources.
The move to turn Thailand into a shopping paradise thus became evi-
dent with the successful promotion of Thailand Arts and Crafts Year in 1989.
Interestingly, the Thai government did not have a particularly difficult task
in coordinating the agencies responsible for its handicraft industries. Thai-
land had fewer than half the number of such agencies found in Malaysia.
All these past plans can be described as physical plans since they focused
on improving infrastructure and amenities. There were no attempts to coor-
dinate the physical and marketing components of the plan (TDRI 1993).
Fourth five-year tourism development plan (1992-1996)
The fourth five-year tourism development plan (1992-1996), developed in a
crisis environment, focused on the renovation, restoration, and maintenance
of tourism resources. Thailand needed to address not its depleted resources
but also the need to compete with other Asian countries as a regional tourism
center. While the country had been known for its impressive historical sites,
friendly people and vibrant cultures, it was ranked as the second most pol-
luted and unsanitary nation after India in a 1990-91 survey of 1,450 tourist
agencies from 26 countries (Kaosa-ard 1994).
As far as regional planning was concerned, many of the recommenda-
tions were not heeded because they were not well publicized and lacked
financial support. Promotional schemes and concrete incentives were rarely
updated. Environmental degradation diminished the potentials of sites and
local residents objected to some of the recommendations (TDRI 1993).
Under the plan, tourism revenue, which in 1991 brought in $4.48 bil-
lion, was expected to fall to $4.28 billion from a previous estimated $5 billion.
Tourist arrivals were forecast to reach 5.1 million in 1992 (or no growth over
1991), down about 4 percent from 1990 (Carey 1992). In 1992 and 1993,
Bangkoks premier hotels reported occupancies of 20 to 30 percent, down
from normal occupancy rates of about 60 percent. Domestic tourism was pro-
jected to increase at a rate of 5 percent over and above the projected 147
million tourist nights in 1996. The plan also aimed for higher expenditures
per day and about 10 days for the average duration of stay (TDRI 1993).
The overall objectives of the plan were to use tourism as a means of a)
improving the welfare of Thai citizens and returning the benefits to taxpay-
ers; b) providing historical, social, and cultural education; c) stimulating the
Thai peoples interest in nature conservation, protecting the environment,
and retaining their identity; and d) generating foreign exchange earnings,
increasing local income, and providing employment for both enterprises
and residents in tourist areas.
The strategies considered under the plan were the following:
Upgrading the tourism market by targeting the following: a)
high-income professional groups, who could be enticed to hold
their conferences and conventions in Thailand; b) female tour-
ists, who were expected to spend on health tours and beauty
enhancement programs; c) repeat tourists, who tended to stay
longer in secondary towns such as Lampang, Ranong and Udon
Thani, and d) enthusiasts of select sports such as golfing, fish-
ing, and gliding;
Enlarging the local market by targeting women who spend more
than men on, say, souvenirs; advertising programs for local mo-
torists; organizing campaigns for secondary towns under the Visit
that Town Year project; and promoting tourism among retirees
and the elderly;
Restoring and conserving tourism resources by demarcating
ecologically fragile areas and enforcing urban planning legisla-
tion;
Establishing a Thai Heritage Fund and a Nature Fund for each
major tourist province, using fiscal incentives to encourage recy-
cling of beverage and food containers, formulating interagency
guidelines to be enforced by relevant agencies, and establish-
ing tourism resource-monitoring and information systems;
Promoting tourism as beneficial to the Thais so that foreign
exchange earnings will only be a secondary rather than primary
objective;
Promoting Thailand as tourism center in Indochina and the
gateway to inner Asia by upgrading airports in Chiang Mai,
Phuket, and Satthahip, studying the feasibility of joint invest-
ment and package tourism between Thailand and countries in
Indochina and Inner Asia;
Projecting a new image of Thailand by disseminating more in-
formation about ideal places for family recreation as well as about
sports and health centers; setting up cultural museums, dis-
seminating information about sports and health centers; enforc-
ing land zoning in Pattaya and Samui; and controlling the spread
of AIDS and abolishing sex tours.
1992 5,136,443 0.97 4,829 23.09
1993 5,760,533 12.15 5,013 3.81
1994 6,166,496 7.05 5,762 14.94
1995 6,951,566 12.73 7,664 33.01
1996 7,192,145 3.46 8,664 13.05
Source: TAT
Eventually, Thailand changed its strategies to maintain stable growth
and pushed for high-quality tourism. Thus the Fourth Tourism Master Plan
focused heavily on sustainable tourism. Promotions in the domestic and in-
ternational market were supported by public funds for the conservation of
tourist resources. It also emphasized cooperation between public and private
sectors in correcting environmental problems of destinations.
Fifth five-year tourism development plan (1997-2001)
The volume of arrivals steadily increased during the 1997-2001 period de-
spite the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Thus, Thailand was ranked as the
19th top destination in the world, a marked improvement from its previous
26th position. Following were some of the factors that contributed to the
growth of tourism in Thailand, particularly during the Asian crisis:
Willingness of Thai hoteliers to price in baht and thus offer very
attractively priced tour packages, particularly to European mar-
kets;
Strong value-for-money offered by Thai hoteliers despite their
increasing prices by an average of around 20 percent to com-
pensate for the higher cost of imported items in their operation;
Effectiveness of the Amazing Thailand marketing campaign,
which focused on Thailand as an inexpensive and safe destina-
tion in a region known for political and social unrest.
The Plans objectives were as follows:
To entice more foreign travelers to travel more extensively within
the country, spending longer days and more money and spread-
ing out to all regions. This, even as the Plan takes into account
the receiving capability or constraints of individual destinations.
To inspire greater appreciation among the Thais for their own
countrys tourist destinations such that they will travel around
the country more extensively and in the process spend more
money and help increase the tourism balance sheet. This in
turn is expected to distribute progress to the localities and boost
the overall economic development of the nation.
To pursue technological advancement and upgrading in the
area of information and data services through domestic and in-
ternational computerized networks.
To promote regional cooperation in infrastructure development
To enhance human resource development with the end in view
of producing world-class personnel with deep concern for eco-
logical preservation
To ensure the safety and security of tourists as well as tour opera-
tors through strict implementation of the Tourists Business and
Guides Act N.E. 2535.
To pursue vital and appropriate tourism business operations as
joint investments that are not only beneficial to business but also
to the country as a whole.
To work for the conservation and revival of the arts, culture, and
tourism resources as part of the pursuit of sustainable tourism
development, which will ensure not only an increase in tourist
arrivals but also the preservation of national identity and heritage;
To pursue an intensified cooperation between the public and
private sectors in addressing tourism-related problems and en-
hancing the value of tourism resources as part of the campaign
to attract more visitors.
The fifth five-year tourism development plan was based on the same
principles that guided the formulation of the fourth development plan. It,
too, emphasized sustainable development. Some of its strategies were:
Reducing the volume of pollution
Establishing appropriate criteria for garbage and waste manage-
ment with emphasis on reducing, reusing, and recycling waste
Disseminating useful data to the public in recognition of their
right to such information
Promoting ecotourism in local communities, including capacity
building in project formulation and planning
Shifting from chemical fertilizer to organic fertilizer as part of
environmental protection efforts
Collecting of fees for use of raw water from industrial, agricul-
tural, and domestic consumers
Table 13. Arrivals and Receipts (1997-2001)
Volume % Change (in $M) % Change
1997 7,221,345 0.41 7,048 -18.65
1998 7,764,930 7.53 5,934 -15.81
1999 8,580,332 10.5 6,695 12.82
2000 9,508,623 10.82 7,112 6.23
2001 10,132,509 10.42 7,293 1.02
2002 10,872,976 7.31 7,890 1.08
Source: TAT
TAT has been the executing agency for the Tourism Development Pro-
gram since 1988. During the first phase of the program (1989-1994), around
1.5 billion baht was spent on 73 tourism development projects. These were
aimed at infrastructure development and improvement, conservation of ar-
cheological sites, landscaping of tourism areas, and marketing and promo-
tional activities. The programs second phase had the stated objectives of
revitalizing and preserving deteriorated tourist sites. The third phase sought
to pursue sustainability in line with the National Development Plan, focus-
ing on a) human resource development; b) restoration, conservation, and
environmental improvement in the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN)
and Indochina regions; and c) promotion of cooperation in tourism devel-
opment in the ASEAN and Indochina region.
Sixth five-year tourism development plan (2002-2006)
Having learned from the negative effects of overdevelopment in destina-
tions, the government began to recognize tourism as an economic activity
that would continue to play a central role in the future economic and social
development of Thailand. It also acknowledged that careful management of
tourism resources could be a driving force for the conservation of Thailands
unique natural and cultural heritage (see the box for the Plans objectives).
Objectives
The sixth five-year tourism development plan seeks to coordinate the activities of
the diverse components of the tourism sector through the following objectives that
seek to:
Build on the success of the Amazing Thailand marketing and
promotion campaigns;
Develop the potential of new and emerging markets through
targeted marketing strategies;
Encourage the diversification of the countrys tourism product base;
Enhance Thailands position as the tourism gateway to the GMS;
Foster the expansion of tourism development to rural areas to
spread the socio-economic benefits derived from tourism;
Assist local administrations and provincial governments in the
effective management of tourism development;
Encourage the conservation and presentation of Thailands unique
natural and cultural heritage;
Identify opportunities for future investment and employment
creation;
Enhance industry operational standards and human resource skill
levels;
Improve the tourism sectors information and analytical database; and
Reinforce Thailands image as a safe and friendly destination.
In addition to spreading the economic benefits of tourism more evenly
throughout the country by developing new tourism products, TAT now sought
to attract new market segments, especially the higher-spending markets (i.e.,
meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions).
The Sustainable Tourism Plan acknowledged that the initial ad hoc un-
controlled development of tourism in Thailand had resulted in negative
sociocultural and environmental impacts. Certain areas became synonymous
with sex tourism. Areas adjacent to the Golden Triangle began to attract
young travelers looking for cheap narcotics. Failure to enforce planning leg-
islation and zoning regulations allowed unsightly sprawling beachfront de-
velopments. However, as Thailand matured as a tourist destination, these
issues began to be addressed. Furthermore, the industry was no longer the
prerogative of expatriates, with Thais active in every level of ownership, man-
agement, and operation.
The Plan also recognized that declines in average length of stay and per
capita spending prevented Thailand from generating higher revenues from
its huge volume of visitors. As a result of the Amazing Thailand campaign
(and ensuing devaluation of the Thai baht), destinations were promoted
cheaply. In addition, packages had strict limitations that prevented tourists
from enjoying other attractions or from staying longer.
In terms of economic sustainability, Thailand had to attract more longer-
staying and higher-spending tourists to increase yield. (In 2000, total tourist
expenditure amounted to $6.8 billion, representing an average daily expen-
diture of $92.00 per tourist. Average length of stay was seven days.) Thailand
was thus challenged to offer a wide range of diversified products and services
that will attract visitors to stay more and spend more.
The Plan also seeks to distribute benefits more evenly throughout the coun-
try through the development and promotion of tourism loops, which will
bring tourists in contact with fragile communities and environments. The con-
cept stresses the involvement of local communities in the development process.
In summary, Thailands challenge today is how to transform mass tour-
ism into a sustainable market and how to minimize the costs of development
in emerging destinations. Sustainable development requires economic
growth to take place. The real challenge is how to continue tapping tourism
as a leading creator of jobs and source of income while at the same time
creating better quality of life. The evolution of sustainable tourism develop-
ment as a national agenda in Thailand is clearly evident in the series of five-
year master plans. Each plan reflected the shifts in objectives as well as re-
sponses to various pressures, including dynamic changes in market demand.
The regular updating of the master plan provides policymakers with a clear
idea of where the industry is headed and the policies needed to respond
appropriately to pressures created by tourism activities on economic, envi-
ronmental, and cultural sustainability. Such regular reviews identify areas for
capability building by both the public and private sectors.
Comparison of policy frameworks
The previous sections revealed how tourism policies evolved in both coun-
tries. Both have committed to pursuing sustainable developmenteconomic,
ecological, and environmentalalthough in varying degrees.
This section now provides a more detailed comparison of the policy
frameworks on specific aspects of sustainable development, ranging from
market priorities to manpower development.
Market focus: domestic vs. international tourism
In most Asian countries, the tourism policy caters to international markets
because they do not have a strong domestic base for earning the same amount
of revenues as they do from foreign visitors. For many years, both the Philip-
pines and Thailand focused on foreign markets. Today, external shocks (eco-
nomic and political) have heightened the need to support the development
of domestic tourism, which generated business for both countries during
those turbulent times.
Market dependency
The Philippines has greater dependency ratios on just two markets (US and
Japan) compared to Thailand. It strongly competes with Thailand for the
Japanese market. Thailand has strongly focused on Japan and has been suc-
cessful in attracting the Japanese senior market based on decision factors
such as peace and order and infrastructure (TAT 2000). Today, Thailand is
aggressively promoting its long-stay program among the Japanese aging popu-
lation. Started five years ago, the long-stay program of Thailand is a result of
cooperation among various agencies and private-sector participants. The TAT,
for example, has strong tie-ups with its hospital associations. The Philip-
pines, on the other hand, came in as a late player in developing the long-stay
program despite the existence of the Philippine Retirement Authority since
1985.
Visitors tend to spend more ($144) and stay longer (9.8 days) in the
Philippines than in Thailand. It should be noted, however, that the average
length of visitors stay in the Philippines is due mainly to the US market
(primarily the balikbayan).
In Thailand, the Japanese spend an average of $119 per day for less than
a weeks stay. Malaysians spend an average of three days and spend $105 a day.
East Asia generates nearly 60 percent of arrivals to Thailand, but the overall
average length of stay is only around five days. The Americans, on the other
hand, spend nearly an average of nine days and as high as $122 per day.
Thailand has also been able to position itself as a gateway from Europe to
the East Asian region, particularly to the Mekong Subregion. Out of the 5.2
million Europeans who visited Southeast Asia in 2000, for instance, 90 per-
cent chose Thailand. Europeans, who comprise 23 percent of arrivals, stay an
average of 14 days although their daily expenditure is only $76, much lower
than that of East Asians.
The TAT aims to attract more longer-staying and/or higher-spending
tourists. It believes there is a need to develop new tourism products and
reposition Thailands image in the market place to increase the yield from
tourism.
Domestic tourism
Thailand has an estimated 10 million domestic tourists who frequent places
like Pattaya and various national parks. Since the 1980s, Thailand has fo-
cused on its domestic market as evidenced by the generation of statistics to
measure the markets impact on and its various promotional schemes for the
local market (Richter 1993; Opperman 1997)). Still, data on the domestic
market do not form part of the annual statistical report.
Over the years, the Thai government has developed infrastructure for
both domestic and foreign tourists. However, domestic tourism promotions
have been minimal. The current tourism master plan puts premium on do-
mestic travel to more destinations outside traditional sites like Pattaya and
Bangkok. Thailand recognizes the importance of domestic tourismboth as
a means to fill any gaps in demand from overseas markets and as a major
opportunity in its own right. More than 55 million domestic trips generating
233,300 million baht were estimated to have taken place in 2000 by TAT
(WTO 2001).
The Philippines DOT estimated a total of 10 million domestic travelers
in 2002. This has prompted the government to pursue infrastructure devel-
opment for both domestic and foreign tourists. Domestic tourism promo-
tions have become stronger through public (sponsored by the Department
of Trade and Industry and LGUs) and private (PHILTOAs Travel Mart)
domestic trade fairs. The current holiday economics program of the govern-
ment is also being supported by the newly created Federation of Tourism
Industries of the Philippines (FTIP), the umbrella organization of all tour-
ism groups and associations nationwide. In addition, House Bill No. 403 has
been filed in Congress, which seeks to grant certain incentives to resident
Filipinos who travel to domestic tourist destinations.
As the government focuses on domestic tourism through its holiday eco-
nomics and similar promotions, it needs to improve the collection, synthesis,
and analysis of domestic tourism data. A number of LGUs do not have tourism
officers to collect, manage, and analyze the database on a regular basis. Also,
some establishments do not submit arrivals and occupancy reports. Further-
more, there is a lag of about three to four months before the central DOT
office can synthesize and present the monthly figures.
A strong domestic base is needed to strengthen the international mar-
ket. Based on DOT surveys, most foreign travelers choose the Philippines
based on recommendations from friends and relatives. If local tourists are
proud of their local destinations, then they can prove to be Philippine
tourisms best marketing and sales force.
Integrated or enclave tourism
Is tourism integrated into the local economies? In Thailand, both foreign
and domestic tourists use the same tourism transportation and infrastruc-
ture (water, energy, and roads). Tourist attractions like museums, temples,
and national parks are where tourists and nontourists commonly mix. Do-
mestic and foreign tourists also tend to mix on business-related travels and
are commonly seen in the southern parts of Thailand. In recent years, do-
mestic tourists have begun to dominate popular sites like Pattaya. However,
isolated resorts, mostly for foreign tourists, continue to be major components
of tourism in the country. Developers are marketing exclusive resorts for
foreign retirees in places like Chiang Mai and Phuket.
In the Philippines, foreign and domestic tourists tend to mix in the
national capital of Manila and provincial cities. This is especially true for
business travel. There is a growing trend to develop isolated and exclusive
resorts in areas like Zambales and Batangas. However, most of these enclave
destinations still need to integrate the local communities in their activities to
distribute gains and increase the residents stake in protecting their tourism
resources.
Centralization-decentralization: regulations and controls
How centralized is tourism planning and development? Table 15 provides
some indicators of the continuum from centralization to decentralization. The
five-year Tourism Master Plan that in turn is incorporated in the National
Socio-Economic Plan guides tourism development in Thailand. The formu-
lation of the master plan started in 1977 when the government saw the poten-
tials of tourism in generating foreign exchange. The current Ninth Eco-
nomic Plan and the Sixth Tourism Master plan have evolved from past initia-
tives (which focused only on generating foreign exchange revenues and
marketing and promotions) to efforts to that put sustainable development at
the core of their policies and strategies. Such evolution was a response to the
adverse effects of overdevelopment and lack of destination management on
the resources of Thailand.
The Thai government recently deregulated its domestic airline industry
to allow other carriers like Bangkok Airways to fly the trunk routes previously
monopolized by Thai Airways. However, strong government influence is still
evident in the financial support extended to TAT. To enable TAT to concen-
trate on its marketing and promotional functions, a Ministry of Tourism
evolved from the existing structure of TAT. The Ministry focuses on planning
and development.
TAT manages very few government properties. Hence, it is not burdened
with responsibilities to manage facilities and to make them profitable.
The government does not license tourism facilities. It does not accredit
facilities nor impose standards for hotel classification. Recently, the TAT has
began working on an accreditation standard, in consultation with the private
sector. It recently announced that Chiang Mai University would take the lead
in developing these accreditation standards.
The regulatory environment is relatively weak in Thailand for both indi-
vidual travelers and investors. This also applies to the monitoring of negative
externalities created by the consumption of public sites like national parks
and coastal areas.
While the tourism planning and development functions were decentral-
ized in 1997, TAT has yet to upgrade the capability of local administrations.
Thus, even if tourism planning is now under local administration, village
councils still submit projects to the provincial office of the TAT.
Strong lobby groups in Thailand have tried to increase public awareness
of the negative effects of tourism on environment and culture. The Ecumeni-
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Table 14. Market dependency ratio (2000)
Thailand Philippines
Rank Country of Residence Volume % Share to Country of Residence Volume of % Share to
of Arrivals Total Arrivals Arrivals Total Arrivals
1 Malaysia 1,297,619 11.93 USA 395,323 20.5
2 Japan 1,233,239 11.34 Japan 341,867 17.7
3 China 763,708 7.02 Korea 288,468 14.9
4 Korea 717,361 6.60 Hong Kong 155,964 8.1
5 Singapore 687,982 6.33 Taiwan 103,024 5.3
6 Taiwan 678,511 6.24 Australia 70,735 3.7
7 United Kingdom 574,007 5.28 Singapore 57,662 3.0
8 Hong Kong 533,798 4.91 Canada 54,563 2.8
9 USA 519,668 4.78 United Kingdom 48,478 2.5
10 Germany 412,968 3.80 Germany 39,103 2.0
Sources: TAT and DOT
cal Council for Tourism Development has been at the forefront of these
issues, advocating greater awareness of the countrys deteriorating natural
resources and cultural heritage.
The Philippines does not lack plans or policies. In fact, it has many.
During the Marcos regime, for instance, several plans were formulated, but
they were never unified into one national plan. It was only in 1991 that the
DOT received assistance from the United Nations Development Programme
and the WTO to produce a long-term development plan for tourism. The
Plan (1991-2010) became the blueprint for tourisms development, begin-
ning with the Ramos administration (1992-1998). What is now needed is
continuity of past initiatives that have successfully contributed to tourism
growth. Unlike Thailands five-year Tourism master plans (updated every
five years in response to the changes in market conditions and impact on
Thai tourisms sustainability), the 1991 Philippine master plan has not been
updated. Furthermore, various local tourism master plans have yet to be imple-
mented.
The 1991 master plan aimed to diffuse the benefits of tourism to periph-
eral regions outside Metro Manila through the establishment of clusters
around the international gateways of Davao, Cebu, Laoag, Subic, and Clark.
The DOT is currently focusing on the establishment and active promotions
of tourism enterprise zones in building infrastructure. To emphasize the
place of tourism in the national socio-economic agenda, the government
through NEDA has dedicated a separate chapter to tourism in the Medium-
Term Development Plan.
The Philippines moved toward decentralization of powers ahead of Thai-
land following the enactment of the Local Government Code of 1991, which
aims to support the countryside development program. Thus tourism facili-
ties or establishments can secure their licenses from LGUs without seeking
accreditation from the DOT. However, there have been moves to return the
licensing function to the DOT based on complaints by industry players about
the mushrooming of facilities that do not meet standard requirements for
safety, security, and service.
The government still exercises control of ownership of tourism facilities.
The PTA, as an attached agency of the DOT, is responsible for infrastructure
development. Its properties include Club Intramuros, Pagsanjan Garden
Resort, Tagaytay Picnic Grove, and Banaue Hotel and Youth hostel. Its infra-
structure projects include the Paskuhan Village in Pampanga and Malasag
Eco-Village in Cagayan de Oro, which is undergoing completion of the re-
maining works.
Public-private ownership
Promotional activities in the Philippines have been undertaken mostly by
the private sector due to budget constraints of the DOT. In 2000 Congress
allocated only 0.13 percent of the total national budget to the DOT. The
same amount represented only 0.9 percent of the revenues generated by
tourism during that year. In contrast, TAT extends a relatively higher budget
to the private sector operators in Thailand, which aggressively conduct pro-
motions.
Table 15. DOT budget vs. total government appropriations (in pesos)
Year Department Total Government DOT Percentage
of Tourism Appropriations Share of Total
Government
Appropriations
1995 492,060 387,397,933 0.13%
1996 627,198 394,496,000 0.16%
1997 652,329 433,817,543 0.15%
1998 744,555 546,743,816 0.14%
1999 577,657 585,097,506 0.10%
2000 888,099 665,094,141 0.13%
Source: General Appropriations Act FY 1995-2000
Includes budget of the following: Nayong Pilipino, Philippine Conven-
tions and Visitors Corporation (PCVC), DOT Office of the Secretary,
Intramuros Administration, and National Parks Development Committee
Although Thai tourist business operators have formed various organiza-
tions and associations, they have yet to form a truly united front. The Philip-
pines is a step ahead with the formation of the FTIP.
Marketing and promotions
Though Thailand has been cited as a model for tourism marketing and pro-
motions, TAT still considers its budget small relative to the proactive advertis-
ing, public relations, and market promotions campaigns it pursues. Neither
is this budget enough for TATs tourism development responsibilities. To
date an average of 500 million baht, derived from a special task budget and
foreign loan project budget, is allocated annually for improving and develop-
ing tourist locations. This amount is far less than the 3,000 to 5,000 million
baht-supporting budget sought by TAT. This lack of budget has been cited as
one reason for the degeneration of tourist attractions due to inadequate
maintenance and conservation efforts.
The Philippines marketing budget is indeed very small when compared
to the budget of Thailand or those of other Asian countries. For 2000, the
TAT had a total marketing budget of 1.8 billion Baht (around $46.09 million)
representing 61.64 percent of its total budget (approximately $74.76 mil-
lion). Macau had a $15.5 million budget for tourism, of which $7.5 million
was spent on overseas promotions.
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National Plan Yes. There have been several,
but the first comprehensive
post-Marcos plan is the 1991
Tourism Master Plan sponsored
by the UNDP-WTO.
The DOT received
technical assistance from
the WTO to review the
implementation of the
Tourism Master Plan
Tourism plan is part of
National Economic and
Social Development
Plan, which is formulated
every five years.
Government
controlled
airlines
Yes. In the process of being
privatized
PAL has been privatized;
Government has minority
stakes in the flag carrier
Thai International is in
the process of being
privatized.Thai Airways
controls domestic trunk
routes
The latest is the Ninth
National Economic Plan,
which corresponds to the
Sixth Tourism Master Plan
Thai International is still 93
percent-owned by the
Ministry of Finance
although it is publicly
listed. Thai Airways no
longer exercises
monopoly over domestic
trunk routes
Ministry of
Tourism
counterpart
DOT covers PCVC, PTA,
Intramuros Administration, and
National Parks Development
Committee
DOT its secretary has
been granted
supercabinet status by
the Office of the President
Tourism Authority of
Thailand that is under the
Prime Ministers Office.
The Ministry of Tourism
evolved from the TAT
organizational structure to
assume planning and
development
functions.TAT will
concentrate on marketing
and promotions.
Table 16. Indices of ccentralization - and decentralization
Centralized Philippines Thailand
1990 2001 1990 2001
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Licensing or
Inspection of
Tourism
Facilities
Yes, but this has been
transferred to LGUs by virtue
of the 1991 Local Government
Code
Licensing is in the hands
of LGUs by virtue of 1991
Local Government Code.
Accreditation by DOT is
voluntary
No. TAT does not
accredit facilities; no
accreditation system
exists
Government-
controlled/
owned
accommodations
A few were deliberately public,
others by default; now being
sold. All under the PTA
PTA still manages quite a
number of properties but
construction of new facilities
is private sector-driven.
Very few.
No, but TAT is consulting
with hotel operators about
the possible implementation
of an accreditation system
for tourism facilities by the
operators themselves
Very few. TAT pushes
private sector to
undertake investments in
accommodation and
resort development.
National
currency and
investment
controls on
tourism
Tax on travel tickets for outside
Philippines. No restrictions on
property investments except
on land.
Requires regular business
licenses or permits.
Limitation on importation of
capital goods and other
goods locally available. No
restrictions on property
investments except on land.
The Board of Investment
oversees imports and
concessions. Foreigners
may take out all profits.
Regulations are generally
weak. There are tourism
police units.
No restrictions on foreign
investment in property.
Investors can own land.
No discriminatory charges
or taxes and no restrictions
on repatriation of capital.
Foreign equity is limited to
not more than 49 percent
for most tourism businesses
hotels, tour operators,
and restaurants. There
are consultations on
liberalizing foreign
ownership rules.
Regulations protect
tourists and tour operators
under the Tourist Act
Table 16. (contd.)
1990 2001 1990 2001
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Table 16. (contd.)
1990 2001 1990 2001
Regulatory
environment
Moderate Moderate Weak
Active local
interest groups
Unions; religious groups are
critical.
More interest groups have
been formed at the local
levels, usually public-
private partnerships.NGOs
are active
Opposition is evolving
such the one by the
New Thai Network on
Tourism. These are
primarily environmental
and religious. Unions are
weak.
Weak; has liberal visa
rules.
Strong opposition from
quite a number of
groups.TAT has forged
partnerships with private
and environmental groups
to address environmental
deterioration and
prostitution
Local control
of tourism
planning
Exists to some extent. The plan
does require more training of
indigenous workers at the
managerial level.
Yes, due to the devolution;
active LGUs exist
Most of it is under local
or private control. Most
jurisdictions have very
little control. AIDS testing
of prostitutes is now
being pursued locally.
TAT supports training
programs for local
administrations.
Decentralized
Sources: Richter (1993); updated based on various DOT and TAT documents
Decentralized
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Table 17. Impediments to individual travel
Impediment Country Control Rationale Code*
Visa requirements Philippines Visas required for persons coming from countries with which
the Philippines has no diplomatic relations. Holders of Hong
Kong and Taiwanese passports must have special passports.
The DOT
received
technical
assistance
from the WTO
to review the
implementation
I
Visa requirements Thailand Visa free for 56 nationalities staying up to 30 days. For
visitors from 76 other countries, visas valid for 15 days can
be obtained on arrival.
The DOT
received
N
Limitations on
travel abroad
Philippines None except the inspection of exit (travel) documents of
Filipinos traveling abroad.
Numeric
generation
N
Limitations on
travel abroad
Thailand No limitations on travel abroad by outbound travelers. Numeric
generation
N
Foreign exchange
(Inbound)
Philippines No restrictions. Visitors bringing in more than $3,000 are
required to declare it at the international airport.
Numeric
generation
N
Foreign exchange
(Inbound)
Thailand No restrictions Numeric
generation
N
Foreign Exchange
(Outbound)
Philippines No restriction Numeric
generation
N
Foreign Exchange
(Outbound)
Thailand Limitations on the amount of baht that can be taken out of
Thailand: 20,000 Bht/person; 500,000 if going to one of
Thailands neighboring countries)
Numeric
generation
N
Customs or
barrier controls
Philippines Quarantine inspection for certain goods. Regular customs
duties and tariffs.
Numeric
generation
J
Customs or
barrier controls
Thailand Restrictions on alcohol and cigarettes only. Numeric
generation
N
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Departure taxes Philippines Departure tax of $20 I
Visa requirements
Thailand Airport service tax 200 Bht ($8) I
Business licenses
and approvals
Philippines Regular business licenses or permits J
Business licenses
and approvals Thailand Foreign equity limited to not more than 49 percent for most
tourism businesseshotels, tour operators, restaurants, etc.
I
Import policies Philippines Limitations on importation of capital goods and other goods
locally available.
I
Thailand No limitation on imports N
Foreign
investment
(business)
Philippines No restrictions N
Foreign
investment
(business)
Thailand No restrictions
Numeric
generation
N
Foreign
investment
(property)
Philippines No restrictions except on land 100 percent
investment is
allowed in
foreign equity
participation
except land
I
Thailand No restrictions N
Taxes and
charges
Philippines Regular government tax of 10 percent value-added tax and
regular business tax or fees.
Revenue
generation
N
Table 17. (contd.)
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* Codes
I = constitutes an impediment to competition or growth of tourism.
J = applies where there is justification for an impediment on the grounds of public order, public health, safety or morals.
N = measures which are not seen as inhibiting the growth of tourism.
Source: APEC-TWG (1996)
Departure taxes
Thailand No discriminatory taxes or charges N
Foreign exchange
controls
Philippines No restrictions
The DOT
N
The DOT
N
Repatriation of
profits or capital
Philippines No restrictions
The DOT
N
The DOT
N
Employment Philippines Subject to approval by Department of Tourism, Department of
Labor and Employment, and Bureau of Immigration as well as
the Board of Investments
To give opportunity
to qualified
Filipino nationals
Thailand Employment in senior levels in hotels and tour operations is
allowed. Work permit is required.
I
Import of
promotional
materials
Philippines Subject to regular customs duties To protect
locally produced
materials
I
Thailand No restrictions, duties charged on excess quantities.
Others Philippines Compliance with environmental standards (e.g., environment
clearance certificate)
N
Thailand NA
J
Table 17. (contd.)
In contrast, the Philippines total tourism budget for the same year was
P888 million (approximately $20.70 million), of which P81 million (approxi-
mately $1.89 million) was appropriated for PCVC. Only $600,000 was allo-
cated for marketing and promotions.
Figure 1. Comparison of NTO budgets
Source: PATA (2000)
A comparison of the budget allocations of TAT and DOT clearly reveals
that a bigger portion of the latters budget goes to administration, mainte-
nance of offices, and operations. In the case of Thailand, its marketing funds
account for 50 percent of the total budget while only 30 percent is used to
support administrative services as well as research and development (R&D).
Most R&D activities are funded by foreign institutions like the World Bank
(Figure 1).
In terms of returns from the marketing expenditure, the Philippines
spent only $0.35 per visitor arrival in 2000. Thailand, on the other hand,
spent higher on a per capita basis, around $4.60. Furthermore, the $600,000
budget of the DOT generated around $2.3 billion dollars of revenues, or
$3,600 per dollar of marketing expense. The figure is $157 for Thailand.
Given its relatively scarce marketing budget, the DOT approached the
private sector seeking financial support for its marketing programs. The
need for an effective marketing campaign is evident in the low exposure of
the Philippines relative to other Asian destinations in the brochures of Japa-
nese tour operators. Tour operators have mostly featured only Cebu and
Palawan. Since the Japanese market relies mostly on the assistance of travel
agencies, they need more information about the Philippines (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Number of brochure pages and courses of top 10 Japanese travel
agencies devoted to ASEAN beach destinations
Source: Seminar on Upgrading the Service of Travel Trade Supporting
Industries (1999)
During the Twelfth Congress, House Bill No. 2848 was filed, proposing
that a portion of the P50.00 fee collected from departing international pas-
sengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) accrue to the
DOT for tourism promotions, marketing, and development-related projects.
HB No. 1674, on the other hand, seeks to provide for an adequate and effec-
tive reform of the travel tax by allocating 25 percent of the total collections to
the development of tourism and promotions in 20 depressed provinces iden-
tified by the Office of the President.
Safety and security constraints
Crime rate in Thailand is relatively lower than in the Philippines. The formers
destinations are considered safe, particularly by the Japanese market. Tour-
ism-related crimes seldom result in deaths of tourists. However, budgetary
constraints prevent the police force from expanding in line with tourism
growth and from purchasing the necessary equipment.
In the Philippines, tourist perceptions about safety and security issues
persist, particularly in Mindanao due to the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings. While
some destinations like Cebu, Batangas, and even Palawan appear to have the
capability to deal with such threats, they lose potential tourists as a result of
sensationalized news.
Infrastructure
In the 1996 APEC survey on tourism impediments, the major infrastructure
bottleneck for the Philippines primary markets was airline capacity, followed
by airport congestion, accommodation capacity, accommodation standards,
and ground transport problems.
Air transportation
Air access is the basic infrastructure for the majority of tourists to Thailand and
the Philippines. Around 98 percent of arrivals enter the Philippines via air. The
corresponding figure for Thailand is only 84 percent, because visiting Malay-
sians travel by land to the southern portion of Thailand. Nevertheless, Thailand
rivals Singapore in terms of number of incoming flights per week (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Comparative air access in major Asian airports (2002)
No. of incoming flights per week
Source: Various airport authorities; Pacific Asia Travel
Association
Thailand provides more incoming flights from the major tourist markets of
the Philippines such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (Figure 4). There are 51 direct
flights from Tokyo to Bangkok (seven-hour flight) and 30 from Tokyo to Manila.
Figure 4. Air access from Northeast Asia to Bangkok and Manila
*Number of incoming direct flights per week
Source: OAG Flight Guide (September 2003)
When the Philippines abrogated its air service agreement with Taiwan
in 1999, Thailand implemented bilateral open skies agreements with Tai-
wan and Malaysia in October 2001. Since then Thailand has been actively
leading the liberalization of air access within the Mekong Basin. As it aims for
a 10-percent annual growth over the next four years, it recognizes that there
is still insufficient seat availability for major tourist markets such as Japan and
emerging markets like Italy, India, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
Air access provides a crucial component of tourism development in the
Philippines since 98 percent of arrivals travel by air. The 1991 Tourism Mas-
ter Plan, acknowledging the need to develop air access, pushed for the liber-
alization of the airline industry. This came about through the issuance of
Executive Order No. 219 in January 1995 and the Implementing Rules and
Regulations in 2001.
Airport congestion is another constraint faced by both countries in the
traditional gateways of Bangkok and Manila. The International Air Transport
Association projected that overcrowding in Bangkok would worsen by 2006
and would cause Thailand to lose up to 3.8 million tourists. This could also
result in Thailand losing the chance to become a major aviation hub in the
region. Delays could likely force airlines, particularly those making long-
haul transcontinental flights, to switch their bases from Bangkok to Singapore
or Kuala Lumpur.
While the NAIA capacity is expected to expand once Terminal 3 opens,
international (particularly European) airlines have considered pulling out
of Manila due to expensive airport charges. Apart from the overtime rates of
customs personnel being charged to the airlines, the landing fees are high
compared to those of Thailand (Figure 5). Airlines are also constrained by
the gross taxation ruling of the government, as embodied in the Tax Reform
Code of 1997. This means they pay taxes based on the gross receipt reflected
on the airline ticket even if they receive discounted fares. And even if Euro-
pean airlines are charged only a 1.5-percent tax rate on gross billings (com-
pared to the 2.5 percent levied on other carriers), taxation is still highest in
the Philippines. Thus, European airlines find it cheaper to make a turn-
around in hubs like Bangkok or Hong Kong than mount flights to Manila.
Figure 5. Comparative landing fees in Asia
Landing fees for a Boeing 747-400
Source: Various airport authorities
Traveling to Thailand is considered convenient and relatively inexpen-
sive. This has played a major part in promoting the growth of tourism there.
However, Thailand still has to contend with certain limitations:
Land transport. International signposts that could assist tourists
traveling by car are lacking. Within the region, the condition of
the roads remains bad, which prevents tourists from traveling
more extensively within the region, concerned as they are with
their safety.
Water transport. Coastal tourist attractions and tourist sites along
canals are considered major tourist attractions. Yet, there are no
designated docks to receive cruise vessels as well as harbors that
will accommodate yachts. Safety regulations are rarely enforced.
The transportation network in the Philippines lags behind that of Thai-
land. The hubs-and-spokes system being promoted by DOT is based on the
1991 Tourism Master Plan, which aims to bring tourists to satellite destina-
tions via at least one gateway. The development of an efficient transportation
network must be accelerated to allow tourists to move with reasonable costs
from one destination to another at the shortest time possible. For the Japa-
nese market, for instance, access (preferably direct) is a very important deci-
sion factor for choosing a destination. If more gateways like Palawan can be
developed, tourists (domestic and foreign) will no longer be obliged to fly
back to Manila for an international or even domestic flight. A liberal transpor-
tation policy is needed to make this happen.
Most roads still lack signs containing vital information on local tourist
attractions. Also, the buses or public transportation network is hardly incor-
porated in maps, which tourists rely on for their travels. Still another cause for
concern is that while interisland shipping has developed in recent years,
ports or harbors lack the facilities and standards to assure tourist safety and
security. Furthermore, the personnel are not adequately trained to attend to
the needs of tourists.
Immigration procedures are straightforward in Thailand with few visa-
related impediments for international tourists, especially those from major
tourism markets. Facilitation of travel in the form of visa exemptions or visa
on arrival applies to about 158 countries, including China, one of its top 10
markets.
One of the resolutions of the National Socio-Economic pact in Decem-
ber 2001 for the tourism agenda was the liberalization of visa requirements
and fees for Chinese tourists. In February 2002, visa application procedures
for Chinese nationals were simplified. Visa fees were reduced by 20 percent
and the processing period shortened.
In a similar bid to boost tourism and attract investments, foreign nation-
als have been allowed to extend their stay to the Philippines for a period of
six months to one year from the date of arrival (UN ESCAP 2001).
Accommodation capacity and standards
Industry players in the Philippines have often complained about the lack of
capacity and quality accommodation establishments, especially in provincial
destinations. Such complaints are valid, because the Philippines has only
around 200 establishments and 25,000 rooms available for tourists nation-
wide. Around 40 percent is concentrated in Metro Manila.
Thailand, on the other hand, has more than 4,000 establishments and
320,000 rooms, one of the highest in Asia. Bangkok alone accounts for 25
percent of the total capacity. This huge capacity was built up over the years
since the government promoted investments in the hotel industry as early as
the 1980s. The tax incentives granted by Thailand to new and existing estab-
lishments have encouraged hotel owners to upgrade their facilities. Such
incentives for renovation do not exist in the Philippines.
Figure 6. Number of hotel rooms in Asia (2001)
*Figures are in thousands
Sources: PATA, DOT
Thailand does not have an existing accreditation system for hotels. Qual-
ity hotels are international chains with established names and reputation
worldwide. However, TAT has been consulting with hotel associations to pro-
duce accreditation standards that ensure quality for discriminating tourists.
The DOT still accredits establishments (using de luxe, first-class, stan-
dard, and economy ratings) on a voluntary basis to assure quality services.
The monitoring system of DOTs accreditation needs to be enforced as tour-
ists complain about the inability of establishments to meet the departments
accreditation requirements. With the devolution of tourism functions to the
LGUs, establishments are no longer required to seek DOT accreditation.
Manpower development
More than 3.4 million people are directly and indirectly employed in the
tourism industry of Thailand. This number is expected to rise to 4.8 million
by 2010, representing an average annual growth rate of 3 percent.
To address the education and training needs of these workers, Thailand
has approximately 120 colleges, universities, and institutes offering travel
and tourism courses, the standards of which vary. Each year, nearly 13,000
people finish their studies from these educational institutions. Courses are
taught at the certificate level, undergraduate level, and under various post-
graduate programs. Some universities, colleges, and educational institutes
design their own curricula with advice from TAT. Other universities have
links with universities in Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States.
However, highly trained personnel with specialized skills are still lack-
ing, particularly those who can speak Japanese. At the same time, a little over
half of the tourism personnel are only high school graduates. Many have
limited opportunities to develop technical skills as well as management and
language capability.
In the Philippines, tourism directly and indirectly employs around 3
million workers (8.8 percent of total economy employment). The DOT con-
ducts training programs that include continuing education, hotel and resort
services skills development, trainers training, labor management, Japanese
language courses, and frontline service skills for taxi drivers and homestay
participants. During the period 1997-2001, a total of 17,301 industry workers
benefited from the training programs conducted by the DOT. The private
sector conducts training on its own or through association-sponsored pro-
grams. These efforts notwithstanding, there is still a scarcity of tourism gradu-
ates capable of assuming management posts or who possess a strong research
orientation for product development and improvement. The absence of a
school offering a postgraduate course in tourism is a sign of the lack of prior-
ity for manpower development in the country.
Some schools have adopted the dual training system that allows students
to work with hotels, travel agencies, and airlines during their practicum.
However, a number of private sector operators do not cooperate with schools
on such programs. As the country faces stiff competition with more and more
Asians learning the English language, then it should strengthen the cur-
ricula of universities and develop an international exchange system with
other countries.
Total enrollment of tourism students in Manila is around 22,000, or a net
increase of 14 percent per annum. This is a result of more schools offering
tourism and related courses such as hotel and restaurant management, travel
agency operations, and airline operations. Only 15 to 20 percent of the
practicum time is devoted to community immersion programs. Such pro-
grams are intended to upgrade and utilize local manpower in the communi-
ties. In Palawan and Negros Occidental, students and out-of-school youths
are tapped to conduct research and campaign for the local government.
Table 18. Summary of manpower trainings (1997-2001)
Year No. of Trainings Beneficiaries
2001 112 3,924
2000 118 3,643
1999 120 3,209
1998 77 1,861
1997 101 4,664
Total 528 17,301
Source: Office of Tourism Standards
The Department of Education has already identified tourism as one of
the priority areas for manpower training. The Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), for its part, is working on a project to
recommend policies and program responses on improving the ability of tech-
nical and vocational education providers to respond to the dynamics of the
tourism sector.
Sustainability issues
Both the Philippines and Thailand are moving toward sustainable tourism
development, being more aware of the negative effects of tourism develop-
ment, particularly on the local communities. Both are also actively minimiz-
ing the negative effects of tourism on the environment.
Thailand had a more laissez-faire attitude with its early tourism develop-
ment. However, the costs to communities from bad planning and lack of
private sector regulation in fragile areas pushed Thailand to become more
vigilant.
As indicated by Deferts Index, tourism has become an important activity
in Thailand (Table 19). A high Defert index implies that a relatively high
proportion of the local population works in the tourism industry. Hence, the
higher the index, the more important is tourisms role in the local economy
(Oppermann and Chon 1997). Tourism density is highest in Chonburi, where
Pattaya is located while tourism intensity (in terms of tourists per 1,000 host
population) is highest in Phuket and Bangkok.
Bangkok used to account for 76 percent of the tourism income. This was
reduced to 37 percent in 1994 as Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chin Buri-Pattaya and
Songkhla-Hat Yai (TDRI 1997) became added tourist destinations, and to 34
percent in 2000. Other border towns and cities have also experienced growth
in income due to the opening up of the Indochina.
For the Philippines, high indices have been computed for Davao, Cebu,
and the NCR. The NCR has the highest concentration of tourists per square
kilometer while Davao has a high tourist concentration per 1,000 host popu-
lation.
Philippine tourism development has been largely concentrated in Metro
Manila. Prior to the 1990s, Manila was the countrys only gateway, with tourist
revenues mostly concentrated in the metropolis. Common tourist destina-
tions outside of Manila were Baguio and Tagaytay. In the 1990s, the develop-
ment of new gateways such as Mactan-Cebu, Davao, Laoag, Subic, and Clark
paved the way for the direct entry of foreign tourists to destinations in the
Visayas, particularly Cebu. The liberalization of the airline industry was also a
major factor behind the growth of tourism. New players like Cebu Pacific, Air
Philippines, and Asian Spirit introduced competition and provided greater
access between Manila and other provincial destinations.
Table 19. Measures of tourism development*
Thailand
Deferts Index Tourism Density TII
(km) (tourists/sq.km) (Tourists per 1,000
persons)
Bangkok 9.11 6,050.63 1,493.85
Chiang Mai 9.56 94.75 1,263.27
Chonburi 22.70 15,525.12 3,030.38
Phuket 78.61 254.43 11,932.57
Philippines
Batangas 0.28 24.89 41.36
Cebu 1.73 125.17 267.94
Davao 2.77 37.59 411.27
NCR 1.25 3706.26 237.33
Palawan 0.71 2.64 52.09
*2000 figures include domestic and foreign
Sources: Statistical Yearbooks (Thailand and Philippines)
National Statistics Office, Philippines
Thailand has been trying to reverse the environmental deterioration in
sites like Pattaya. In the mid-1990s, the Thai government devoted funds to
rejuvenating and expanding the carrying capacity of Pattaya by providing
wastewater treatment retrofits for hotels and by removing houses along the
coastal areas.
The WTO assisted the Thai government in preparing a sustainable de-
velopment plan for tourism that became the basis for the Tourism Master
Plan for 2002-2006. The Plan revealed that at least 179 tourist locations in 49
provinces needed assistance in returning to their original state. TAT took
the lead in analyzing the development potential of some 2,300 listed attrac-
tions of around 33 provinces with significant tourism development potential.
The Plan identified the significance and potential level (high, medium,
low) of tourism development as well as the urgency of such development and
investment requirements. This analytical work has been used to define a
tourism development strategy with focus on the development of new tourism
destinations in addition to the already established areas of Phuket, Pattaya,
Ko Samui, and Chiang Mai.
The Royal Forest Departments National Parks Division has only recently
commenced tourism development within the parks and protected areas. Al-
though park management plans have been developed, tourism is not a focal
issue. The Department of Fine Arts in charge of cultural resources has sur-
veyed all sites from a protection and restoration point of view. However, only
limited initiatives have been undertaken for tourism.
An integral part of the planning process for destinations in Thailand is
the determination of carrying capacity. For example, Phi Phi Island and other
fragile tourism areas in Thailand cannot accommodate a doubling of visitors
that can happen in six years (based on an assumed 12 percent growth). At
present the demand for some of the fragile tourism sites (national parks,
temples, coral reefs) is surpassing the carrying capacity with potentially large
negative impacts on the tourism resource base. Site management and mea-
sures to increase site carrying capacities and regulate the flow of tourists are
therefore vital to sustainable tourism development.
The Philippines has similar action plans involving sustainable tourism.
These include sites like Olango Bay in Cebu and Ulugan Bay in Palawan. In
1999 an executive order established guidelines for ecotourism and created
a National Ecotourism Development Council to formulate policies along
with guidelines to review and approve ecotourism projects. A National
Ecotourism Congress was convened in 1999 to help formulate a national
ecotourism policy. In addition, it centered on people, nature and time as
three interdependent elements to achieve sustainable tourism. Whale-watch-
ing programs were organized in coordination with other government agen-
cies, universities, and nongovernment organizations to generate livelihoods
for local communities. A National Ecotourism Strategy was completed in April
2002 to promote an integrated approach for the protection of natural re-
sources while at the same time generating economic opportunities for local
communities.
Both Thailand and the Philippines are beset with rising cases of prosti-
tution. However, the situation is worse in Thailand, where sex tourism is
reportedly more widespread. Prostitution has irreversible outcomes that can
destroy the capability of the future generation to sustain the benefits of tour-
ism development.
Lessons from Thailands experience: implications on sustainable
development in the Philippines
Both countries face similar challenges such as fragmented private sectors,
negative images, and rapid deterioration of resources. The policies they
have adopted to address those challenges are also the same. These policies
include devolution, private-public partnerships, and the formulation of a
national ecotourism policy. They differ, however, in the degree of impor-
tance attached by stakeholders to those policies. This is based on a number of
case studies on community tourism development and expansion of carrying
capacity documented by ESCAP in the two countries.
In the Philippines, tourism is highly politicized and usually lacks strong
leadership to strategically lead the communities and the industry as a whole
toward long-term growth. In Thailand, leadership has been a critical element
in growth combined with favorable factors such as peace and order, diversi-
fied products, and strong marketing and promotional efforts. Thailand has
embarked on a massive information campaign to promote its destinations
with the cooperation of mediasomething the Philippines has not done to
the same degree.
Thailand has been known to build on and to strengthen past initiatives
that have produced good results for tourism. This commitment is reflected
in its five-year TMPs. The first plans (mostly physical) focused on attaining
the economic goals of foreign exchange generation and job employment.
There was minimal emphasis on the role of environmental conservation and
preservation in the long-term sustainability of tourism. However, succeeding
TMPs have sought to develop higher-quality tourism and making resources
more sustainable. Thailand realized the need to stress product development
and build awareness about these new products as well as identify new market
niches. To make tourism sustainable, Thailand is focusing its efforts on at-
tracting high-spending and longer-staying tourists and on improving its im-
age. There have also been efforts to promote tourism among the locals.
The challenges of the 1990s pushed the government to incorporate
environmental and cultural sustainability in its plan and to pursue specific
measures or projects to accomplish this goal. The TAT has been actively
communicating to the agencies concerned and the public the findings of
the various provincial and regional master plans, particularly those related to
resource inventory, resource utilization, and to potential investment areas.
Thailand is actively pursuing its commitments under the APEC Agenda
for Tourism, having embarked on efforts to remove barriers to movement
through its liberal air access and visa requirements. Thus, Thailand has been
able to develop its position as a regional aviation and tourism hub.
The Philippines can also learn much from the excesses of Thailands
development. Pattaya, for example, is a model of bad planning. While Thai-
land boasts of huge arrivals, it is beset with cultural and environmental threats
to tourisms sustainability. Foremost of these is the spread of AIDS among
locals. The WTO has recommended that Thailand develop its own model of
sustainable development by changing the present tourism direction and
focusing more on products and activities that will add to the attractiveness of
Thailand as a quality destination.
The strategy is to combine mainstream markets with niche products.
Thailand is moving toward reducing low-budget tourists, since they do not
pay for the resources they consume. If Thailand cannot reverse the present
situation, its tourism industry will not be able to contribute to Thailands
future growth and development. The Philippines should learn from this
experience by pursuing the kind of tourism development that will shield the
local communities from negative externalities.
The Thai government is moving away from areas that the private sector
can do better, if not best. One of these is the enforcement of regulations and
appropriate management systems. At present, the private sector is develop-
ing a hotel grading system that will address the need for standardization, and
enforcing control measures for the development of accommodation facili-
ties. Standards are needed with regard to water quality, sewage disposal, gar-
bage disposal, height restrictions, construction density, construction of roads
along the coast, use of coral as construction materials, and environmental
impact assessment.
TAT recognizes the need to categorize and grade facilities and activities
to make market presentation better and improve standards. Since hotels in
Thailand have not yet been graded, TAT is supporting the Thai Hotel Asso-
ciation in introducing a private sector system. Thus, policing and manage-
ment of the performance of Thai hotels will be under the supervision of the
private sector in cooperation with the Chiang Mai University, which will de-
vise an appropriate system. As the government does not envisage a public
sector-controlled authorization system, TAT has committed itself to promot-
ing only what has been accredited by the private sector groups implementing
the grading system.
Furthermore, the Thai government recognizes that a strong public-pri-
vate partnership is needed to pursue sustainable and integrated tourism
development. While Pattaya is a model of negative private sector-driven tour-
ism development, the Khao Lak tourism area offers an alternative model.
Khao Lak is located about 50 km north of the airport of Phuket. Local entre-
preneurs have developed a highly attractive area for mainstream tourists
families with children, or individuals who simply would like to experience a
quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Local entrepreneurs collaborate with the
Khao Lak tourism association and the local administration on garbage collec-
tion. The basis for development has been the initiatives of the local tourism
association with strong support from the local government and assistance
from the Department of Town and Country Planning and the Public Works
Department of the Ministry of Interior.
The Philippines does not lack plans or policies. Past initiatives have
produced good results for tourism, which must be sustained. Toward this
end, the master plan should be reviewed and updated. Initiatives should
include public-private partnerships, which are common in manpower train-
ing and in marketing and promotions of local destinations. Strong public-
private partnerships in research and development are widespread in Thai-
land but have yet to flourish in the Philippines.
The Philippines can build on existing initiatives. The areas which re-
quire attention as far as sustainable tourism development is concerned are as
follows:
Market and product development
Studying and understanding the needs of the core markets
(which have become the basis for the various training programs
of schools, universities, and TAT in Thailand). Such initiatives
should be grounded in research and data.
Building a strategic information system that captures relevant
data on domestic and foreign tourism (on flows and behavior),
potential investment areas (classified as high, medium, or low),
and urgent investment needs as well as regulatory framework.
Accelerating the completion of the Tourism Satellite Accounts
to heighten the economic benefits of tourism development.
Localized Tourism Satellite Accounts can also be the starting
point for private sector efforts to pursue tourism development
in their locality.
Strengthening domestic tourism promotions by the DOT and
the private sector in cooperation with LGUs to balance foreign
demand in tourist destinations.
Building awareness of new product niches.
Organizational development
Reorganizing the DOT into a lean organization focused on core
activities that require for a lower share of the appropriated bud-
get.
Manpower development
Assessing manpower requirements for each type of work for
human resources development.
Improving the quality of human resources and developing a
high standard of specialized skills in various environments.
Improving tourism training infrastructure, especially in the prov-
inces, and providing more opportunities for training the trainer
programs.
Providing general guidelines on career opportunities and work-
ing conditions in tourism services.
Setting up a national network of tourism education and training
institutes to strengthen cooperation and build up the research
capability of students and industry practitioners.
Developing stronger partnership between the private sector and
academic institutions.
Developing a pool of accredited tour guides in the local com-
munities who can be hired by tour operators or travel agencies.
Infrastructure
Pursuing liberalization of airline access, especially to other gate-
ways with high and medium tourism potential. The Philippines
should consider removing restrictions in capacity through bilat-
eral open skies with major markets such as Japan, South Korea,
and the United States; and opening up the secondary gateways
to link them with more established hubs in the region and gen-
erate third-country tourism traffic.
Supporting infrastructure improvement for the nautical high-
way and the network of road, land, and air transportation systems
within the Philippines to reduce costs and improve mobility.
Removing barriers to individual and business travel such as strin-
gent visa rules.
Addressing the taxation issue for international airlines to re-
duce their costs of doing business in the country.
Resources management
Developing tourism loops for tourists to experience greater di-
versity, increase consumption, and increase length of stay. Such
an approach will also enhance cooperation among local units
and distribute income from the core to the peripheral areas
connected by the loops.
Documenting experiences of pilot projects or best practices of
local communities, and disseminating the information to more
localities. This in turn can build up the constituency needed to
increase stakeholder participation in that community.
Drafting guidelines on tourism development, which falls under
the open-space and recreation category of the zoning ordinances.
This can help prevent the same problems experienced by Pattaya.
Such development requires an assessment of carrying capacity
as well as density, site planning standards, housing, and utility
standards.
Partnership for sustainable tourism
Strengthening the 3Ps: public-private partnership. Constituency
building is needed to properly communicate the concept of
sustainable development to the stakeholders; to develop trust
among stakeholders; and to identify areas of responsibilities.
Strong awareness programs can be supported by the LGUs and
the private sector through focus-group discussions or workshops.
Adopting site management by local communities to increase
site carrying capacities and measures to regulate the tourism
flow, which in turn will be integrated in the planning process of
destinations.
Pursuing closer coordination among the various government
agencies and building a monitoring body from the private sec-
tor.
What can Thailand learn from the Philippines? First, there is no place
for incoherent plans in a fragile industry like tourism. Second, devolution
without proper training and preparation can inhibit the full use of devolved
tourism functions in building the capability of local communities to pursue
their own sustainable tourism development programs. Third, the overall vi-
sion of tourism should be supported by appropriate policy goals in tourism-
allied sectors such as transportation. When tourism becomes heavily politi-
cized, tourism loses its power to generate jobs, democratize income distribu-
tion, and eradicate poverty.
Thailand can likewise learn from the pocket initiatives that demonstrate
strong private-public partnership in tourism development, as in the case of
Palawan, Olango Bay in Cebu, and Panglao Craft Village at Panglao Island
Tourism Estate in Bohol. The Entrepreneurial Development in Rural Tour-
ism and the Philippine Agrotourism Programme enhances public-private
partnerships in community tourism.
This study compared the overall tourism policy frameworks of Thailand
and the Philippines to draw lessons for sustainable development. Thailand
has often been cited as a model for tourism development, particularly in
marketing and promotions and liberalization of tourism- related services
such as air transportation. Its experience provides lessons on how excesses
environmental degradation, prostitution, cultural exploitationcan weaken
the power of tourism to eradicate poverty and in make tourism more sustain-
able. The Philippines boasts of destinations which are at the early stages of
the product life cycle. These destinations can learn from the negative effects
of tourism development in Thailand, as in the case of Pattaya, Koh Samui,
and even Bangkok. Thailands experience has revealed that government
and policies still have a place in tourism development. Its position as a re-
gional hub for tourism is a result of relatively liberal air transport policies.
More importantly, government plays a critical role in correcting market fail-
ures, minimizing the negative externalities created by tourism, and assisting
in the distribution of benefits to communities.
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Chapter 3
Toward the Development of Sustainable
Tourism Indicators: An Analysis of Sustain-
able Tourism Programs and Practices Among
ASEAN National Tourism Organizations
Reil G. Cruz
Introduction
National tourism organizations (NTOs) play a central role in tourism devel-
opment within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). From
the 1960s up to the early 1990s, NTOs have assumed the functions of plan-
ning, implementation, and regulation of tourism. Such active intervention
has been widely credited for the rapid development of the tourism indus-
tries of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Along with in-
dustrialization and vigorous export promotion, tourism has become a tool for
economic development of these ASEAN states. Over the last 40 years, the
growth of tourist arrivals and tourist receipts in these countries (with the
exception of the Philippines) have been among the highest in the world. By
2000, the four countries had generated nearly US$21 billion in receipts from
32 million arrivals (various sources).
However, poorly planned mass tourism in these countries has also led to
environmental and cultural degradation. Thailand and the Philippines have
come to be known as sex capitals. The spread of AIDS, particularly in Thai-
land, has also been abetted by tourism. Local residents have complained of
loss of access to beaches and dislocation from areas of economic activity. The
once pristine beaches of Boracay and Phuket now suffer from congestion,
pollution, and beach erosion. Singapore has lost much of its Asian identity as
high-rise hotels, giant malls, and a futuristic airport were constructed to
handle the influx of millions of tourists. Thus, it comes as no surprise that
Table 1. Tourist arrivals and receipts (2000)
Tourist arrivals Tourist receipts
(millions) (billions)
Philippines 1.797 2.33
Malaysia 12.775 6.30
Singapore 7.519 5.45
Thailand 10.132 6.88
32.223 20.96
the tourism sector, where its approach to development is concerned, has
become a target for reform. The new paradigm has come to be known as
sustainable development.
This paper looks at how national tourism organizations in the ASEAN
region operationalize the principles of sustainability. Its specific objectives of
this paper are:
To identify the activities undertaken by the NTOs in four ASEAN
countries to effect sustainable development in their respective
tourism industries;
To evaluate the sufficiency of these measures in attaining sus-
tainable tourism development; and
To suggest ways of improving current efforts toward a more sus-
tainable development of tourism.
This study is based on desktop research using printed literature as well
as online resources. Interviews with experts and ocular inspections of sites in
Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore were done to augment material obtained
on these countries. The review of literature concentrated on international
declarations (particularly the world summits on sustainable development),
national socioeconomic development plans, national tourism master plans,
ecotourism master plans of the four countries, as well as academic papers
published in recent international tourism conference proceedings.
Analysis was limited to NTOs to ensure focus for the discussion. The
NTOs covered were those of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thai-
land, which may not accurately represent the ASEAN region. These NTOs
were:
the Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT),
Malaysias Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT),
the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and
the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
Sustainable tourism development as a concept
Understanding sustainable tourism development requires an understand-
ing of the fundamental concept of sustainable development. The begin-
nings of the sustainable development paradigm can be traced to the environ-
mental movement in Europe and North America during the 1960s. In June
1972, the international community met in Stockholm, Sweden, to discuss for
the first time global environmental and development issues. The resulting
Declaration of the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environ-
ment contained 26 principles on the preservation of the environment.
In 1986, the UN World Commission on Environment and Development
studied the dynamics of global environmental degradation and recom-
mended measures to ensure the long-term viability of human society. Gro
Chapter 3: Cruz 83
Harlem Brundtland, then Prime Minister of Norway, chaired the Commis-
sion. The Commissions report, Our Common Future (1987), became the
benchmark for thinking about the global environment. It also coined the
phrase sustainable development, which it defined as:
development that meets the needs of the present without compro-
mising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The report echoed the basic principles outlined in the 1972 Stockholm
Convention, namely, redistribution of economic activity, conservation of and
equitable access to resources, and increased technological effort to use them
more effectively. It also recommended observance of carrying capacity and
sustainable yield, and minimizing adverse impacts.
The 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (also known
as Earth Summit 1992 or the Rio Summit) again brought environment and
development issues to the forefront. It produced the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development, which added the principles of
intergenerational equity, citizen participation, and empowerment of women,
youth, and indigenous peoples. Its accompanying Agenda 21: Program of
Action for Sustainable Development identified ways by which various stake-
holders can operationalize the actions called for by the document on a wide
range of issues. Attended by leaders from government, public interest groups,
nongovernmental organizations, as well as private business, Earth Summit
1992 generated a high level of public awareness of and engagement in global
environmental protection for the health and well-being of future genera-
tions. Furthermore, it highlighted the value of international cooperation in
global issues, such as environmental degradation.
As with Stockholm, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Develop-
ment in Johannesburg, South Africa, identified poverty as the main cause of
environmental degradation and social problems. As such, measures to eradi-
cate poverty were deemed essential to a sustainable future. These measures
called for greater access to basic health services, clean water, and sanitation
facilities, and education. It also called for greater participation by women
and indigenous peoples in economic activities. Other proposed policies
involved giving poor people access to basic rural infrastructure and credit
facilities, and application of new environment-friendly technologies (UN
2002). A significant aspect of the WSSD was the inclusion of sustainable
tourism development, particularly ecotourism and community-based tour-
ism, as strategies for reducing poverty.
Tourism as a form of sustainable development had been discussed in
many previous tourism gatherings. In 1995, the World Conference on Sus-
tainable Tourism in Lanzarote was the first to call for the integration of sus-
tainable development principles with tourism. The Lanzarote conference
produced two important documents, the Charter for Sustainable Tourism
and the Sustainable Tourism Plan of Action. The Charter laid down 18 prin-
ciples for controlling tourism as part of a global strategy for sustainable devel-
opment. The Plan of Action specified strategies and proposals for action to
be developed by signatories to the Lanzarote Declaration. The first of these
principles stated: Tourism development shall be based on criteria of
sustainability, which means that it must be ecologically bearable in the long
term, economically viable, as well as ethically and socially equitable for the
local communities (Aronsson 2000).
In 1996, the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the World Travel and
Tourism Council (WTTC), and the Earth Council released Agenda 21 for
Travel and Tourism Industry: Towards Environmental Sustainable Develop-
ment. The document called for the establishment of mechanisms for the
implementation of sustainable tourism practices, participatory
decisionmaking, and the interdependence of tourism and peace, among
others.
In April 2001, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) published their own Code for Sus-
tainable Tourism. It urged their members to conserve the natural environ-
ment, respect local cultures, maintain environmental management systems,
conserve and reduce energy, eliminate wastes and pollutants. It also encour-
aged commitment to support environmentally and socially responsible ac-
tions, sustainable tourism research and educational activities, and coopera-
tion with individuals and organizations to advance sustainable development
practices.
Taking off from the Brundtland Commissions definition, Tourism
Canada came up with the following definition of sustainable tourism devel-
opment in 1990:
Tourism development that leads to management of all resources in
such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled,
while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes,
biological diversity and life support systems.
Eber (1992) as cited in Bramwell (1998) states that tourism can contrib-
ute to sustainable development when:
It operates within natural capacities for the regeneration and
future productivity of natural resources; recognizes the contribution
that people and communities, customs and lifestyles make to the
tourism experience; accepts that these people must have an equi-
table share in the economic benefits of tourism; and is guided by the
wishes of local people and communities in the host areas.
Chapter 3: Cruz 85
McVey (1993) identifies the three core elements of sustainability:
Economic sustainability, or efforts to maintain growth rates at man-
ageable levels; promoting tourism while keeping an eye on ca-
pacities to handle greater demand to avoid consumer dissatis-
faction;
Social sustainability, or societys ability to absorb increasing tourist
arrivals without adversely affecting or damaging indigenous cul-
ture; and
Environmental sustainability, which is related to the capacity of the
natural and built environment to handle tourism without dam-
age.
The UN Commission for Sustainable Development adds a fourth ele-
mentinstitutional sustainability. This refers to a countrys commitment to
sustainable development as manifested by the incorporation of sustainable
principles into development planning, partnerships for sustainable devel-
opment, the use of indicators for monitoring sustainability, presence of moni-
toring and coordinating bodies for sustainable development, and the enact-
ment of laws that promote sustainable development.
Tisen et al. (1999) explains the interrelationships among nature, cul-
ture, and economics in the following example.
Among the communities in Sarawak, Malaysia, forest animals are the
foundation of legends and traditional belief systems. They are imitated in
dances, and animal parts are used as decorative wear. If wildlife disappears,
their culture will also fade. Yet the forest also supplies the people with wild
meat, which constitutes a third of their staple food. But again if the people
continue hunting certain animals for meat, then these animals might be-
come extinct. By offering an alternative means of livelihood, tourism in
Sarawak helps preserve the environment and culture.
From this review of literature, tourism can be deemed sustainable if:
It is economically viable;
Promotes conservation of natural resources and indigenous cul-
ture;
Supports preservation of local culture;
Takes a long-term perspective and is concerned with the well-
being of future generations;
Promotes equity, or sharing the benefits and risks of tourism;
Engages multistakeholder participation in decisionmaking and
management;
Promotes cooperation and partnerships;
Promotes responsibility and accountability in behavior and rela-
tionships;
Is marketed responsibly;
Is integrated into planning;
Upholds respect for others; and
Emphasizes the importance of education, research, and capabil-
ity building.
NTO activities on sustainable tourism development
This section looks at how sustainable tourism framework has been adopted
into the national tourism agenda of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore,
and Thailand; how the concept of sustainable tourism has been
operationalized through the various activities of the NTOs; and the chal-
lenges, issues, or gaps that remain to be hurdled in pursuit of sustainable
tourism.
National tourism plans
Because of multilateral commitments made by the four countries under study,
there has been a conscious effort to integrate the principles of sustainability
into their national development plans, which later found their way into their
tourism master plans.
The original six member countries of ASEAN (the four, plus Indonesia
and Brunei) adopted the 1987 Jakarta Resolution on promoting sustainable
development as a framework in their efforts on common seas, land resources,
tropical rainforests, and air quality (ASEAN Economic Research Unit, Insti-
tute of Southeast Asian Studies 1991, online). Eventually, the ASEAN coun-
tries signed Agenda 21, the mother document upon which codes of ethics,
guidelines, and master plans for sustainable development would be based.
The principles of sustainable development would found application in the
national development plans. National development plans provide the over-
all framework for development of a country. They spell out the major objec-
tives and strategies, and identify priority projects for investments, and there-
fore have direct implications on national budgets. They set the general di-
rections for sectoral plans, such as tourism master plans. National tourism
plans in the four ASEAN countries generally underscore the important con-
tribution of tourism to the national economy and its potential to raise income
levels and the quality of life in the rural areas; the need for human resource
development; environmental and cultural conservation; and marketing and
product development strategies (e.g., cluster development and trans-border
tourism). Some national tourism plans have also special features like exten-
sion of financial assistance to tourism ventures, decentralization of control
for tourism, and development of e-commerce for tourism.
Malaysias National Tourism Policy was first proclaimed in the Sixth Ma-
laysia Plan (1991-1995) and updated in the subsequent Seventh (1996-2000)
and Eighth (2001-2005) Malaysia Plans. The Federal Governments broad
Chapter 3: Cruz 87
policies for sustainable development of tourism in Malaysia include the fol-
lowing:
Encouraging equitable economic and social development
through the promotion of rural enterprises, accelerating urban-
rural integration and cultural exchange, and encouraging eth-
nic community participation;
Developing environment-friendly tourism products, as well as
promotion of cultural and natural heritage;
Provision of soft loans for small- to medium-sized tourism-re-
lated projects; and
Adoption of an integrated approach to planning, continuing
human resource development, and preservation and beautifica-
tion of tourism and historical sites.
The Philippine Tourism Master Plan outlines policies designed to ad-
vance the cause of sustainable tourism development:
Promoting sustainable tourism products by developing a spread
of differentiated tourism clusters, each supported by an interna-
tional gateway, support amenities, and services;
Developing a spread of complementary tourism products in each
of the clusters, and diversifying the market mix by aiming to
striking a balance between domestic and international tourism;
Maximizing the use of local resources (financial, human, and
material);
Maximizing local ownership, livelihood opportunities, indi-
vidual initiative, and self-reliance;
Encouraging domestic tourism as a means to improve the
peoples quality of life, conserve and promote national heritage,
and heighten their sense of national identity and unity;
Promoting environmental conservation by adhering to develop-
ment guidelines and carrying capacities of the locale where tour-
ism development would take place, adopting an integrated ap-
proach to planning based on the countrys natural, historic, and
architectural heritage; and supporting the conservation move-
ment;
Establishing a tourism industry training board, training centers
per cluster or region, and standards for tourism professional,
and tourism educators.
In response to the call for sustainable tourism development, the DOT,
with the help of the Philippine Council on Sustainable Development and
other entities, conducted a series of technical workshops to update its tour-
ism policy. The proposed tourism policy statement underscored the signifi-
cance of tourism as a catalyst for sustainable development. The updated
framework advocates multisectoral participation in tourism development by
women, cultural minorities, tourists, and big business. Sustainable tourism
will be the product of judicious stewardship by the key players in tourism
(i.e., travel and tourism business and affiliated sectors, politicians, civil soci-
ety, the academe and technological institutions, host communities, farmers
and fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, and visitors). Sustainable tourism devel-
opment adheres to the primacy of people, the spirit of partnership or consor-
tium, community participation, cultural authenticity and integrity, quality of
tourism product or experience, entrepreneurship and productivity, gender
sensitivity, and advocacy and leadership (DOT technical workshop paper).
The STBs current Tourism Master Plan called Tourism 21 is basically a
marketing plan that bears no direct references to sustainable development.
Lacking the tourist diversity of its neighbors, Singapore has chosen instead
to concentrate on forging regional tourism and business alliances, and pack-
aging complementary tourism products with destinations outside its geo-
graphic boundaries (Yeoh et al. undated). The Plan called for the develop-
ment of the city-state as a tourism hub in Asia and mastering gateway tourism,
taking full advantage of its location, sophisticated infrastructure, political
stability, and excellent human resource. According to Shoo Ling, STB regu-
lates only hotels and travel agencies. For tourism sites, regulation is done by
the Urban Redevelopment Board. The other agencies in charge of tourism-
related development are the National Parks Board, the National Heritage
Board, and the Ministry of Environment. There is no definite legislation to
ensure sustainable tourism, which nevertheless is encouraged through in-
tergovernmental alliance with local authorities, business, and industry.
Singapore has shifted its approach from advocating a demolish and rebuild
policy of the 1960s to 1970s to becoming a green city with well-preserved
Asian heritage (Chan and Smith 2001).
The sustainable tourism policy of TAT emanates from Thailands consti-
tution, which provides for the right of the people to protect their resources,
trades, and culture as well as the right to partake of the fruits from the utiliza-
tion of such resources. Sustainable tourism development policy is one of the
five components of National Policy spelled out in the Eighth National Eco-
nomic and Social Development Plan (NESDP) (1997-2001). Sustainable tour-
ism was made into a national agenda in the National Tourism Development
Plan that was contained in the Ninth NESDP (2002-2006) (TISTR 1997).
Thailands tourism policy advocates:
A human-centered approach to development, the protection of
the well-being of the people and their participation in all levels
of development;
Conservation of mangrove forests, coral reefs, and marine park
resourcesassets that are vital to the tourism industry;
Chapter 3: Cruz 89
Tourism as the major source of national income;
Multistakeholder participation (i.e., local people, local government
organizations, other government agencies, and the private sec-
tor);
Upgrading of service quality standards, building up performance
of small- and medium-size entrepreneurs and local communi-
ties, and training of personnel at all levels;
Decentralization of power to local administration in managing
tourism destination;
Consolidation of Thailands international image as Quality
Destination through joint public-private sector public relations
campaign;
Development of electronic- or e-tourism composed of e-tour-
ism, e-trust, e-commerce, e-tourism mail, and e-market place;
and
Improved integration of related tourism laws.
Envisioned to take effect in 2004, the tourism law will cover all tourism-
related industries, the development of new attractions and improvement of
maintenance in existing areas, promotion of transborder tourism to the
Mekong countries as well as to Malaysia and Singapore, and provision of
training for TAT. The proposed tourism law also provides for a system of
registration and product grading of ecotourism and nature-based tourism,
define curriculum for tourism education, provide a proactive plan to guide
tourism development in national parks as well as a manual for resort develop-
ment.
The National Tourism Development Plan advocates environmental
sustainability by increasing green areas, improving landscapes, controlling
land use, and expanding the capacity of garbage disposal and wastewater
treatment facilities. Following the polluter-pays principle of nature conser-
vation, the Plan recommends the collection of park fees and limiting the
number of visitors in national parks. It also calls for the training of rangers as
tour guides, collaborating with private sector and local communities in the
upkeep of protected areas and national parks and in observing carrying ca-
pacities.
Development of ecotourism and related tourism products
The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as responsible
travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-
being of local people. Implicit in this definition, according to the Interna-
tional Ecotourism Society, are the characteristics of successful ecotourism,
which include:
Minimal negative impacts on nature and culture of a destina-
tion;
Provision for education of the traveler on the importance of
conservation;
Stress on the importance of responsible business that works in
cooperation with local authorities and people to meet local needs
and deliver conservation benefits;
Emphasis on the use of environmental and social baseline stud-
ies, as well as long-term monitoring programs, to assess and mini-
mize impacts;
Maximized economic benefit for the host country, local business
and communities, particularly peoples living in and adjacent to
natural and protected areas; and
Tourism development that does not exceed the social and envi-
ronmental limits of acceptable change, as determined by re-
searchers in cooperation with local residents.
Because of the almost identical characteristics of ecotourism and sustain-
able tourism, it is not surprising that ecotourism has become a core tourism
strategy of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Framework for ecotourism development
The 1991 Philippine Tourism Master Plan cites niche markets and special
interest tourism whose definitions are similar to ecotourism. NGOs, local
government units (LGUs), and local communities have been undertaking
their own versions of ecotourism even before the government established a
framework for its development. To chart the industrys future development,
then President Joseph Estrada issued Executive Order 111 in 1999, creating
the National Ecotourism Development Council (NEDC), which is composed
of Cabinet secretaries and representatives of NGOs. Chaired by the Secretary
of Tourism, the NEDC serves as the policymaking body for ecotourism. The
implementing arm is called the National Ecotourism Steering Committee,
which is composed of Regional Ecotourism Committees. The first national
workshop to formulate a national ecotourism framework was held in 1999,
the outputs of which were later validated in a National Ecotourism Congress.
In April 2002, the Philippines National Ecotourism Strategy (NES) was pre-
sented to various tourism sectors. The NES identified the strategic frame-
work, institutional mechanisms, ecotourism programs, ecotourism network
(of potential and actual sites), and action plans.
In 1992, Malaysia Tourism Policy identified ecotourism as one of the
forms of tourism to be expanded and developed. By 1995, a National
Ecotourism Plan (NEP) was drafted. The NEP, which is being coordinated by
MOCAT, will be in effect until 2005. Ecotourism is seen as a major tool for
Chapter 3: Cruz 91
nature and cultural conservation, since Malaysia has some of the biggest
expanses of virgin forests and the largest number of rare species of animals
and ethnic communities in Southeast Asia. The NEP provides for the adop-
tion of a clear definition of ecotourism, a definite development policy, imple-
menting legal changes to support the Plan, and establishing a monitoring
and evaluation program. The NEPs Site Planning and Management part
covers the application procedures, establishment of a nationwide system of
ecotourism areas, guidelines, marketing strategy, and fiscal measures to en-
courage ecotourism. The Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building
part covers human resources development, local participation, accreditation
scheme, product development, certification, and standards of tourist infor-
mation literature. The government at the federal and state level provided
funds for ecotourism development, including 10 million Malaysian ringgits
for five ecotourism pilot projects between 1996 and 2000. To date about RM
100 million has been earmarked for 28 new projects (Daud 2002).
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has set up a committee to establish
policies and guidelines for ecotourism development as early as 1994. In
1995, TAT commissioned the Thailand Institute of Science and Technology
Research to conduct an ecotourism study. The Final Report on Operational
Study to Determine Ecotourism Policy recommended the establishment of a
development framework for tourism resource with clear standards, obser-
vance of carrying capacities in various zones, and the establishment of con-
crete measures for stricter environmental protection and preservation. It
also advocates the use of appropriate technologies to control environmental
quality, as well to support the development of personnel in the process of
planning and managing ecotourism resources and their environment. Fur-
thermore, the report also underscores the importance of education, infra-
structure, investment, marketing, and the role of local communities in
ecotourism. In 1998, the Thai Cabinet approved the establishment of a Na-
tional Ecotourism Committee, which formed subcommittees for tourism re-
search and environmental management, environmental awareness, peoples
participation and marketing promotion and tour guiding, infrastructure
management and tourism services, and investment promotion. Thailands
ecotourism policy is situated within the framework of the Thai Constitution
itself and in the Eighth (1997-2001) and Ninth (2001-2006) National Eco-
nomic and Social Development Plans, which call for people-centered devel-
opment (Leksakundilok undated).
In support of its ecotourism program, TAT has provided support to Thai
Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA) by running special
training programs for ecotourism guides. The Thai Government has also
invested in infrastructure and designated 104 national and marine Parks.
Moreover, TAT has identified 600 attractions suitable for ecotourism devel-
opment. TEATA offers low-impact travel activities, such as rafting, Mekong
River tours, elephant safari, culture tours, birdwatching, biking, health pack-
ages, and off-road adventures
With few remaining natural areas, Singapore does not have a national
ecotourism plan like its neighbors. However, Tourism 21 contains sustain-
able components, such as the promotion of community- and nature-based
tourism. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has made a development plan for
the Southern Islands. Sustainable aspects of the plan include keeping 80
percent of the place in its natural state. Buildings should be of low density
and structures not higher than four stories. Energy-efficient and clean trans-
portation systems will be used like tram, golf carts, and water taxis. Only the
fire engines and police cars will be using combustion engines. The develop-
ment will involve some reclamation to form part of the three islands and
create a critical landmass needed for recreation and resort development. To
conserve nature on the islands, STB has signed a Memorandum of Under-
standing with the National University of Singapore to study the islands flora
and fauna and prepare a feasibility study of creating a habitat for threatened
species on the islands. According to the 1996 master plan, once the reclamation
was finished in 2002, the land would be tendered to private developers. It is
expected to generate S$460 million through land sales. Development costs were
estimated at S$280 million. When completed in 2007, the site is expected to
attract 500,000 visitors a year, up from the 2001 figure of 1,000 (Yeang 2002).
To conserve the few remaining vestiges of its Asian identity, Singapore
has also come up with policies to preserve ethnic sections of the city like
Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Glam, and Boat (Chan and Smith 2001).
STBs cultural heritage restoration project involves restoration of shophouses,
construction of the Chinatown Heritage Center in Chinatown, renewal project
in the Muslim quarter of Kampung Glam, and development of an arcade in
Little India.
Shophouses are traditional Chinese shops with residential quarters on
the upper floors. STB and the National Heritage Board have converted three
original shophouses in Chinatown into a museum where visitors may see
period furniture, costumes and jewelry, charcoal-stained kitchens, and a typi-
cal tailor shop.
Ecotourism plans in the four countries have the following common ele-
ments:
Standardized systems and procedures;
An institutional mechanism for implementation;
Integration of concepts and principles into the educational sys-
tem;
Policies, guidelines, and standards for human resource devel-
opment, networking, and resource mobilization;
Generation of public awareness and appreciation of ecotourism
principles and practices;
Chapter 3: Cruz 93
Identification and development of sites for ecotourism;
Enhancement of existing ecotourism sites and products;
Mobilization of communities as partners;
Promotion of ecotourism products;
Market database;
Local and international linkages, such as those for funding;
Conduct of special projects and activities;
Infrastructure facilities to support ecotourism development;
Alternative livelihood and entrepreneurial projects for host com-
munities; and
Enhancement of communities capability in the management of
ecotourism enterprise (Andrada 2002).
Case studies in sustainable tourism development
Mount Pinatubo livelihood from tourism project
The DOT Regional Office initiated this project by assisting a community in
Tarlac province to establish a cooperative that would offer guided tours to
Mount Pinatubos crater lake. The DOT helped the local community en-
hance its local capability by conducting training programs on tour guiding
and hosting for the homestay program. Other aspects of sustainability in-
clude the creation of livelihood for the cultural community of the Aetas, who
serve as guides and porters. Tourists pay user fees, which are used for conser-
vation of the trekking route and maintenance of public toilets. The project
has generated enough money to fund the construction of a multipurpose
hall for the local residents.
Butanding interaction tours
The Donsol River is a rich source of micronutrients for the whale shark
(butanding in local dialect), causing them to congregate around Donsols
waters for a few months during the year. Previously caught for their flesh, the
butanding were saved from certain extinction through the intervention of
the LGUs, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the DOT. The municipality
of Donsol and the provincial government of Sorsogon passed ordinances
that banned the hunting of the giant fish. The WWF provided training for
the Butanding Interaction Officers (BIOs) and encourage research-based
interactions with the whale sharks. (The BIO is a guide, whale-shark spotter,
and first-aid provider in one.) The DOT helped by providing training in the
homestay program. Tourism now provides an alternative livelihood to local
homestay providers, BIOs, boat operators, and other service providers.
Kampung Desa Murni
Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, together with the State Economic Planning
Unit, helped established the homestay program in Kampung Desa Murni in
1995 by providing training to host families, developing promotional bro-
chures, and helping the community learn how to organize the project on
their own. The homestay program promotes sustainable tourism by letting
the local community operate the project and engage in livelihood. Through
this project, women can earn a living by operating seasonal craft businesses,
thus developing their entrepreneurial skills. Visitors also get to experience
culture through participation in mock Malay weddings, trips to batik factory,
and demonstration of traditional martial art of silat and lantern dance. They
can also watch a demonstration of gathering latex from rubber trees. The
Desa Murni homestay program has led to the creation of the Malaysia Homestay
Association. Homestay programs, which have been replicated in the states of
Johor, Kedah, Melaka, Pahang, Perak, and Selangor.
Kinabatangan Wildlife Safari
The Sabah State government, with funding from the federal government,
established the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center in the sanctuary.
The Center is equipped with research and educational facilities, and pro-
vides accommodations for visitors. Aside from protecting the forest habitat,
the Center also promotes the welfare of the local community through
ecotourism. WWF Malaysia is involved through its Partners for Wetlands Pro-
gram. Private investors built ecolodges, the best example of which is the
Sukau Rainforest Lodge. Sukau has won the PATA Gold Award for its use of
environment-friendly architectural design and energy-saving technologies.
Umphang
In 1995, TAT set up an ecotourism pilot project in Umphang, a place known
for its hill tribes and waterfalls. The local community was given control of the
project through the Umphang Tourism Promotion and Preservation Club
(UTPCC). The Club, composed of wildlife officers, local authorities, tour
operators and village business, came up with its own control measures, such
as the following:
Limiting the number of overnight visitors to 300 per night;
Requiring visitors to secure passes stamped by local tourist po-
lice;
Requiring guides to be registered under the Tourist Business
and Guides Act of 1992;
Collection of conservation fee of ten baht (about US$0.20);
Provision of security and protection to visitors;
Standardizing quality and pricing for raft, bus, and food;
Zoning for camping, cooking, and parking;
Installing signages and distributing information leaflets to guide
visitors on proper conduct while in the community.
Chapter 3: Cruz 95
TAT supported the UTPCC in human resource development, promo-
tion of handicraft, preservation of traditional houses, upgrading of budget
accommodation, product development and public relations. TAT also as-
sisted UTPCC in the production of an ecotourism handbook containing a
code of conduct and a map of the place's natural trails and rafting routes.
Umphang won the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Award in 1998 for
Best Conservation Effort.
Ben Prasart
Ecotourism may also be based primarily on cultural assets, such as in Ben
Prasart in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Ban Prasart is an important
archaeological site because it features rare Khmer architecture. The site was
home to an excavated settlement dating 3,000 years and containing 60 hu-
man skeletons of different ages lying on top of each other from a depth of 1
to 5 meters. Accessories found in the dug site included pottery, bronze, shell,
and marble bracelets, rings, glass beads, bronze axes, and iron tools. TAT
developed the site as a pilot project, providing assistance for the promotion
of handicraft and sale of souvenirs, training the community in product de-
sign, quality improvement, and marketing. TAT also promoted homestay for
students coming from all over Thailand. The project has generated support
from the Australian Embassy, which donated money for the housewife career
development projects (Thavarasukha 2002).
Singapore agritourism
Singapores agritourism products depart from the usual setting. With the
help of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore, STB has devel-
oped five agrotechnology parks. The farms showcase intensive farming tech-
niques, such as raising bean sprouts through aeroponics, breeding of exotic
and endangered birds, organic farming, raising of tropical orchids and orna-
mental fishes. STB provided grants through the Tourism Development Assis-
tance Scheme to the five farms to defray the cost of improving visitor facilities
like storyboards, briefing areas, sheltered walkways, lighting, rest and refresh-
ment areas, and toilets. STB has also helped in the design of the farm tours
and in the development of storyboards and signages.
In addition to high-tech farms, Singapore is also developing destina-
tions noted for their rustic charms and natural settings. Examples of places
that will be promoted along these lines are Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve,
Pulau Ubin and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. APEC has cited Sungei Buloh,
a mangrove wetland known mainly for bird watching, as a model sustainable
tourism product. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, established in 1883, is suit-
able for mountain biking, trekking, and nature walking. Together with the
Central Catchment Nature Reserve, it is one of only two areas in Singapore
that is legally protected from development (Yeang 2000).
Singapore is by no means the only country to venture into agritourism.
The DOT, Department of Agriculture and the University of the Philippines
Asian Institute of Tourism recently published the Philippine Agritourism Pro-
gram Manual: A Guidebook for Developing Agritourism in the Philippines in (2002).
It defines agritourism as tourism that is conducted on working farms where
the working environment forms part of the tourist product. It also prescribes
sustainable practices, such as social acceptability of the project (the opera-
tion of the farm for this purpose will depend on the willingness of the farmer
to accept visitors), adherence to sustainable techniques, and monitoring.
Sustainability will be further promoted by having a regulatory mechanism.
This includes the formulation of guidelines for registration and incentives,
and its inclusion into the 2000 Investment Priorities Plan, which will be done
with the help of the Board of Investments.
In Thailand, the TAT and the Department of Agricultural Extension are
developing agritourism in the Muslim village of Ko Maphrao near Phuket.
The main attractions will be the rubber plantation, fishing activities, and
homestay. Tourists will be offered the opportunity to try their hands at collect-
ing latex from rubber trees; join a fishing trip; and visit the feeding beds of
oysters, mussels and lobsters, and the mangrove forests where monkeys, crabs,
and birds may be observed. TAT is also developing agritourism in Krabi
provinces Ko Phi Phi and in the 140-year-old village of Bang Plee in Samut
Prakarn province. The main attractions in Ko Phi Phi are the limestone out-
crops, the Horticulture Center (for anthuriums, orchids, and wild plants)
and the swamp forests, which are noted for rare species and an emerald
colored pool. Bang Plee, which has a sizeable population of ethnic Laos and
Muslims, will feature floating markets, agricultural demonstration of mango
and coconut agar preservation, and tiger and snake farms. Students will be
tapped to conduct the guided village tour. Agritourism is also flourishing in
the northern provinces. According to TAT (2000), tourism based on the
regions agricultural resources (e.g., research and demonstration facilities,
orchid nurseries, arboretum, homestays, nature trails, and rice planting and
harvesting) has generated enough money to eliminate opium growing.
Toward an economically sustainable mass tourism
Mass travel still dominates the tourism industries of the ASEAN states. The
NTOs neither control nor regulate businesses that cater to high-volume tour-
ists because of the trend toward decentralization and the system of gover-
nance (e.g., federal). What has surfaced in this study, though, is that the
NTOs have made adjustments resulting in more economically viable mass
tourism.
One such adjustment is the bigger importance now being accorded to
domestic tourism. The value of domestic tourism has been recognized by the
ASEAN NTOs, especially after the global financial crisis in 1997, which re-
Chapter 3: Cruz 97
sulted in dramatic dips in international tourist arrivals. Domestic tourism is
particularly effective in distributing incomes to the rural areas and stabiliz-
ing demand for tourism facilities and services. The DOT, for example, initi-
ated holiday economics in 2002. At the insistence of the DOT, the govern-
ment moved the celebration of national holidays to the nearest Friday, effec-
tively lengthening weekends, thereby encouraging domestic trips. Similarly,
Malaysia embarked on the First Saturday Off Ruling and Third Saturday Off
Ruling to encourage domestic travel by its citizens (Omar and Hamzah 2001).
In Thailand, TAT launched an advertising campaign with this spin: Citizens
need not look far to find paradise, because it is in Thailand itself. TAT also
offered discount coupons of five to 15 percent as incentives to domestic
travelers.
Still another measure taken by NTOs is the shift from competition to
complementation. The four countries are involved in one or more growth
triangles, which promote integration of tourism, transportation, and other
industries (www.usaep.org). Transborder tourism is one of the possibilities
within the growth triangles of Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand, Indonesia-Ma-
laysia-Singapore, or in the bigger growth nodes of Brunei-Indonesia-Malay-
sia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) or the Great Mekong
Subregion (Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China).
Both Singapore and Thailand promote themselves as Tourism Capital, Tour-
ism Hub, and Gateway to Asia. At the ASEAN level, the four states have al-
ready relaxed visa and immigration requirements for citizens of member
states to promote regional travel.
Lastly, the NTOs now pay attention to diversifying tour product offerings
to attract new market segments. This has resulted in the creation of sustain-
able products, such as ecotourism, rural tourism or village tourism, agritourism,
health tourism, and heritage tourism. More and more areas in the country-
side that are endowed with nature, special economic activities or indigenous
cultures are being opened up for their tourism potentials.
Support for voluntary initiatives for sustainable tourism
According to the WTO (2002), voluntary initiatives play an increasing role in
the regulation of tourism operations. They usually address issues related to
sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) and target specific tour-
ism sector, industry associations, or destinations. Voluntary schemes cover
ecolabels and certification schemes, prizes and awards, environmental man-
agement systems, codes of conduct, charters for sustainable tourism, self-
commitments, and self-declarations.
Ecolabels are designed to reward environmental leadership and provide
a review of and update on environmental criteria and categories. In addition,
they use legally protected logos (Hundloe 2000). Codes of conduct refer to
a voluntary set of guidelines outlining ethics, philosophies, principles, and
practices that the tourism industry or group could follow in its operation
(UN ESCAP 1999). Some of the most widely known VISTs in the ASEAN are
the following:
The PATA Green Leaf Program/APEC-PATA Code for Sustainable Tour-
ism. This started in 1995 as an ecolabel for all types of tourism
companies. Originally developed by PATA in 1992, it has now
merged with Green Globe 21. Green Globe (GG) translates the
principles of Agenda 21 into practical actions for accommoda-
tions, tour operators, and destinations around the world. Like
most ecolabels, it is based on commitment rather than actual
performance. In 1999, its first year of certification, GG entered
into a joint venture with Australia's Cooperative Research Cen-
ter for Sustainable Tourism to operate in the Asia Pacific. Green
Globe Action plans have been made for Camiguin and Ifugao in
the Philippines and in Ko Samui, Thailand (WTO 2002).
The International Hotel Environment Initiative. A noncompetitive
platform that encourages continuous improvement in the envi-
ronmental performance of the hotel industry, this consortium
has forged partnerships with hotel associations, governments,
NGOs, tourism bodies, and businesses. It has launched the
Green Hoteliers Award to reward hoteliers for their efforts in
improving environmental performance. Member hotels now
number 11,000 on five continents, representing over 1.9 mil-
lion hotel rooms (WTO 2002).
The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploita-
tion in Travel and Tourism. This was developed in collaboration
with tour operators, travel agents associations, and member gov-
ernments of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and
Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT). The
Code, which uses six criteria, has been adopted and is now be-
ing implemented by 100 percent of Swedish tour operators and
70 percent of Scandinavian tour operators in six pilot destina-
tions (Dominican Republic, Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, India,
and Thailand). In Thailand, TAT supports ECPAT and Accor
Hotels poster campaign to educate hotel guests on the hotel
chains commitment to protect children and on the penalties
for unlawful behavior.
Other codes of conduct in the ASEAN include the Philippines
Ecotourism Code of Ethics, which is contained in the DOTs
Primer on Ecotourism, and Sustainable Tourism Code of Re-
sponsible Behavior for Tourists and Tour Operators by TATs
Conservation Division.
Chapter 3: Cruz 99
Ecolabels and certification programs
International ecolabels and tourism environmental certification programs
have very low participation rates in the four countries. For example, only 1
percent of the 64 hotels in Bangkok applied for Green Leaf accreditation in
2000 (Green Leaf undated). The other countries do not even have their own
ecolabels for tourism. According to a WTO study, a critical mass of 3 to 10
percent is needed to consider an ecolabel successful. STB encourages hotels
to establish environmental management system in compliance with ISO 14001.
ISO is the International Organization for Standardization. The ISO 14000
family of standards is made up of about 20 documents related to environmen-
tal management systems (EMS) and environmental management tools. Com-
prising ISO 14001 are documents that specify the requirements for estab-
lishing a new EMS or improving on an existing EMS, which may be objectively
audited for self-declaration or third-party certification or registration pur-
poses. ISO 14000 promotes three types of accreditation, ranging from one
that applies multiple criteria third-party rating to self-declaration, and one
that applies quantified environmental data within preset categories of pa-
rameters (Hundloe 2000).
Tourism awards
To encourage the adoption of best practices, the ASEAN NTOs have come
up with their own tourism awards, in close partnership with industry. Tour-
ism awards not only promote best practices that lead to financial viability in
the industry. They also encourage better environmental management by in-
corporating environmental criteria.
Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines have instituted tourism in-
dustry awards, which are cooperative projects of government and the tourism
industry. The Philippine version, called Kalakbay Award, recognizes the best
hotels, resorts, travel agencies, tour operators, tourism frontline workers, lo-
cal tourism councils, and ecotourism products. Environmental practices form
part of the criteria for selection of best hotels and resorts, but the weights
assigned to them are quite low. The award is given every two years.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand initiated the biannual Thailand Tour-
ism Awards in 1996 to promote Thai tourism industry. In 2002, in line with
the objective of conserving natural and cultural resources, the categories
were expanded to include ecotourism, agritourism, and diving attractions.
Malaysia Tourism Awards promote nature conservation and culture by
having categories for best natural attractions and best restaurant by cuisine
(i.e., Malay, Indian, and Chine in addition to Eastern and Western ones).
Accreditation schemes
Accreditation programs in the ASEAN are intended for the various sectors of the
tourism industry, particularly hotels and resorts. There are none for destinations.
Hotel and resort codes
To promote quality in tourism facilities, the Philippine Department of Tour-
ism maintains an accreditation scheme for hotels and resorts. Hotels are
classified as deluxe, first class, standard, and economy while resorts are clas-
sified as AAA, AA or A, based on criteria found in separate Hotel and Resort
codes published by the DOT. Accreditation is based solely on the quality of
facilities and services and does not contain any environmental requirement.
This is voluntary on the part of tourism establishment.
Gold circle quality programme
Supported by the private sector and other government agencies, this accredi-
tation scheme by the Singapore Tourism Board sets benchmarks for fair trade
practices, quality of service and management, facilities and equipment, prod-
uct development, industry support and documentation (STB 1999).
Star rating system
This provides a uniform rating system for Thai hotels and is supported by the
Thai Hotels Association and the association of Thai Travel Agents. TATs star
rating system ranges from five star (highest) to one star and is based on five
major criteria: 1) physical attributes like location and environmental quality;
2) structure and systems related to safety and security; 3) facilities related to
comfort; 4) service quality like cleanliness, hygiene, and reputation; and 5)
ongoing maintenance of property.
Capability building, research, education, and advocacy
NTOs run educational and training programs to support sustainable tourism
efforts. Educational materials come in the form of guidebooks, maps, leaflets,
brochures, and exhibits. Advocacy work is carried out through training pro-
grams and provision of support for curriculum development on sustainable
tourism. Target groups include students, frontline industry personnel, and
government officials.
A big component of training provided by the NTOs is related to improv-
ing the frontline service in the tourism sector. An example of this is the
DOTs Mabuhay Host Program. The program aims to make taxi drivers con-
scious of their responsibility to keep their cars clean, maintain a professional
physical appearance, and take responsibility for their passengers safety. Ro-
tary Club, with the support of TAT, is running a similar program for taxi
drivers in Thailand. Called Service Excellence 2000, the program covers a
basic Thai, English, Japanese, or Chinese language course, a refresher on
traffic rules and regulations, and a review of best driving practices and eti-
quette.
Where tourism policy issues are concerned, the DOT generates aware-
ness and feedback through various community participation strategies, such
Chapter 3: Cruz 101
as conferences, workshops, community consultations, public hearings, for-
mation of special committees (Mena and Chon 2002). In three tourism-re-
lated industry conferences, it launched its WOW Philippines! campaign. In
2002, it held a national conference in Tacloban to get reactions from various
sectors on the Philippine National Ecotourism Strategy.
Some of the training programs being provided by the NTOs aim to in-
crease their capability to handle new tourism products. STB provides a train-
ing program called Exploring the Nature Trails of Singapore for tour guides.
STBs Center for Tourism Related Studies has trained 100 tour guides as of
2000 for agritours. The STB conducts environmental awareness campaigns
by:
Installing showcase exhibit and disseminating information on
the natural environment, flora, fauna, and natural habitats in
Sungei Buloh, Pulau Ubin, and Bukit Timah;
Producing printed material promoting visitor respect for natu-
ral environment. This is available, among others, at the Visitor
Center (e.g., leaflets) in the places cited above;
Highlighting the countrys Clean & Green" reputation in STBs
brochures;
Projecting Singapore as a gateway to a culturally diverse region
rich in flora and fauna.
MOCAT, in cooperation with Malaysian state governments have published
guidebooks on its protected areas: wildlife sanctuaries, forest reserves, na-
tional parks, cultural sites, and unique wetland habitats, as ecotourism attrac-
tions. Visitor/interpretation/information centers are available in 13 of the
42 national parks in West Malaysia (Escape to the Great Outdoors of West
Malaysia). The DOT, for its part, has published newsletters, primers, guide-
books and manuals on tour guiding, ecotourism, and agritourism.
In collaboration with the Singapore Environmental Council, the STB
produced the Green Map of Singapore, showcasing agritour farms, nature
trails, and other green attractions. Part of the Green Map System currently
used by 110 cities in 35 countries features Sungei Buloh Nature Park, Pulau
Ubin, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and Upper Pierce Reservoir. The Green
Map provides information about the characteristics of these places; admis-
sion rates if the place is a paid attraction; suggested things to do within the
sites; contact information; and how to get there. The map is also a good
resource material about sustainable practices. It has trekking tips, lists of
contacts, resources, ecotourism sites, and agrotechnology facilities. It also
describes all the interesting flora and fauna that can be found in Singapore.
On the other hand, TATs Conservation Division has published brochures
about sustainable tourism, explaining the principles surrounding sustain-
able tourism, the different forms of sustainable tourism, and appropriate
behaviors by tourists in different situations.
TATs educational and awareness-building programs include efforts to
install signposts bearing vital information and directional signs at Kiriwong
Village in Nakhon Sithammarat, which is known for its homestay visits and
trekking. Another component of the programs is the fielding of 22 mobile
resource centers to promote sustainable tourism. With the support of the
national parks, TAT will produce ecotourism brochures for distribution among
Thai and foreign visitors at the parks. It will also provide environmental
conservation tools for local communities in collaboration with Chulaborn
Research Institute and the Royal Forest Department. TAT also maintains
permanent conservation exhibition booths at major international airports
and national parks, specifically those of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.
The national parks are Doi Ithanon, Huai Nan Dung, Had Chao Mai in Trang,
and Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island in Krabi.
As part of the Amazing Thailand campaign, TAT embarked on a program
intended to build public awareness of natural and cultural heritage conser-
vation among local communities, which is critical to developing sustainable
tourism under the TATs long-term policy. TAT has joined up with the Na-
tional Economic and Social Development Board to develop a long-term plan
to encourage local communities to participate in tourism development. The
agency is working with a number of organizations to educate students and
monks about sustainable tourism. It conducts tourism courses for administra-
tion officials through the Ministry of Interior and is promotes tourism educa-
tion in schools and universities. Through its Foundation for the Protection
of Environment and Tourism, which was established in 1992, TAT is able to
educate the youth on the value of forest and marine conservation. Among its
projects are tree planting and promotion of garbage treatment.
Multistakeholder participation and interagency coordination
Tourism is a complex industry with economic, environmental, and social
dimensions. NTOs do not have control over all aspects of tourism develop-
ment. Sustainability cannot be achieved through the efforts of just one agency.
The entire nation must do its share toward this end. Limitations in financial
resources, expertise, geographic reach and jurisdiction make it imperative
for NTOs to seek the help of other sectors in government, industry, and
communities, especially those with important roles to play in ensuring
sustainability. These include national/federal/local/state departments and
offices tasked to oversee the environment, land use, protected areas, forestry,
fisheries, agriculture, local security, transportation, indigenous peoples, cul-
tural development, and womens issues.
Chapter 3: Cruz 103
These partnerships provide mechanisms for dialogues, which are useful
in bringing to the fore genuine concerns and issues, and in establishing
ownership of any policy, plan, strategy, or project that will be implemented in
a given area. When such processes are set aside or sidelined, tourism master
plans may languish for years for lack of support, funding, or coordination
with relevant authorities.
In the Philippines the Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Industry,
Environment and Natural Resources, Science and Technology, as well as the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the National Com-
mission for Culture and the Arts, and the National Commission on Indig-
enous Peoples are just some of government agencies that have cooperated
with the DOT in various tourism projects. Planning major tourism projects
may involve regional and local offices of the DOT, the National Economic
and Development Authority, Congressional representatives, governors, may-
ors, planning and development officers, as well as representatives from tour-
ism-related industry associations and local tourism councils. Tourism coun-
cils at the provincial and municipal levels (and sometimes even at barangay
level) are composed of influential people in the locality with interest in
tourism development. These may include local politicians, including their
kin, civic organizations, and businessmen.
Malaysias development of tourism relies on the smooth coordination
among government agencies at various levels. MOCAT plans, implements,
and coordinates strategic policy decisions on culture, arts and tourism; man-
ages development funds to provide basic infrastructure and facilities; per-
forms regulatory functions; and conducts marketing and promotion though
Tourism Malaysia. Being a federal republic, Malaysias 13 state governments
have jurisdiction over land use and are directly involved in developing and
promoting land-based tourism products. At the state level, a State Ministry of
Tourism or Tourism Executive Committee governs tourism policy and pro-
vides the necessary funding for relevant state implementing agencies, such
as the departments of wildlife and national parks, forestry, and aboriginal
affairs. State economic planning and development offices are also heavily
involved. The Sabah Tourism Council and Sabah Tourism Promotion Corpo-
ration have taken the lead roles in developing ecotourism, one of the states
biggest industries. Conservation-oriented NGOs (e.g., WWF and the Wet-
lands Foundation) have actively supported ecotourism and nature-based tour-
ism in Malaysia. In Sabah, the Sabah Foundation promotes ecotourism
through relevant programs.
LGUs such as the city government may be responsible for implementa-
tion and maintenance. Scarcity of funds necessitates calling on the private
sector to build ecolodges, organize tours, and conduct marketing and train-
ing programs in the various states (Daud 2002).
In Singapore, STB is responsible for tourism promotion at the national
level but works with other government agencies for the planning and man-
agement of sustainable resources in the country. It capitalizes on the partici-
pation of several government agencies, such as the National Parks Board
(NParks), Urban Redevelopment Board (which handles land use planning),
the National Heritage Board, the Ministry of Environment, the Agri-Food
and Veterinary Authority of Singapore, and volunteer organizations like the
Singapore Environmental Council (SEC). NParks carry out the mapping and
conduct of inventory of natural resources and ecosystem features of tourism
areas. Singapores sustainable tourism effort is likewise dependent on the
support of nongovernmental bodies. The SEC, an independent umbrella
body, supports STBs efforts through its network of relevant institutions (e.g.,
Green Volunteer Network), solicitation of tax-exempt donations, and spon-
sorship of the Environmental Achievement Award.
In Thailand, the TAT and the National Environment Board are mainly
responsible for sustainable tourism at the national level. TATs regional of-
fices, the provincial authority, the regional offices of the Office of Environ-
mental Policy and Planning, and the Local Administration Organization are
responsible for ensuring sustainable tourism at the local level. TATs re-
gional offices monitor tourism development and sustainability in the tourist
attractions; the regional offices of Office of Environmental Policy and Plan-
ning do the same in their respective jurisdictions. The Provincial Govern-
ment and local administrative units, together with the local folk, monitor and
manage tourist attractions in their areas.
All this is reflection of the Thai Governments belief that tourism objec-
tives should be pursued through balanced and complementary courses of
action, requiring the participation of various sectors and government agen-
cies. Part of this of belief is the need to consult the affected communities. In
Samui, for example, TAT asked the people what kind of future they wanted,
to which the latter replied a peaceful resort more attuned with the local way
of life over an island with high rise buildings.
The need for consultation and coordination arises in part from the vari-
ous provisions and laws that have implications on sustainable tourism devel-
opment. These include environmental laws, rules and regulations on tour-
ism investments, and institutional mechanisms for sustainable tourism initia-
tives.
The Philippine Tourism Master Plan (TMP) as well as TMPs for specific
regions (e.g., Ulugan Bay in Palawan) are linked to other national or even
international legislation and plans. Investors are required to observe mini-
mum environmental standards for structures to be built in tourist areas, as
mandated by local tourism master plans, local government regulations, and
the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board. A Joint DENR-DOT Memoran-
dum Circular 98-02 (Guidelines for Ecotourism Development in the Philip-
Chapter 3: Cruz 105
pines) provides for the regulation and accreditation of developers and in-
vestors in ecotourism projects. The Department of Environment and Natural
Resources conducts Initial Environmental Evaluation, or IEE, prior to the
issuance of an Environmental Compliance Certificate for the following tour-
ism projects:
Hotel inns and similar accommodation facilities within or near
urban centers, or built-up areas with less than 20 rooms with
eating facilities;
Hotels, cottages, motels, and lodging houses with 10 to 15 rooms
and basic facilities/amenities for resting and eating and recre-
ation activities suited to rural areas, small islands, beaches, and
mountain areas with scenic and/or cultural features;
Ecotourism sites located in unique areas/historical-cultural
sites/protected areas covered by the National Integrated Pro-
tected Areas System Act. Protected areas include strictly nature
reserves, natural parks, natural monuments, wildlife sanctuar-
ies, protected landscapes and seascapes, resource reserves,
among others
Many tourism destinations in Malaysia are in protected areas.
Composed of forest reserves, wildlife reserves, sanctuaries, wet-
lands and national parks, these are protected by certain laws,
such as the Wildlife Protection Act, National Park Act, National
Forestry Act, Fisheries Act, and are managed by the Departments
of Wildlife and National Parks, Forestry, Fisheries and various
state Parks authorities (Daud 2002). The Tourism Business and
Guide Law, passed by the Thai National Assembly in 1992, em-
powers TAT to take punitive action against tour operators found
engaging in illegal or highly irregular activities such as the ex-
ploitation of children for sexual purposes.
Financial support for tourism activities
On a limited scale, NTOs may also be involved in providing financial support
for sustainable tourism initiatives.
The DOT provides funds for NGOs involved in sustainable tourism pro-
grams and biodiversity management, such as the WWF. TAT cooperates with
the Small Industrial Finance Corporation to provide financial backing for
tourism-oriented medium and small-scale businesses. With credit limits of
up to a hundred million baht, payable in 10 to 15 years, the loans are in-
tended to support expansions that will promote Thai architecture, cuisine,
and folk culture. The TAT also finances the wastewater treatment plants in
Pattaya and Phuket. Singapore, for its part, supports tourism-oriented projects
through the Tourism Development Assistance Scheme.
Problems and issues on sustainable tourism development
Thavarasukha (2002) identifies some of the stumbling blocks to ecotourism,
which also apply to sustainable tourism development.
Lack of thorough understanding of the concept of sustainable
tourism development;
Poor coordination among relevant government agencies, with
each agency relating only to each level along the vertical chain;
Lack of provision for local participation in tourism master plans;
Disjointed information on ecotourism;
Lack of enforcement machinery and minimal penalties (e.g.,
fines) for environmental law violations; and
Lack of follow-up on specific programs with a view to adjusting
strategies.
Furthermore, NTOs appear generally biased against HRD training for
frontline service personnel in the tourism industry. NTOs tend to focus on
the skills aspect of tourism. Sorely lacking are programs aimed at high-level
skills of planning, negotiating, resource-generation, environmental moni-
toring, and market forecasting.
NTOs perceived lack of understanding of the general philosophy of
sustainable tourism leads to their tendency to treat mass (high-volume) tour-
ism and ecotourism differently, with most sustainable tourism development
guidelines being applied only to ecotourism. This is a direct result of the
mistaken notion that ecotourism automatically leads to sustainable tourism,
and that mass tourism is tantamount to unsustainable tourism. This is a major
problem because the bulk of tourism efforts and investments is biased toward
mass tourists. Thus the nonapplication of sustainable standards for mass
tourism-oriented operations will tilt the balance away from sustainability.
Bureaucratic processes naturally slow down coordination, such as when
too many agencies involved. Moreover, confusion over their respective re-
sponsibilities, uneven skills level, and varying degrees of readiness for sus-
tainable tourism across agencies and among the levels of bureaucracy also
impede the implementation of sustainable tourism. Agreeing on a sustain-
able tourism agenda may take years of meetings and consultations. Some-
times, government agencies may not be aware of guidelines and structures
that support sustainable tourism initiatives. Lack of coordination may also
happen when influential leaders in tourism belong to opposing political
parties or are political rivals.
Lack of local participation in the crafting of tourism master plans could
mothball those plans, which require huge investments in time, money, and
human expertise. Lack of consultations with the affected communities can
lead to non-ownership of the plan. The usual top-down approach to plan-
Chapter 3: Cruz 107
ning often involves token consultations in the form of information gathering
or dissemination.
Adequate dissemination of information about sustainable tourism is criti-
cal to raising public awareness and commitment. However, whatever informa-
tion is available about the concept, principles, and practice of sustainable
tourism is scant and not readily available. This is because the cases are far too
few while systematic documentation and publication of such cases needs to
be intensified. Research in this field of inquiry in the ASEAN is still in its
infancy stage. Therefore, it is in tourism-related legislation.
The inability of NTOs to enforce policies on sustainable tourism is a
major stumbling block to sustainability. With the trend toward decentraliza-
tion, the regulation of most tourism enterprises has been delegated to LGUs.
The existing form of government influences the way responsibilities are
distributed. In federal Malaysia, for example, the burden of implementing
sustainable tourism projects falls on state authorities. Sometimes, line agen-
cies tasked with enforcing tourism-related laws may have poor track record in
their own areas of jurisdiction. LGUs may not fully understand the philoso-
phy behind sustainable development, nor posses the necessary skills, re-
sources, and personnel who can implement policies decided at the national
level. Local authorities, by sheer ignorance of sustainable development prin-
ciples, do not even enact ordinances or laws that will serve as a framework for
development and enforcement. Worst of all, there had been cases where an
NTO agency itself became a hindrance to sustainable tourism management.
For example, the Philippine Tourism Authority built a resort in Balicasag,
where the agency practically took over the responsibility of protecting the
marine sanctuary, thereby undermining the local community that used to
carry out that task through their management committee (Christie et al.
2002).
Reward systems and accreditation programs have not been able to en-
sure compliance with sustainable environmental practices from the tourism
industry. Compared to the number of establishments, participation rates for
such schemes have been low. In Thailand, for example, only one percent of
existing hotels have signed up for the Green Leaf accreditation. WTO says a
critical mass of at least 3 percent is needed to make such schemes successful.
Low compliance arises in part from a lack of understanding of applica-
tion procedures, perceived high cost of membership or enrollment, lack of
appreciation of the benefits of joining, and overall low value attached to
sustainability. Even with full compliance, the effectiveness of some accredita-
tion schemes in producing sustainability remains doubtful. The Hotel Code
and Resort Codes that the DOT uses for accreditation, for instance, set crite-
ria for facilities but none for environmental or cultural sustainability.
Lack of follow-up is spawned by the inability to designate a monitoring
body and absence of indicators of environmental and cultural sustainability
of tourism. Agencies involved in tourism (e.g., environment, social welfare,
or health) may not see tourism as a priority due to competing issues and
demands from within the line agencies.
Sets of indicators (or indices) are important tools in setting targets for
sustainability and evaluating the status of tourism from the standpoint of
sustainability. A significant finding of the study is that the NTOs have neither
used nor identified indicators of sustainable tourism development. For the
most part, ASEAN NTOs remain limited to traditional indices of tourism
growth, such as tourist arrivals and departures, tourism expenditures (in-
bound and outbound), and secondary indicators like length of stay, hotel
occupancy rates, air seat capacity, etc.
This is not to say that there are no useful environmental and sociocul-
tural indicators. Over the years, various models of indicators have been pro-
posed, but the variables used often proved to be too numerous, too broad, or
too technical to be useful for monitoring tourisms sustainability. The UN
Environmental Programme (United Nations Environmental Programme)/
Earthwatch lists more than 20 indices for sustainable development, which
have been formulated by UN agencies, international NGOs, and regional
organizations. Here is a sampling of the most popular models:
Dashboard of Sustainability. Developed by the Consultative Group
on Sustainable Development Indices, the Dashboard is a soft-
ware that indicates the sustainability of more than 100 countries
on the basis of four sets of indicators, namely, environmental,
social, economic, and institutional. The program allows the user
to see how individual countries score on each aspect of
sustainability, and see how that country compares with other coun-
tries on the same criterion. Depending on the score, which ranges
from 0 to 1000 points, a countrys position on a criterion of
sustainability is rated from critical to excellent. The Dashboard
uses and integrates indicators that have been previously devel-
oped and published by other institutions, such as the World
Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, the UNEP, the UN
Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization,
and the World Resources Institute, among others. This program
can be downloaded from the Internet.
Pressure-State-Response Model. Created by the Organization for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development, this framework for envi-
ronmental monitoring suggests that underlying pressures (e.g.,
increase in number of motorized vehicles) creates pressures on
the environment (e.g., pollution), which in turn generate a vari-
ety of responses (e.g., Clean Air Act).
Environmental Pressure Index. Developed by the Netherlands for its
National Environment Policy Plan, this index uses a set of aggre-
Chapter 3: Cruz 109
gate indicators on six themes: climate change, acidification,
eutrophication, dispersion of undesirable substances, disposal
of solid waste, disturbance from odor and noise.
Human Development Index (HDI). Developed by the UNDP, HDI is
one of the best known measures of social progress. It measures
human development in terms of longevity (computed as pro-
portion of a maximum value of 85 years old), knowledge (based
on literacy rate and number of children of school age attending
classes), and standards of living (computed as proportion of
purchasing power adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) per
head). (Jackson and Roberts 2000).
Capability Poverty Measure. Developed by the UN, this index mea-
sures peoples lack of accomplishment rather than average ac-
complishment, which was the focus of HDI. It is a composite
index based on the unweighted arithmetic mean of the follow-
ing indicators: proportion of children under five who are un-
derweight; proportion of women aged 15 and over, who are illit-
erate; and proportion of births unattended by trained health
personnel.
Cost of Remediation (COR). Developed by Harvard University and
the Asian Development Bank, COR is expressed as a percent-
age of GDP that a country must spend to move its environment
from its present state to a more desirable state sometime in the
future. COR is relatively data-intensive and complex to estimate
(Rogers 1997).
In 1996, the WTO published A Practical Guide for the Development and
Application of Indicators of Sustainable Tourism, which identified a set of core
indicators for 1) site protection, 2) stress, 3) use intensity, 4) social impact, 5)
development control, 6) waste management, 7) planning process, 8) critical
ecosystems, 9) consumer satisfaction, and 10) local satisfaction. Site protec-
tion is based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
index. The WTO has also published guidelines, and best practice studies,
that can be the basis for generating other indicators of sustainable tourism
development. Its publications on the subject may be gleaned from Sustain-
able Development of TourismAn Annotated Bibliography (WTO 1999).
Beyond the WTO, a review of literature (UNEP, South Africas Respon-
sible Tourism, Fair Trade in Tourism, English Tourism Council, Green Globe,
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Trousdale and
Gentoral, among many others) yields a substantial number of economic, en-
vironmental, and sociocultural indicators that may be useful for monitoring
sustainable tourism development.
Economic indicators include tourism revenues, average tourist expendi-
ture, direct and indirect taxes from tourism, direct and indirect taxes paid by
business and workers in tourism, number of registered businesses, price
indices in tourist areas, profitability measures for tourism establishments,
stability and diversity of markets, direct and indirect tourism employment,
monthly wages of tourism vs. non-tourism workers, and visitor satisfaction
indices. Below are the indicators:
A. Environmental indicators
Presence of infrastructure to manage and minimize solid and
liquid wastes
Water quality index for fresh water and marine/beach water
Air quality index
Percent of population exposed to noise and light pollution
Percent of population exposed to foul odors
Amount of water consumed, and percentage of leakage
. Amount of fossil fuels used
Speed of motor vehicles during rush hour
Amount of packaging purchased with supplies
Adherence to codes of behavior that respect natural heritage
. Compliance with best practice guidelines in designing, plan-
ning, and construction of buildings
. Adoption of technologies that reduce consumption of natu-
ral resources, production of wastes, and incidence of pollu-
tion (sustainable energy like solar power)
Use of local materials, where sustainable, and local architec-
ture on a scale that does not create a negative aesthetic impact
Extent of use of soft transport (cycle routes, walking trails)
Use of sustainable trails, hides, and interpretation
Use of sustainable materials (e.g., souvenirs not made from
parts of endangered animal and plant species)
Use of environment-friendly chemicals (e.g., biodegradable
soaps and detergents)
Park fees used to manage habitat and species
Percentage of profits invested in nature conservation
Average annual frequency and severity of natural disasters
B. Socio-cultural indicators
(Decent) livelihood opportunities; number of locals selling
products to tourists or supplying stores
Number of tourism businesses operated and managed by lo-
cal peoples organizations and cooperatives
Number of private tourism businesses employing local people
Chapter 3: Cruz 111
Poverty incidence and alleviation in tourist areas (calorie in-
take, income levels, number of children attending school in
tourism destinations, self-rated poverty (Mangahas 1999), per-
centage of population living on less than $1 a day, number of
informal settlers (squatters), percent of underweight children,
unemployment rate)
Local linkages, as indicated by percentage of inputs, includ-
ing souvenirs and handicrafts, obtained from within the local
economy; or within a certain distance from the site of a certain
tourism project
Percentage of staff employed from a certain distance (e.g.,
within 50 km) of the tourism project site
Communitys share of profits from tourism
Access to and provision of tourism facilities for disadvantaged
groups, such as the physically handicapped, families with small
children, the elderly, and people with low wages
Percentage of goods, services, and labor procured from women,
indigenous peoples, and the handicapped
Membership in voluntary organizations and NGOs involved
in sustainable tourism
Incidence of prostitution
Number of sexual harassment cases
Safety for tourists (as indicated by number of crimes against
tourists, incidence of illness among tourists, and access to
health facilities, tourist police per x number of tourists, civil
unrest, wars, terrorism, insurgency)
Presence and proportion of local dishes on menus
Number of schools with courses or subjects on sustainable
tourism
Number of research, conferences and publications on the
subject of sustainable tourism and related topics
Amount of research funding on sustainable tourism develop-
ment
Number of experts on sustainable tourism based on educa-
tional attainment, and years of experience
Budget for cultural heritage site conservation
Gap between rich and poor in tourism areas
Community involvement in the planning, research, and
decisionmaking processes
Community satisfaction with tourism
Leaders developed from within the community
Gender and ethnic equality in employment
Job accessibility to local community, indigenous people, handi-
capped and women for all levels (entry points to highest man-
agement level), expressed as percentage of total number of
jobs available in the tourism industry
Provision of facilities for tourists and tourism workers to prac-
tice their religions and cultural practices
Respect for indigenous intellectual property as indicated by
laws prohibiting the trading in these assets
Respect for ancestral domains
Existence of social tourism program; programs for the youth,
students, senior citizens, and the handicapped
Provision of technical support to local tourism businesses
(marketing, training, and managerial support)
Investment in human resources development (HRD), as in-
dicated by the presence of in-house training programs, num-
ber of staff sent to training, and study programs
Existence and quality of visitor information centers
Use of languages understandable to tourists in interpretation
Existence of domestic tourism program in schools involving
trips to cultural heritage sites
Availability of interpretation materials and written informa-
tion (information boards, labels, signs, books, maps, postcards,
brochures)
Existence of partnerships for the exchange of information,
skills and technology relating to sustainable tourism (e.g., ac-
cess to resource centers on best practices; conferences and
workshops)
Incidence of discrimination
Support for fairly traded products (e.g., wood products from
sustainable forests, legally imported goods)
Percentage of unique, and naturally/culturally/historically
significant places which are being preserved and protected by
local government, NGOs, and international agencies
Percent of households and tourism establishments with ac-
cess to safe water
Percent of households and tourism establishments with ac-
cess to electricity
C. Institutional indicators
Presence of tourism master plans which incorporate sustain-
able principles
Number of sites with sustainable tourism master plans
Presence of inter-agency coordination and cooperation
Chapter 3: Cruz 113
Presence of land use and zoning plans
Percentage of establishments or LGUs adhering to environ-
mental impact assessment system and institution
Presence of environment monitoring system (EMS) and fund-
ing
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAS) and EMS required
for all business registrations
Presence of protected areas management system
Laws protecting ancestral domains
Existence of a tourism council/cooperatives or equivalent
structure at various levels for discussing tourism issues
Presence of indicators and adherence to the same
Amount of research and development funding for sustain-
able tourism
Conclusions and recommendations
The NTOs of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have incor-
porated sustainable tourism principles into their tourism master plans. This
orientation in turn was brought about by the growing clamor for change in
development paradigm from the international community. The tourism mas-
ter plans have very strong resemblance to each other in terms of strategies for
achieving tourism development.
While there has been significant progress in the adoption of sustainable
tourism paradigm at the national levels, the diffusion of such philosophy to
the local level has been quite slow. This may be attributed to a lack of under-
standing and appreciation of the concept of sustainable tourism develop-
ment. Concepts of ecotourism, community-based tourism and sustainable
tourism, though related, tend to be used interchangeably.
The operationalization of sustainable tourism principles has also been
very sluggish. The scarcity of case materials on best practices the lackluster
participation in voluntary initiatives attest to the uneasy transition to
sustainability.
To accelerate sustainable tourism development, NTOs are advised to
implement the following:
A. Advocate the equal application of sustainable development principles on mass
tourism and ecotourism alongside other "niche" products. This will bring
the countries closer to sustainability as mass tourists comprise the
bulk of the tourist market. This orientation should be made part of
the philosophy of the NTOs organization from the national to the
local levels. As advocates, NTOs must be able to demonstrate their
adherence to sustainable tourism principles right in their decision-
making processes and in their management of visible resources,
such as their own buildings and infrastructure projects.
B. Form national and local steering committees on sustainable tourism develop-
ment. The committees will be responsible for determine the sustain-
able tourism agenda for both mass tourism and niche-market tour-
ism (e.g., ecotourism) in the respective countries.
C. Compile and document laws, guidelines, and best practices on sustainable
tourism for dissemination and easy reference. Investment procedures for
sustainable tourism projects should also be part of the compilation.
This may be done by the NTOs themselves or through commissioned
work by academic institutions or research-oriented bodies.
D. Institutionalize local community participation in the decisionmaking process,
from conceptualization to implementation and control. Local participation
is very important in obtaining a sense of ownership of tourism projects.
Indeed, while consultations with the local community may be a te-
dious process, dispensing with them could spell undue delay or
total non-implementation of specific projects due to opposition from
the community. Communities also appreciate being given the chance
to make certain decisions such as determining the allowable num-
ber of visitors over a given period. Equally important is the support of
local leaders, albeit care must be taken in identifying them, specifi-
cally those that truly represent the best interests of the community.
E. Connect tourism projects to poverty alleviation measures. These include the
formation of cooperatives, micro-financing for small businesses, and
procurement of supplies and personnel from the local community.
Local communities show enthusiastic support for projects that have
direct positive impact on their incomes.
F. Integrate sustainability criteria in accreditation programs and tourism awards,
which should be expanded to include all sectors. Accreditation schemes
may incorporate minimum criteria for the adoption of environment-
friendly technologies, safety, and adherence to sustainable design
guidelines like the use of local materials and designs, whenever
available. They may also require affirmative measures requiring mini-
mum proportions of women, indigenous people, and handicapped
to be employed by an establishment; and minimum proportion of
goods that should be purchased locally or within the region. More-
over, the procedures for the awards may have to be improved. For
example, there should be a nomination process for the judges of the
awarding committee for each sector of tourism, which shall disband
after the awards have been given. The members of the award-giving
bodies may benefit from having the opportunity to make onsite visits
and interviews of the entities being nominated. Substantial financial
incentives may be given to winners.
G. Establish a program for the integrated development of human resources. This
will target local government officials, NTO personnel, tourism in-
Chapter 3: Cruz 115
dustry professionals, and the academic sector. An initial step will be
to conduct an awareness campaign for local communities and pri-
vate tourism businesses; and for the general public to disseminate
the concept of sustainability and its application to the tourism in-
dustry. Continuing education and professional development courses
may be conducted for LGU officials and tourism industry managers.
There should also be incentives for the development of high-level
expertise in tourism planning, policy formulation, environmental
assessment and monitoring, resource generation, negotiating tech-
niques, community-building, statistics and sustainable technologies.
Monitoring expertise is very important because indicators will be
meaningless unless there are people who can perform measure-
ments and evaluations of technical variables such as the extent of
noise and light pollution. Government, not just with human resource
departments, should invest in sophisticated monitoring equipment.
NTOs may consider establishing scholarship funds for higher stud-
ies in tourism, all the way to the doctorate level to develop local
experts and reduce dependence on foreign tourism consultants.
H. Improve NTOs research capability to ensure the availability of timely and
valid data needed for monitoring. Research must be made an integral
part of the policymaking process. To this end, NTOs may help estab-
lish national (even regional or ASEAN-wide) research centers on
sustainable tourism. In the long term, NTOs should endeavor to
collaborate with one another to facilitate exchange of data and re-
search outputs in sustainable tourism.
I. Monitor sustainability by using indicators. Although there is no dearth
of indicators that can be used for monitoring sustainable tourism
development, they need to be made more useful so they can address
key concerns: (1) data availability, (2) comparability of the data across
countries, and (3) integrativeness, or how the indicator reflects the
interactions among environmental, social and economic issues.
Among others, economic indicators should more accurately measure
the value of tourism goods and services. The Tourism Satellite Accounting
(TSA) System addresses this concern. The TSA, which is being advocated by
the WTTC and the World Trade Organization, is an accounting system that
will measure the demand for all travel- and tourism-related goods and ser-
vices in a country (e.g., purchase of photographic films on trips). It is to be
carried out parallel to traditional national accounting systems. The Philip-
pine TSA classification of tourism goods and services was presented for final
approval in June 2003.
The ASEAN NTOs can benefit from the experiences of other countries
that are at the forefront of indicator usage, such as Australia (National
Ecotourism Accreditation Program), Costa Rica (Certificacin para la
Sostenibilidad Turistica), Denmark (Blue Flag), United Kingdom (Green
Globe), Canada (Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism),
and South Africa (Fair Trade in Tourism). Detailed information about these
and other voluntary initiatives is available in WTOs Voluntary Initiatives for
Tourism (WTO 2002). Indicators may also be derived from guidelines pub-
lished by certain NGOs such as the WWF. Most of these guidelines are avail-
able online.
Sustainable tourism indicators for the Philippines and other ASEAN countries
Incorporating all of the previously cited indicators into a single sustainable
tourism index is admittedly very difficult. However, the sustainable tourism
index developed by the French NGO Groupe Developpement (GD) may
provide the answer. The index, developed with the support of the European
Union, comprises only 16 main indicators, based on what GD calls the least
common denominators. Compared to other indices, the GD is tourism-spe-
cific, manageable, and easily comprehensible. It represents the state of the
art in sustainable tourism indicator development, has been pilot-tested in
Phuket in 2000, and is scheduled for global testing in the near future. Fol-
lowing are indicators used for monitoring sustainable tourism (and the pos-
sible parameters enclosed in parentheses):
Physical impact (i.e., damaged area, expressed as percentage of
tourist facility to total surface area; percent share of primitive
plants in vegetation cover; number of species and population
per species of animals and plants)
Sewage treatment (i.e., percentage of treated to total sewage,
and what kind of treatment)
Garbage treatment (i.e., percentage of treated to total garbage,
and what kind of treatment)
Water consumption (i.e., water consumption per room; cost of
water supply per tourist; percent of total water consumption to
total available supply)
Visual impact (i.e., maximum building height)
New jobs (i.e., new jobs created per room per place; new jobs for
women; new skilled jobs; average female salary to average male
salary)
Staff continuing education (i.e., number of staff in continuing
education; continuing education for female and continuing
education for males)
Local frequentation (i.e., usage rate for hotel, restaurant, recre-
ational and cultural facilities)
Chapter 3: Cruz 117
Law and order (i.e., misdemeanor rate per tourist; number of
thefts, assaults and battery, serious crimes, and juvenile delin-
quency reported by tourists and local population)
Public health (i.e., distance to nearest physician, rate of sexually
transmitted diseases, food poisoning, and other prevalent dis-
eases)
Local production impact (i.e., percentage of local to total pur-
chase)
Development control (i.e., presence of joint environmental ac-
tion)
Cultural tourism (i.e., percent of cultural budget)
Technology (i.e., Internet access)
Child welfare (i.e., awareness of child-related issues such as the
commercial sexual exploitation of children)
Labor laws and agreements (Vellas et al. 2000)
Professor Manat Chaisawat of the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) used
the checklist developed by Groupe Developpement (GD), together with the
WTOs Global Code of Ethics (GCE), as part of his 2002 study seeking to provide
the evaluation component of the proposed National Tourism Development
Plan of Thailand (2002-2006). One of the steps in the evaluation process was
to use basic indicators obtained from other studies to assess the quality and
sustainability of Phuket as a tourist destination. Because GCE did not state
the indicators quantitatively, Chaisawat decided to use the GD checklist,
which stated the indicators in numerical terms to evaluate selected tourist
sites in Phuket. The checklist is used to compare reference ratios and actual
ratios for each tourist site. The comparison between the reference and actual
ratios allows a classification of a tourist site into A (at least 12 variables being
complied withsustainable), B (six to 12 variables being metaverage and
needs improvement), and C (less than six variables being metunsustainable).
In the Phuket study, fourth-year hotel management students of PSU were
tapped to survey the sites, which consisted mostly of beach areas. They were
divided into nine groups, each consisting of 11 to 12 members. Each group
was assigned to one site where they did field work twice a week for one
month.
Reference values, which were determined by the local and national tour-
ism authorities, were applied to each of the indicators, which then became
the basis for scoring. The actual or measured values were plotted on the third
column. A score of 1 was given if the actual measurement was within the
reference value for a given indicator; 0 if the actual measurement was outside
the reference value. Thus, a perfect score for one site would have been 16.
The scores of the nine sites were then averaged. The result for one of the
sites (Bang Tao Beach) is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Evaluation of quality and sustainability of Bang Tao beach
Criteria Reference values Measured Score
values
1. Percent tourist area
use/total area
2. Percent liquid waste
treated
3. Percent of solid waste
treated
4. Water consumption
per room in liters
5. Maximum building
height in meters
6. Number of jobs
created per room
per place
7. Percent of staff
receiving continuing
education
8. Percent of local
frequentation
9. Percent crime rate per
tourist
10. Distance to nearest
physician in km
11. Percent of local to total
purchase
12. Presence of joint
environmental action
13. Percent of cultural
expenses
14. Access to new technologies
15. Information on child welfare/
protection
16. Existence of labor agreement
Total score
Category
Source: Chaisawat 2002
The process was replicated in the other eight sites and the average of the
scores was derived. The result for Phuket showed a mean score equivalent to
B rating, or average sustainability.
This index is quite useful in that the number of variables involved is
manageable. In the Philippines, agencies such as the DOT or DENR may
choose which parameters to use per indicator. Moreover, the reference val-
ues will also be decided at the local level, affording a high level of legitimacy
and ownership. On the other hand, if each reference value was to be decided
at the local level, the comparability of data across destinations and countries
Not more than 35
Not less than 70
Not less than 80
Not more than 1500
Not more than 15
2
15
6.19
2
0
90
Yes
0.03
Yes
Yes
Yes
50
60
80
1200
12
1.5
54
25
.057
0.5
24
Yes
1
Yes
No
Yes
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
10
B
Chapter 3: Cruz 119
might be impossible. If comparability were desired, it would be necessary for
ASEAN countries to decide at the regional level the ideal values for each
indicator. Certain indicators, such as numbers 2 and 3, may have to be backed
by legislation, which will require all tourism-related facilities to incorporate
water and solid waste treatment infrastructure in the plans.
The use of indicators as a tool for monitoring the sustainable develop-
ment of tourism will more likely succeed if the indicators 1) are developed in
consultation with all stakeholders, particularly the local community repre-
sentatives; 2) address real issues in the tourist sites; and 3) there are quali-
fied people who can do the technical measurements of the variables involved
and institutional mechanisms, such as legislation, to ensure that tourist sites
or destinations are subjected to regular monitoring.
In the Philippines, the most-often cited problems by tourists are gar-
bage, crime, heavy traffic, lack of relevant information, and poverty (DOT in
Cruz 2000). Other pressing concerns are the peace and order situation (in
particular, secessionist movements and terrorism) in many parts of the coun-
try; the quality of beaches; the frequent occurrences of natural calamities,
which damage industries, including tourism; inadequate protection of in-
digenous peoples rights to ancestral domains; and weak institutional mecha-
nisms for sustainable development. Indicators that address these concerns
will therefore be extremely relevant.
Based on the foregoing, this paper suggests the following set of supple-
mental indicators to facilitate an evaluation of the state of tourism develop-
ment in the country. Most of these indicators have been cited earlier while
some have been lifted from other indices, such as the Environmental
Sustainability Index for air quality and water quality indices. They are high-
lighted here for their relevance to the Philippine situation and are not meant
to replace the one proposed by Groupe Developpement.
Supplementary indicators for sustainable tourism index
Economic
Average tourism spending
Number of registered tourism-related businesses
Amount of taxes paid by tourism-related businesses and workers in
tourism industry
Ratio of the average monthly wage of tourism industry workers and
workers from other industries
Environmental
Water quality index (fresh and marine water/beaches)
Water quality index
Air quality index
Percent of population exposed to foul odors
Percent of population exposed to harmful noise levels
Average annual frequency and severity of natural disasters
Speed of motor vehicles during rush hour
Socio-cultural
1. Poverty incidence in tourism areas
self-rated poverty (Mangahas 1999)
percentage of population living on less than PPP$ 1 a day (WSSD,
2002)
number of informal settlers (squatters)
percent of underweight children
percent of out-of-school children
unemployment rate
2. Safety in tourism areas (as evidenced by the absence of civil unrests,
insurgency, terrorism, wars)
3. Percentage of unique, and naturally/culturally/historically signifi-
cant places that are being preserved and protected by local govern-
ment, NGOs, and international agencies
4. Percent of households and tourism establishments with access to
safe water
5. Percent of households and tourism establishments with access to elec-
tricity
6. Job accessibility to local community, indigenous people, handicapped
and women for all levels (entry points to highest management level),
expressed as percentage of total number of jobs available in the
tourism industry
Institutional
1. Number of sites with sustainable tourism master plans
2. EIAs and EMS required for all business registrations
3. Laws protecting ancestral domains
4. Number of sites with local tourism councils or cooperatives
5. Amount of research and development funding for sustainable tourism
The indicators must be monitored at the tourist site or municipality
level, where the impact of tourism is directly felt. However, the practicality of
these indicators will be contingent on primary data collection, because of
wide gaps in the present Philippine statistical system. The National Statisti-
cal Coordinating Board website presents only two data for the tourism sector:
1) international tourist arrivals and 2) hotel occupancy rates. The institution
of the Philippine Tourism Satellite Account will represent a significant leap
in this direction. Aggregating the local surveys can then provide a picture of
regional and national situations from the standpoint of tourism sustainability.
Chapter 3: Cruz 121
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Chapter 4
A Framework for Classifying
Ecotourism Initiatives in the Philippines
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay and Carlos Libosada
Introduction
Since its introduction in the late 1980s, ecotourism has been one of the
fastest growing tourism niches in the Philippines. Its promise of sustained
environmental, social, and economic gains makes ecotourism the preferred
type of development for different tourism organizations. However, the diver-
sity of so-called ecotourism initiatives in the country has raised questions
about whether each project truly embodies the principles of sustainability,
environmental sensitivity, and respect for local peoples and cultures. It is
therefore necessary to investigate the nature and types of ecotourism pro-
grams in the country.
This paper looks into the current status of ecotourism initiatives in the
Philippines and suggests a classification scheme or framework to be followed
and adopted by the industry. This classification framework is intended to
allow the description of the different programs in terms of their relative
compatibility or incompatibility with the accepted core principles of
ecotourism. In doing so, it can help the tourism industry identify opportuni-
ties for improving the management and development of ecotourism in the
Philippines.
Objectives
Despite the apparent popularity within the tourism industry of the ecotourism
concept, a true consensus on its definition remains elusive. Ecotourism has
not been clearly defined and has been confused with many other types of
development. Its many definitions address different concerns such as sus-
tainable development, environmental protection, cultural preservation, com-
munity empowerment, and education. Unfortunately, definitions of
ecotourism by tourism groups vary from one group to another, depending on
the priorities of each.
For example, the ecotourism label has been applied to a variety of tour-
ism activities such as birdwatching, dolphinwatching, and whalewatching;
spelunking; scuba diving; mountaineering, as well as various forms of com-
munity-based tourism. At the same time, it is also unusual to encounter de-
velopment projects involving international resort chains, golf courses, and
cruise lines claiming to fall under the banner of ecotourism.
This study looks at ecotourism programs and projects in the Philippines
and attempts to develop a framework for classifying and evaluating such ini-
tiatives that the tourism industry could subsequently adopt. Specifically, the
study aims to achieve the following objectives:
To provide an information database on ecotourism initiatives in
the Philippines;
To formulate a set of criteria for classifying the different
ecotourism initiatives in the Philippines;
To outline the indicators of a true ecotourism product by describ-
ing various programs in terms of their relative compatibility or
incompatibility with the accepted core principles of ecotourism;
and
To identify possible opportunities for improving the management
and development of ecotourism in the Philippines.
Review of related literature
Owing perhaps to ecotourisms growing popularity as a specialty tourist activ-
ity, the number of articles devoted to it in the leading tourism journals has
been increasing. Similarly, international organizations such as the World
Tourism Organization and the United Nations have been producing increas-
ing numbers of books, reports, and conference proceedings on the topic.
The wealth of new material notwithstanding, considerable ground remains
uncovered before academics and practitioners can reach a consensus on
what ecotourism is and should be.
Much of the recent work published in tourism deals with nature tourism
or ecotourism. Some authors (Orams 1996; Steele 1995) use the terms inter-
changeably. For example, Whelans (1991) edited book uses the term na-
ture tourism in its title, and then switches exclusively to ecotourism be-
tween its covers. Others consider ecotourism as a specialized field within
nature tourism, as exemplified by the following definition from a recent
Market Demand Study of ecotourism in Canada:
Ecotourism is an enlightening nature travel experience that contrib-
utes to conservation of the ecosystem, while respecting the integrity of
host communities (Wight 1996).
Ballantine and Eagles (1994) qualify that ecotourism differs from other
forms of travel in that ecotourism combines specific social (traveling to learn
about nature) and attraction (visiting wilderness) motivations, and requires
a specific time commitment (33 percent of ones vacation time is spent in the
field).
In the Philippines, recent pronouncements by the Department of Tour-
ism (DOT) (Gabor 1997) reflect a commitment to ecotourism. Closer ex-
amination of the DOT plan reveals a broad understanding of the term, flex-
ible enough to incorporate even golf under its umbrella.
Chapter 4: Alampay and Libosada 129
The United Nations, in declaring 2002 as the International Year for
Ecotourism, has acknowledged that there is not a universal definition of
ecotourism. Nevertheless, it attempts to provide some parameters for
ecotourism by describing its general characteristics as:
All nature-based forms of tourism whose main motivation is the
observation and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional
cultures prevailing in natural areas.
It contains educational and interpretation features.
It is generally, but not exclusively, organized for small groups by
specialized and small locally owned businesses. Foreign operators
of varying sizes also organize, operate, and/or market ecotourism
tours, generally for small groups.
It minimizes negative impacts upon the natural and socio-cultural
environment.
It supports the protection of natural areas by:
generating economic benefits for host communities, organiza-
tions, and authorities managing natural areas with conserva-
tion purposes;
providing alternative employment and income opportunities
for local communities;
increasing awareness of the conservation of natural and
cultural assets among locals and tourists alike.
Boo (1993) argues that the semantic confusion revolving around the
term ecotourism results from using the term to describe a wide variety of
activities involving travel and the environment. Some people choose to de-
fine it in broad terms, that is, any form of tourism that is friendly to the
environment. Some people advocate a more narrow, focused definition
ecotourism is a form of tourism that contributes to the conservation of natural
resources.
Two recent Philippine publications provide examples of the fuzzy
operationalization of ecotourism today. Libosada (1998), writing in a more
scholarly tone, discusses the development of ecotourism in the country and
the factors to consider in ecotourism development. In his book, he focuses
on six specific ecotourism activities: trekking, bird watching, scuba diving,
whale watching, spelunking, and community-based ecotourism. All six activi-
ties can generally be described as smaller in scale than conventional modes
of mass tourism.
In contrast to Libosadas work, Guerreros (2000) publication is more
accurately described as a guidebook. It is interesting to note that he chose to
apply a much broader definition of ecotourism in his book. Ecotourism
destinations, according to Guerrero, range from largely underdeveloped
areas in provinces like Quirino, Romblon, and Surigao, to five-star hotels in
the heart of Metro Manila.
While the literature on Philippine ecotourism remains severely limited,
this contrast between academic and industry or trade perspectives on
ecotourism reflects similar tensions in the global ecotourism marketplace. If
laid out on a narrow versus broad spectrum, academic definitions of
ecotourism (e.g., Libosada 1998; Wight 1996; Ballantine and Eagles 1994)
tend to fall in the narrow range because of the stricter requirements for
definition and operationalization in the scholarly publication process.
People working in the travel and tourism industry, on the other hand,
tend to drift toward the broader range of definitions (e.g., Guerrero 2000;
Gabor 1997). Perhaps a more accurate statement would be that although
definitions may be consistently worded, the tourism industry tends to be
more flexible in deriving meaning from these definitions.
Marshall (1996), quoting a conference director, describes ecotourism as
a nature-based form of specialty travel, defined as responsible travel to natu-
ral areas, which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of
local people. However, ecotourism in practice negates what its advocates
claim it to be. Beeh (1999) notes, for example, that prevailing confusion
between ecotourism and adventure travel. Many companies, she writes, use
the eco label notwithstanding whether they offer truly green (i.e., envi-
ronmentally sensitive) products or not. Whereas ecotourism is intended to
be altruistic, adventure travel insulates tourists from the local environment
(and community) and yet utilizes the latters resources. Unfortunately, the
ecotourism label seems to have lost some of its marketing luster. Thus,
more operators are opting for the increasingly popular but higher-impact
adventure tours.
Sirakaya et al. (1999) explain the reason behind the more liberal inter-
pretation of ecotourism. They note that many of the definitions of ecotourism
were formulated by conservationists and environmentalists. As such they
strongly emphasized the preservation of tourisms ecological assets over the
profit motives of private enterprise as well as the realities of the business
environment.
To get a business perspective of ecotourism, they asked over 200 tour
operators in the United States to give their personal definitions of ecotourism.
A content analysis of the responses revealed specific references to 14 under-
lying themes. These are listed below in order of the frequency with which
these themes were cited:
Environment-friendly tourism
Responsible travel
Educational travel
Low-impact travel
Recreational and romantic trips to natural sites
Contribution to local welfare
Ecocultural travel
Sustainable/nonconsumptive tourism
Responsible business approach to travel
Community involvement
Tourist involvement in preservation
Buzzword
Contribution to conservation
Shallow vs. deep ecotourism: incorporating the human factor into the classifi-
cation framework
In 1995 the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Adventure Travel and
Ecotourism Conference concluded that it would be necessary to limit tour
group size and frequency for ecotourism to remain environmentally and so-
cially responsible. This position recognized the threat posed by humans on
the very resources on which the ecotourism industry would be founded. Thus,
ecotourism should always remain a niche market, said PATA (Dowling 1998).
Acott et al. (1998) provide a different perspective. They say that the term
had been used in so many different ways that it no longer referred exclusively
to an environmentally benign activity. They acknowledge that there were
variants of ecotourism that verged on forms of mass tourism, as did types of
ecotourism that adhered more closely to the ideal model espoused by PATA.
Using the shallow and deep ecology principles coined by Arne Naess in
1972, they proposed that so-called ecotourism projects could be classified
along a similar shallow-deep continuum.
According to Acott et al. (1998) shallow ecology/ecotourism views hu-
mans as separate from the rest of nature. The interest in finding solutions to
pollution and resource depletion arises from shallow ecologys central con-
cernhuman health and welfare. Nature is valued for its usefulness to hu-
mans. In the case of ecotourism, natures utility comes from the aesthetic
pleasure derived by tourists, or from the economic returns that accrue to the
host community.
In contrast, deep ecology/ecotourism rejects the humans-in-environment
image. Instead, deep ecotourism adopts a biocentric philosophy that covers
a range of ideas that include the importance of intrinsic value in nature,
emphasis on small-scale and community identity, the importance of commu-
nity participation, a lack of faith in modern large-scale technology and an
underlying assumption that materialism for its own sake is wrong (Acott et al.
1998).
Table 1 summarizes some of the main differences between shallow and
deep ecotourism, as described by the authors.
The shallow-deep model of ecotourism improves on earlier, more re-
source-based approaches by addressing the issue of how ecotourism resources
Recognition of intrinsic
values of all elements of
nature (not just those
needed by humans)
Experiencing the
culture of the host
community
Surface understanding
of a culture; tourists
are spectators of
cultural traditions,
performances, and
artifacts.
Visitors ask more
searching questions
about human life and
society; tourists gain
meaningful
understanding of culture
by immersion (when
appropriate) and/or self-
education.
Tourist service
standards
Western standards of
safety, comfort, and
hygiene are maintained
where possible; tourists
may want to consume
western food and drink.
Tourist does not require
western-oriented
comforts (especially if
these put a strain on
local resources);
tourists may want to try
local dishes as part of
the cultural learning.
Preserving the
quality of the
natural resource
Preference for pristine
natural enclaves may
result in preservationist
policies where humans
(including indigenous
peoples) are excluded
from natural areas.
Tourist destination need
not be preserved and
protected from the
influence of humans as
long as human activity
is integrated with efforts
to maintain biodiversity
and ecological integrity
of land.
The value(s) of
nature
Instrumental valuation
of nature
are used and developed. The model recognizes that the form of develop-
ment, including the tourist activities conducted onsite, are equally impor-
tant components of ecotourism, as is the site itself. Thus, using this frame-
work, ecotourism programs could also be described in terms of the amenities
and facilities introduced to a natural or cultural area. The mode of learning
about the natural or cultural resource could also be a source of differentia-
tion between programs.
Conceptually, however, the model revolves around the tourists and their
activities rather than the destination. Although it suggests forms of develop-
Table 1. A comparison of shallow vs. deep ecotourism
Shallow Ecotourism Deep Ecotourism
ment or tourism services that may be introduced to the environment, these
follow from the types of trips that visitors seek. The tourists motivations as
well as their attitudes toward both the journey and the destination determine
whether the trip will be considered deep or shallow.
It may be possible, in theory, for a site to be visited by both shallow and
deep ecotourists.
Hard and soft ecotourism
Acott et al. describe shallow ecotourism as a form of ecotourism that verges on
mass tourism. Weaver (2001) goes a step further by arguing that ecotourism,
as reality and as ideal, could be perceived as a form of mass tourism, and not
its opposite. Arguing that ecological or socio-cultural sustainability beyond
the shadow of a doubt is unlikely for any form of tourism (eco- or otherwise),
Weaver subscribes to a reasonable intent definition of ecotourism. This means
any form of nature-based tourism that strives to be ecologically, socio-cultur-
ally and economically sustainable, while at the same time enabling visitors to
appreciate and learn about the natural environment.
Given such a broad definition, a wide range of ecotourism activities can
thus be included. Weaver proposes that these ecotourism activities can be
arranged along a hard-soft continuum. Hard (or active) ecotourism closely
corresponds to the notion of deep ecotourism described by Acott et al. Soft
(or passive) ecotourism, on the other hand, appears to be very similar to
shallow ecotourism.
Weaver notes that soft ecotourism is usually associated with steady-state
sustainability, or the idea that visitors should leave a place in the same condi-
tion where they found it. In contrast, hard ecotourism supports a concept of
sustainability wherein visitors can enhance or improve the natural environ-
ment through donations or volunteer activity. Weavers hard-soft approach
differs slightly from the deep-shallow model as it applies to both the destina-
tion (and the form of development taking place on it) and the tourist. Table
2 lists other characteristics of hard and soft ecotourism.
Note that Weaver also includes some characteristics that suggest the in-
tensity (active or passive) of the visitors interaction with the natural or cul-
tural environment. For purposes of developing a classification framework,
the elements that could prove to be difficult would be the measurement of
environmental commitment and sustainability. Whether a community or tourist
exhibits strong or moderate environmental commitment is a highly subjec-
tive propositionone that is particularly vulnerable to political or ideologi-
cal controversies. As with Acott et al.s deep-shallow take, the visitors motiva-
tions and attitudes would determine how strongly they feel about using
ecotourism to enhance or, at least, sustain the quality of the resource.
Table 2. Characteristics of hard and soft ecotourism
Hard Soft
(Active) Passive)
Strong environmental commitment Moderate environmental
commitment
Enhancement sustainability Steady-state sustainability
Specialized trips Multi-purpose trips
Long trips Short trips
Physically active Physically passive
Few services expected Services expected
Emphasis on personal experience Emphasis on interpretation
An operational definition of ecotourism programs
The official Philippine definition of ecotourism, as adopted by the National
Ecotourism Development Council, is that it is a form of sustainable tourism
within a natural and cultural heritage area where community participation,
protection and management of natural resources, culture and indigenous
knowledge and practices, environmental education and ethics as well as eco-
nomic benefits are fostered and pursued for the enrichment of host communities
and satisfaction of visitors (underscoring added). This definition implies a
supply-oriented form of ecotourism programs that take place within a spe-
cific site. Reference to benefits to communities and visitors from ecotourism
appears only at the end of the definition.
For the purposes of this study, a relatively inclusive, as opposed to restric-
tive, definition of ecotourism programming is preferred. Based on Weavers
suggestion (2001), ecotourism programs as have three basic elements. First,
the focus of attraction is the natural environment or some specific compo-
nents of it. Any natural setting can be a venue for ecotourism. The presence
of an endangered or threatened specie in the area may provide additional
value or novelty to the program, but it is not an essential characteristic of
ecotourism. Similarly, the presence of indigenous communities or traditional
cultures within an ecotourism site can enhance the sense of place experi-
enced by the visitor. But their mere existence, devoid of any relations to their
natural environment, cannot be considered ecotourism.
Second, an ecotourism initiative should emphasize learning as an out-
come of the tourists interaction with the natural environment. Thus, pro-
grams that merely use the natural environment as a setting for tourist activ-
itysuch as some forms of adventure tourism or the traditional sun, sand
and beach activities in beach tourismwithout any educational value do not
qualify as ecotourism.
Finally, the initiative should be sustainable, implying a desire to ensure
that the integrity of the resources is not undermined. Given the difficulty in
measuring sustainability, this paper subscribes to Weavers reasonable in-
tent standard, which highlights every reasonable effort to ensure that its
operations are sustainable, in line with current best practice principles.
Figure 1 illustrates ecotourism as a form of sustainable tourism and dis-
tinguishes it from other types of nature-based tourism.
Figure 1. Ecotourism as a form of sustainable tourism
This paper thus defines an ecotourism program as:
Any project that is organized and designed to promote the observation
and appreciation of nature through the provision of facilities and opportu-
nities for visitor education in a manner that, where appropriate, fosters
community involvement and seeks to ensure and sustain the integrity of
the resources around which the tourism activity is based.
The qualification that community involvement is desirable where ap-
propriate comes from Honey and Rome (2001), who also argue that local
communities should benefit economically, socially, and culturally from
ecotourism. The definition thus implies that while a community-based ap-
proach to ecotourism development is the ideal arrangement, programs in
private lands or in uninhabited, remote areas can also be considered as
ecotourist in nature.
Methods
The bulk of the research activities conducted for this study revolved around
the collection of information on the various ecotourism programs in the
Philippines. These included projects that were already underway, as well as
potential or emerging sites identified by different agencies. The working
definition of a program employed by the research team limited the scope
of the study to site- or place-based projects. This is compatible with defini-
tions of ecotourism adopted by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) and the DOT. Both agencies refer to a form of sustain-
able tourism within . . . a given natural environment (Joint DENR-DOT
Memo Circular 98-02) or . . . a natural and cultural heritage area (NEDC
Resolution No. 2000-01).
Thus, this particular research project looked only at ecotourism prod-
ucts offered by an entity that directly managed or supervised the ecotourist
itinerary within the natural destination. This approach avoids the double count-
ing that could occur if this study included ecotourism offerings that merely
packaged or linked different ecodestinations together to form various tour-
ist products.
This paper recognized, for example, the Olango Birds and Seascape
Tour as a valid ecotourism program and therefore deserved to be included in
the study because it referred to the birdwatching tour specifically developed
and managed by a community-based cooperative on Olango Island. However,
a birdwatching tour package offered by a Manila-based tour operator that just
happened to include Olango as a destination would no longer be consid-
ered as a distinct ecotourism program.
In other words, this study generally focused on programs offered by pri-
mary suppliers such as communities, local government units, parks, etc. Of-
ferings from tour operators were only included if these packages were spe-
cific to a particular natural destination and if the ecotourism activity within
the site were an exclusive offering of the tour agency. For example, an ecotour
developed by a private operator utilizing the resources of Marinduques Tres
Reyes Islands would be considered a distinct program if no other similarly
oriented programs were offered by other operators, the community, or the
government agencies overseeing the islands.
Data collection on the existing or proposed ecotourism programs around
the archipelago began with an examination of the outputs of a 1999 work-
shop co-organized by the DOT and the DENR for the various regional
ecotourism stakeholders. Different government offices and nongovernment
organizations (NGO) were then surveyed to validate as well as to supplement
the initial list of identified ecotourism programs. This phase of the project
employed various modes of data collection, including personal interviews,
documentary research, and questionnaires mailed to various NGOs and do-
nor agencies known to be involved in resource management and community-
enterprise building. These NGOs were identified through a snowballing
technique in which respondents or interviewees were asked to refer other
NGOs or agencies that they knew to be involved in ecotourism.
The respondents from the various offices were also queried on their
understanding of ecotourism. The question put to them referred to official
working definitions adopted by their respective offices as well as off-the-top-
of-the-head definitions of the concept based on their personal experiences
and beliefs.
Five respondents from the NGOs and government offices contacted for
the study submitted their respective definitions of ecotourism. These ranged
from very broad to more detailed definitions. One respondent simply de-
scribed ecotourism as a community enterprise that is environmentally
friendly. Another said ecotourism generates conservation and livelihood
benefits.
One NGO, the Kitanglad Integrated NGOs, Inc., said its working defini-
tion of ecotourism projects was one that should provide benefits to conserva-
tion, and also provide benefits to the local or host community. The Laguna
Lake Development Authority adopted the official definition of ecotourism
used by DOT and DENR. The definition provided by a respondent from the
Alliance of Volunteers in Development Foundation, Inc. was interesting in
its incorporation of visitor benefits. It said that ecotourism involved linking
with nature, deriving pleasure while protecting it, conserving natural re-
sources for the use and enjoyment, tourism for future generations.
The management plans developed by DENRs Conservation of Priority
Protected Areas Project (CPPAP) for its 10 priority areas also provided addi-
tional inputs to the researchers appreciation of the growing list of ecotourism
projects. In almost all of the CPPAP management plans, ecotourism was iden-
tified as a key component of the plan for protecting and managing the vari-
ous resource areas.
Resource-based classification of ecotourism destinations
Below is a summary of the ecotourism programs the team was able to identify
through a combination of primary and secondary data collection methods.
These were described by different government agencies and NGOs as being
ecotourism programs or projects. The team observed that the proponents
tended to recognize or nominate ecotourism sites based mainly on the type
of natural or cultural resource around which a destination hoped to build its
ecotourist offering.
Building on this observation, the teams initial classification exercise
involved a summary of the various initiatives by location and type of natural or
cultural resource on which the ecotourism activity is based. This was done a
priori based primarily on the program name and whatever limited informa-
tion about each project might have been provided by the teams sources. This
was therefore a purely deskbound classification exercise.
Given the limitations of the project, the different programs in the inven-
tory could only be evaluated on a very cursory basis. Without an actual exami-
nation of each program, it was impossible to determine the form of tourism
development that was supposed to have taken place in it. It was also difficult
to determine how the ecotourism plans were formulated and implemented.
Table 3 provides a summary of the relevant information about the pro-
grams. (See the appendix for a complete list of the projects.)
Table 3. Summary of ecotourism programs in the Philippines by location and
by type of tourism resource base
Tourism Region
Resource* Luzon Visayas Mindanao Total
Marine ecosystem 36 38 17 91
Terrestrial 66 25 23 114
Freshwater 36 15 24 75
Cultural sites 23 7 2 32
Manmade 3 4 3 10
Total 164 89 69 322
*Categories:
Marine marine-protected areas, coral reefs, islands, beaches, bays
Terrestrial mountains, volcanoes, caves, trails, forest areas
Freshwater lakes, rivers, hot and cold springs, waterfalls
Cultural churches, historic sites, festivals
Manmade urban parks, reforestation sites
Given the subjective nature of the classification process used (a form of
content analysis through which the researchers determined the type of tour-
ism resource based on the program name or description), some items on the
list may have been excluded. However, the purpose of this exercise was sim-
ply to develop a starting point for describing and, eventually, differentiating
the types of ecotourism initiatives being developed in the country. Thus, the
methodology employed was sufficient for this limited objective.
Table 4 lists examples of programs and sites identified by our sources as
falling under ecotourism. The subjective, even liberal, definitions of
ecotourism among the various stakeholders is illustrated by the inclusion of
manmade (e.g., Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Ilocos Norte, the Capas Death
March National Monument in Tarlac) and indigenous or cultural attractions
(e.g., Banaue Rice Terraces, Guling-guling Festival) in the list. This is consis-
tent with the inclusive definition adopted by the NEDC. Relying on this
definition, the Ecotourism Technical Working Group (ETWG) of the DOT
and DENR also recognized heritage, agricultural, and cultural ecotourism in
addition to the other more conventional variants such as nature-based, wild-
life, and adventure ecotourism.
Table 4. Examples of ecotourism sites or programs identified for each type of
tourism resource base
Resource Base Example of Ecotourism Sites and Programs
Marine Ecosystem El Nido Protected Areas Palawan
Whale shark watching - Donsol, Sorsogon
Boracay Island Aklan
Danjugan Island and reef system Negros Oriental
Agoo-Damortis Seashore La Union
Terrestrial Mt. Pinatubo Pampanga/Tarlac
Calbiga Caves Samar
Chocolate Hills Bohol
Mt. Apo Davao
Freshwater Paoay Lake Ilocos Norte
Tinago Falls Iligan City
Governors Rapids Quirino
Siraan Hot Spring Antique
Cultural Sites Cape Bojeador Lighthouse Ilocos Norte
Banaue/Ifugao Rice Terraces Ifugao
Guling-Guling Festival Ilocos Norte
Farm Tourism Village Tangalan, Aklan
Capas Death March National Monument Tarlac
Manmade San Jose Ecotourism Park Tarlac
Bucari-Aganan Reforestation Iloilo
Ecotourism programs based on terrestrial resources (e.g., mountains,
forests, caves) represent the single largest grouping with 91 items on the list
(Table 3). This accounts for more than a fourth of the entries in the list.
Combined with some 75 freshwater resource- based projects (e.g., lakes, riv-
ers, falls), the inland ecotourism destinations represent about half (52 per-
cent) of the national inventory. However, the predominantly island-based
nature of the tourist product in the Visayas is reflected by the fact that marine
ecosystem programs comprise its largest grouping.
About half (164) of the programs on the list are found in Luzon (which
includes Palawan and the other island provinces of Regions 4 and 5); the
Visayas and Mindanao account for 89 and 69 entries, respectively. This does
not mean, however, that Luzon is richer in terms of ecotourism resources. It
could only mean that the Luzon tourism sector is more prepared to identify
ecotourism products than its counterparts in the Visayas and Mindanao.
On a per region basis, no ecotourism programs were nominated from the
National Capital Region (NCR). Heavily urbanized metropolitan regions
such as Metro Manila as well as Cebu City may not have much in terms of
natural environments having potential for ecotourism. Nevertheless, given
the liberal interpretation of ecotourism by some sectors, it would not have
been a total surprise if a couple of cultural or historical places in Metro
Manila were nominated.
While useful as an exploratory description of the state of the art, a classi-
fication framework based solely on the type of resource or attraction used is
inadequate for this studys purposes. A purely resource-based framework
addresses only half of the issue. From our perspective, the application of
ecotourism is incomplete without any reference to how the resource is used
or enjoyed.
In turn, the specific behaviors or activities of tourists in situ could sug-
gest the intensity of impact that visitation would have on a site. High-impact
activities such as adventure tourism would be classified similarly with low-
impact nature tours. Thus, this initial categorization would not facilitate a
comparison of the potential environmental impacts of different activities
such as whitewater rafting down the Chico River, scuba diving down the
Tubbataha Reef, or trekking up Mount Apo via the Sibulan trail.
Proposed classification framework for ecotourism programs
Based on the initial propositions of Acott et al. and Weaver, a framework for
classifying ecotourism programs was developed (Figure 2). It incorporates
the major elements of the deep-shallow and hard-soft perspectives of the
authors. For this particular framework, active and passive labels were placed
on either end of the x-axis. These were deemed more appropriate adjectives
to describe the intensity with which the community (in the form of develop-
ment chosen) as well as the ecotourist (in the activities engaged in) experi-
ence the environment.
The active-passive continuum is essentially Weavers hard-soft framework.
However, this application does not address the issues of environmental com-
mitment and type of sustainability sought. An active ecotourism program
therefore promotes physically rigorous tourist activities such as trekking,
swimming, diving, among others. Trips and itineraries are specialized, that
is, designed to emphasize the ecotourists personal experience of the natu-
ral or cultural resource. Active ecotours are generally longer in duration,
because final destinations tend to be remote and relatively inaccessible. Fi-
nally, active ecotourists do not expect western-type services and facilities at
the destination.
Figure 2. Proposed classification framework for ecotourism programs
Passive ecotourism, on the other hand, stresses interpretation. Activities
are generally less physically taxing. Examples are guided sightseeing tours,
visits to interpretation centers, and photography. In terms of duration, pas-
sive ecotours are shorter; some can be taken as day tours. Visitors expect a
relatively higher degree of comfort based on western standards of service.
This suggests that more artificial structures and facilities may be introduced
to the site.
The proposed framework is consistent with Weavers position that
ecotourism need not be limited to a niche market. Thus, the y-axis describes
ecotourism programs according to the volume of activity that they can or
aspire to serve. Larger-scale ecotourism offers destinations and activities that
can absorb a greater volume of visitor traffic. This form of ecotourism is closer
to traditional tourism activity, which can accommodate larger groups at any
given time. However, sustainable tourism practices and concerns about carry-
ing capacity still require some form of cap on group sizes.
Smaller-scale ecotourism, on the other hand, requires visitation by indi-
viduals or small travel parties. Whether a program goes for the mass market or
smaller-scale ecotourism depends on the destination. The more sensitive or
threatened the environment is, the more ecotourism should move away from
larger-scale ecotours. In this regard, smaller-scale ecotourism would more
SMALLER SCALE
A
C
T
I
V
E
LARGER SCALE
P
A
S
S
I
V
E
Higher volume; larger groups
Emphasis on personal experience
Western standard services not
essential
Some degree of standardization for
trips and itineraries
Higher volume; larger groups
Emphasis on interpretation
Services and facilities expected
Example: Gardens of Malasag
Ecotourism Village
Lower volume; smaller groups
Emphasis on personal experience
Few, if any, services expected
Specialized trips and itineraries
Example: Ulugan Bay
Lower volume; smaller groups
Emphasis on interpretation
Services and facilities expected
Example: Olango Birds and
Seascape Tour
closely adhere to the niche conception of ecotourism that PATA espouses
(Dowling 1998), which implies the nonsustainability of volume visitation.
Larger-scale ecotourism, by the same token, may be interpreted as hewing
more closely to the mainstream tourism industry.
For a better illustration of this framework, the following section briefly
discusses three programs, classified according to the proposed system dis-
cussed above.
Smaller-scale passive ecotourism: the Olango birds and seascape tour
Initially conceived to meet the need for more exciting day tour activities for
guests of Mactan hotels and resorts, the Olango birds and seascape tour
(OBST) is a package tour of a bird sanctuary that also featured glorious
waters, scenic seascape, and diverse coastal village culture in and around
Olango Island. The OBST site is located in barangay Suba, on the island of
Olango, approximately two nautical miles east of Mactan Island in the prov-
ince of Cebu (Figure 3). The island is considered an important wildlife
sanctuary in the province of Cebu, possessing a rich and diverse marine
ecosystem while also serving as a major stopover for thousands of migratory
birds using the East Asian Flyway. Thus, for about eight months of the year,
thousands of migratory birds complement the native bird species on Olango,
making the island one of the premiere birding sites in the country.
The project was undertaken by the Coastal Resource Management Project
(CRMP) of the DENR with funding from the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development. From the beginning, CRMP set out to ensure that the
site would be a true community-based ecotourism destination. Thus, the
complete marketing package of the site is dubbed Olango Birds and Sea-
scape Tour: An Ecotourism Venture and Conservation Initiative of the People,
by the People, and for the People.
CRMP chose the village of Suba, located on Olango Islands southeast-
ern tip, over three other barangays to host its ecotourism project on the is-
land. Subas main advantages were its strategic location, accessibility from
Mactan, and the communitys readiness for coastal management work (Flores
2000). CRMP identified ecotourism as a viable response to the communitys
need for income generation options. As part of the project, the residents
were organized into an ecotourism cooperative so they could play a major
role in the development and operation of ecotours to Olango Island. Today,
the cooperative manages almost every facet of the OBST, including the
backroom operations such as monitoring and accounting.
The role of Olango Island, however, is not limited to serving as a
birdwatching destination, having been packaged as a bird and seascape tour
site. Complementing this effort was equipping the whole community to turn
it into an ecotourism destination based on the totality of biodiversity in the
area.
Figure 3. Map of Olango Island Birds and Seascape Tour
Note: Tour begins and ends on Mactan Island. The bird sanctuary component of the tour
is magnified here (shown in the circle on the smaller map, upper right). No. 6 shows the
best location for viewing birds on the tour.
One acknowledged strength of the destination is its proximity to Mactan
Island, one of the most important source regions of tourists in the country.
Then, too, there is the Mactan International Airport, the countrys second
major airport that serves as an entry point to Olango for foreign as well as
domestic visitors. The proximity between the two islands makes day tours
possible, made more attractive by the presence of several major resorts on
Olango Island. These and other inherent advantagesunique, high-quality
natural resources, a cooperative local community, and accessibility of tourist
markets.
Olango Islands proximity to the resort areas of Mactan also makes it
easier for OBST to implement a no overnight visit policy on Olango. The
policy serves two purposes. One, it facilitates visitor management. Two, it
minimizes the potential social impacts from the disruption that tourists could
bring to the social and cultural fabric of the Suba community.
Reflecting on the Olango projects initial years of implementation, Monina
Flores, a key member of the CRMP team that saw the project through to its
completion, notes some critical lessons that other communities could learn
from the OBST experience (1999). One, they must identify and focus on the
unique attractions of their areas (migratory birds and seascapes in the case of
Olango). Two, they should complement these attractions with others that will
make visitors want to prolong their stay or come back to their areas. Subas
village culture and the peoples warmth are examples of these.
How does one classify the Olango program? In terms of market, the pro-
gram falls under the niche classification. Although it is only a short banca
ride from a mass tourism destination (Mactan), the tour takes only small
groups at a time and the trips are limited to day tours. This means the pro-
gram remains within the bounds of a conservation strategy and is guided by
the principle of minimizing, if not preventing, the potential negative impact
of volume traffic and congestion on the coastal resources and the host com-
munity life.
The nature of the Olango bird tour is also more passive than active. In
keeping with the conservation theme, the tour places a great deal of empha-
sis on interpretation. In Olango, an articulate naturalist guide who did bio-
logical work on the birdlife and mangroves in the sanctuary was hired by the
community to do the natural interpretation. Interpretation of village culture,
however, was performed by the community (Flores 1999). Because the tour
has been designed only as a day trip or excursion, there is little need for
western-type facilities on the island. Nevertheless, Flores notes, paying at-
tention to comfort, safety and enjoyment in getting there (the island) adds
great value.
Smaller-scale active ecotourism: community-based sustainable tourism at Ulugan Bay
The Ulugan Bay Experience is a community-based sustainable tourism
project (CBST), being a component of a bigger integrated coastal resource
management project implemented by the United Nations Educational, Sci-
entific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in collaboration with the Puerto
Princesa City government. The bay is situated on the central western coast of
Palawan Island, approximately 47 kilometers from the provincial capital of
Puerto Princesa (Figure 4). It covers more than 7,000 hectares and stretches
over more than 110 kilometers of coastline.
Ulugan Bay is characterized by a high level of biodiversity. More than
1,200 hectares of coral reefs, 790 hectares of mangrove and almost 500 hect-
ares of seagrass beds ensure a large diversity of fish and marine invertebrates.
Sea turtles, dolphins, and dugongs may also be found there. Extensive areas
of primary rainforest and karst outcrops also provide an interesting array of
terrestrial flora and fauna. Based on 1998 data, Ulugan Bay is home to a
population of more than 6,000, occupying 254 hectares covered by the five
Ulugan Bay barangays. The total population includes the indigenous cul-
tural communities of Tagbanuas and Bataks. Two areas in Ulugay Bay are the
subjects of tribal ancestral domain claims. Ulugan Bay is considered one of
the major coastal and marine ecosystems of the entire province, acting as the
most significant source of fish for Puerto Princesa City.
The entire Ulugan Bay project involves five barangays (Bahile, Macarascas,
Buena Vista, Tagabinet, and Cabayugan). From Puerto Princesa City, Barangay
Bahile is approximately one hour by land while Barangay Cabayugan can be
reached in two hours. However, Cabayugan is only some 15 minutes from
Sabang, the jump-off point for the popular Puerto Princesa (formerly St.
Paul) Subterranean River National Park.
Each barangay comprising the Ulugan Bay Experience offers a different
form of ecotourism. Bahile, for example, offers its visitors a paddle-boat tour
along a mangrove-lined river to Kayulo waterfalls. Spelunking (or cave explo-
ration) and trekking are the main ecotourist activities in Tagabinet. These
examples show that each barangay is an ecotourism destination on its own.
Yet, the diversity of activities and attractions from one barangay to the other
makes the entire Ulugan Bay a uniquely multifaceted ecotourism destination.
Beginnings of the Ulugan Bay project
In 1996, following the conduct of the UNESCO-sponsored Strategic Plan-
ning Workshop for the stakeholders of Ulugan Bay, an Interim Ulugan Bay
Multi-Sectoral Management Committee tasked to integrate all planning ac-
tivities and actions for the bay was established. A series of consultations with
national, provincial, and local stakeholders (including local communities
and indigenous groups living around the Bay) followed.
The following year, UNESCO organized a series of training activities
designed to upgrade the capability of local institutions and organizations in
Figure 4. Location of Ulugan Bay on the Island of Palawan
data collection by direct community involvement. These provided the basis
for the plans and activities that eventually made up the Ulugan Bay Project.
In 1998 UNESCO, in collaboration with the city government of Puerto
Princesa, embarked on a two-year project called Coastal Resources Manage-
ment and Sustainable Tourism in Ulugan Bay. It aimed to develop a model
for coastal resource management for Ulugan Bay using a community-based,
multisectoral approach. After a series of studies on potential livelihood and
resource management options was completed in 1999, several activities were
implemented.
These included the establishment of community-based areas for fish
farming and crab fattening, as well as a master plan for community-based
sustainable tourism. While the plan was designed to provide a sustainable
tourism framework for the entire Bay, it adopted a bottom-up approach to
planning, which led to the formation of initiatives from each of the five
barangays and two ancestral domains in the area.
The ensuing community-based proposals were then evaluated and inte-
grated into Puerto Princesa Citys broader development and conservation
plans. This practice extended to the implementation phase, where local
communities were directly involved in the organization and management of
their respective sustainable tourism programs. The first phase included ca-
pacity-building initiatives such as the formation of community tourism as-
sociations and tourism management teams, training programs on small busi-
ness management, as well as training in specific tourism activities such as
tour guiding, snorkeling, spelunking, and sailing.
The program was launched around the end of 2000. Its full implementa-
tion, however, suffered serious setbacks. In May 2001, for example, resort
employees and guests, including two Americans, at the Dos Palmas Resort on
Puerto Princesas Honda Bay were kidnapped by the Abu Sayaff group. This
incident brought the Puerto Princesa tourism industry to a virtual standstill.
As though this was not enough, heightened fears of terrorism brought about
by the terrorist attacks against the United States in September 2001 gripped
both the local and international tourism industry, which saw a significant
decline in tourist arrivals.
Quite apart from these unfortunate incidents and their adverse effects
on the tourism industry, the Ulugan Bay project is beset by other problems
such as poor infrastructure. The roads leading to the five barangays have not
been fully paved. Telecommunications between Puerto Princesa and the
Ulugan Bay barangays are anything but efficient. Arrangements are made
through the Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office, which then contacts the
barangay concerned to relay the arrangements and check on the condition of
the site. Add to these the weather and sea conditions, which can wreak havoc
on even the most well planned visiting arrangements.
Like the Olango tour, the Ulugan CBST project is considered a niche
ecoactivity. Visits are limited to small groups or limited numbers of individu-
als. There are no tour packages yet. By international standards, the facilities
and services offered in the area are rather modest in keeping with the lim-
ited community resources. By and large, CBST projects are pursued and
evaluated within the limits of the communitys resources. Economically vi-
able projects that can be successfully implemented without the need for
sophisticated infrastructure are preferred under this policy.
The diverse activities possible in each barangay could cater to the wide
range of interests of visitors, who can also take advantage of varied combina-
tions of attractions and activities. Visitor activitiessuch as trekking, snorkel-
ing, cave exploration and kayakingrather than interpretation appear to be
the emphasis in Ulugan Bay even if there are adequate educational or inter-
pretative facilities present. Thus, Ulugan Bay appears to be a more active
ecotourism site than Olango Island, especially now that it appears to be de-
veloping into a smaller-scale active ecotourism area.
Larger-scale passive ecotourism: the Gardens of Malasag Eco-Tourism Village
The Gardens of Malasag Eco-Tourism Village (GMETV), located in the
Cugman Watershed approximately 20 minutes by land travel from the center
of Cagayan de Oro City, offer a view of Macabalan Bay and hills of Malasag
(Figure 5). Operated by the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), GMETV
was conceived in 1991 to serve as the Philippine counterpart of such sites as
the gardens of Granada in Spain and the Bouchart Gardens in Canada. It
occupies some 6 hectares of land and is connected to 200 hectares of refor-
ested land.
DOTs project brief on GMETV states that the gardens give visitors a
colorful glimpse of the ecology and rich ethno-Filipino heritage of Northern
Mindanao showcased through various artifacts, customs and traditions, flora
and fauna amidst a reforestation setting. This description seems to suggest
that some ecotourism programs (the gardens being part of an ecotourism
village) can exist in an artificial environment. This is what GMETV is trying
to pursue in keeping with ecotourisms vision of educating visitors on the
environmental and cultural resources of an area.
That such education takes place in a setting where flora are exhibited in
landscaped gardens rather than wild natural settings, or regional fauna such
as butterflies and deer are displayed in gardens and cages rather than ob-
served in their normal environs, is not important. The cultural learning ex-
periences are conducted in similar conditions through what the project brief
describes as a Tribal Village.
The cultures of various indigenous groups (Talaandigs, Higao-non,
Subanon, Maranaos, and Ifugaos) are interpreted in separate huts that show-
case the traditional architecture and design of the cultural community, comple-
mented by household furnishings and implements that are on display in-
side. Inside the huts, members of each indigenous community (temporarily
residing in the GMETV) demonstrate various traditional arts such as weaving
and woodworking, as well as perform traditional songs and dances. Indig-
enous artifacts and tourist items are also sold in each hut.
According to PTA data, almost 100,000 day and overnight visitors come
to the park every year, making GMETV a mass tourism destination. Whether
it offers a passive or active tourist experience is not difficult to determine, as
will be shown in the succeeding parts of this discussion.
Figure 5. Location of Gardens of Malasag on Cagayan de Oro City map
Given the extent to which mainstream facilities and infrastructure have
been installed in GMETV, it may well be called a resort development. There
are 27 cottage rooms, a swimming pool, a multipurpose hall (with a maxi-
mum capacity of 120 persons), an 80-seat restaurant, and an amphitheater.
The emphasis on interpretation is evident. On entering the Gardens,
one will be readily greeted by the sight of the Ethnic Museum, which is under
the supervision of the National Museum. On display are handicrafts, musical
instruments, indigenous ornamentation, and weaponry. The layout of the
botanical gardens, animal exhibits, and miniature canopy walks follows the
traditional design of interpretation centers.
Thus, there is no question that GMETV caters to the mass market and
offers a passive tourist experience. However, some may question whether
GMETV and similarly built developments qualify as ecotourism. Do they qual-
ity as ecotourism if they are part of a city? In this case, it can be argued that
GMETV minimizes the socio-cultural impacts on indigenous cultural com-
munities, because it keeps tourists away from actual settlements modeling
indigenous village life. Furthermore, since GMETV is located inside a water-
shed, its advocates may describe it as a mechanism for conservation of the
resource. It may also be reasonably expected that a buffer zone will be main-
tained up to the foreseeable future between the GMETV and the urban
developments around the watershed area.
In other words, it is GMETVs location within a natural environment that
makes it an ecotourism destination and distinguishes it from, say, the Manila
Zoo. Following the same criterion, other areas that could qualify as mass
passive ecotourism sites include the La Mesa Dam watershed in Quezon City
and the Jungle Environmental Survival Training course in Subic Bay.
Are there examples of Philippine mass ecotourism that are active in
form? There are none today unlike other countries, where the recreation
function among conservation agencies is more developed. For example, the
park systems in the United States (e.g., National Parks Service, US Forest and
Wildlife Service, etc.) have historically recognized the twin mandates of rec-
reation and conservation. Thus, many US parks pursue programs that allow
hundreds of visitors to undertake active ecotourism. The relevant activities
include trekking, camping, bird watching, among others.
In the Philippines, a possible candidate for mass active ecotourism de-
velopment is the eastern coastline of Luzon, starting with the Quezon-Aurora
area. Reduced travel time to the area resulting from improved highway ac-
cess could open up opportunities for surfing, trekking, and other forms of
adventure ecotourism in the area. Its relative proximity to the NCR could
lead to its discovery by the mass ecotourism market may discover the region
relatively quickly through word-of-mouth or through the mass media.
Conclusion
This paper has developed a framework for classifying ecotourism initiatives
in the Philippines based on a relatively inclusive, as opposed to restrictive,
definition of ecotourism. Based on Weavers definition (2001), it describes
ecotourism as having three basic elements. First, the focus of attraction is the
natural environment or some specific components of it. For the Philippine
setting, the focus was expanded to include elements of the cultural environ-
ment. Second, an ecotourism initiative should emphasize learning as an out-
come of the tourists interaction with the natural environment. Thus, pro-
grams that merely use the natural environment as a setting for tourist activity
without any educational value do not qualify as ecotourism. Third, the initia-
tive should be sustainable to protect the resources. Though admittedly diffi-
cult to measure, sustainability in this regard follows Weavers reasonable
intent standard. This means an ecotourism proponent makes every reason-
able effort to ensure that its operations are sustainable, in line with current
best practice principles.
What are the implications of this classification framework for the devel-
opment of ecotourism in the Philippines? Policymakers, planners, and host
communities can use this framework as a tool for deciding what form of
ecotourism is appropriate for their respective areas. The framework can as-
sist them by highlighting the trade-offs between the economic benefits and
environmental hazards that ecotourism could bring to their areas. Figure 6
illustrates these trade-offs in terms of the possible advantages and disadvan-
tages associated with each ecotourism category.
This proposed framework does not claim that poverty alleviation and
environmental preservation are mutually exclusive. If ecotourism is to be a
truly sustainable form of tourism development, it must aspire for both envi-
ronmental preservation (to address the ecological sustainability aspect) and
poverty alleviation (in response to the economic sustainability and equity
aspects of sustainable development). However, it will be very difficult for any
destination or community to maximize both socio-economic and environ-
mental benefits from ecotourism.
As a general approach, the form or category of ecotourism that a given
area or community may adopt will depend on the communitys objectives for
proposing ecotourism in the first place. If its development priorities lean
Figure 6. Advantages and disadvantages of each ecotourism category
SMALLER SCALE
A
C
T
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V
E
LARGER SCALE
P
A
S
S
I
V
E
(+) More visitors bring in more
economic returns
(+) Active ecotourism might
encourage more return visits
because of promise of novelty
(-) Congestion, pollution,
degradation of quality
(-) Active ecotourism has higher
impact on resource
(+) More visitors bring in more
economic returns
(+) Mitigate impact of tourists
through passive ecotourism
(-) Congestion, pollution,
degradation of quality
(+) Active ecotourism may
encourage more return visits
because of promise of
novelty
(+) Smaller groups may be easier
to manage
(-) Smaller economic returns
(+) Lower-impact ecotourism in
the form of passive
ecotourism
(+) Smaller groups may be
easier to manage
(-) Smaller economic returns
more toward resource conservation, it will be preferable to develop smaller-
scale, more passive ecotourism programs. However, the choice to minimize
market scope could threaten the economic sustainability of the program. In
such cases, alternative economic activities may be necessary to complement
the ecotourism component. If ecotourism is the only source of revenue for
the area, there may soon be pressure to expand market reach to the mass or
mainstream tourist markets.
Conversely, more popular and active forms of ecotourism may be more
attractive to destinations interested in the livelihood opportunities from
ecotourism. However, these areas must be conscious of the negative environ-
mental effects that high-impact or high-volume tourist activity can bring
particularly to an environmentally sensitive ecosystem. Management will con-
tend with the obvious risks of congestion, pollution, and other negative ef-
fects from mass visitation. It should recognize that the continued economic
viability of the attraction is directly related to its success in maintaining or
enhancing the quality of the environmental resource. For this reason, mass
ecotourism destinations must be ready with visitor management plans and
programs. Figure 7 lists some planning considerations for each class of
ecotourism program.
A
C
T
I
V
E
LARGER SCALE
P
A
S
S
I
V
E
Need to prepare visitor management
plan
Install measures to mitigate impacts
from expected congestion,
pollution and degradation of
resource quality
Impact mitigation measures given
more active tourists
Need to prepare visitor
management plan
Site hardening measures to mitigate
impacts from expected
congestion, pollution and
degradation of resource
quality
Quality interpretation facilities and
other visitor amenities
Product-enhancement initiatives to
increase the value of the
visitor experience.
Measures to counter expected
pressures to expand scale of
operations and scope of
market
Product-enhancement initiatives to
increase the value of the
visitor experience.
Measures to counter expected
pressures to expand scale
of operations and scope of
market
Figure 7. Planning implications of category of ecotourism
SMALLER SCALE
Given the relatively young state of ecotourism in the Philippines today,
there is not enough information to develop a full database according to the
framework proposed in this paper. While potential areas have been identi-
fied in most cases, programs have neither been designed nor implemented.
Thus, much of the data available so far have been limited to physical descrip-
tions of the sites. Ecotourism proponents and planners would do well to
gather information that could help in fill out the proposed framework with
all the necessary information.
For each proposed ecotourism initiative, the following questions need
to be asked:
Does the program have an explicit educational objective? If so,
what is the strategy for educating the ecotourist?
Are there going to be caps on visitor volume? If so, how is visitor
volume going to be controlled?
What facilities and infrastructure does the program intend to
introduce in the area?
These basic data are vital to the framework. First, researchers must deter-
mine that the program complies with the educational objective of ecotourism.
The primary approach (interpretation vs. personal experience) adopted
suggests whether the program is more active or passive. Second, the frame-
work will require information regarding the market scope that the program
aspires to. Proposed caps on visitor volume, including programs for control-
ling the flow of visitors through the area, suggest whether the area is aiming
for a niche or mass market. Similarly, the form and scale of facilities and
infrastructure to be introduced to a natural or cultural area will also indicate
whether the ecotourism program has been planned on a small or large scale.
Ecotourism standards and certification
One specific means by which this information may be collected consistently
would be through the institution of a certification system for ecotourism
projects in the Philippines. Not only would such a system allow the industry
to gather the data needed for classifying various ecotourism projects, it would
also allow the establishment of benchmarks and standards that the various
stakeholders can use to monitor the programs over time.
To date there is yet no ecotourism certification system in place in the
country. Internationally, there are around 100 different schemes for certify-
ing and approving ecotourism programs (Crabtree et al. 2002). Most of these
tools have been designed by tourism experts, governments, and NGOs to
promote sustainable tourism practices at varying levelsfrom the destina-
tions and countries to individual tourist establishments. Furthermore, most
of these certification schemes are voluntary in character (Sanabria 2002).
Among the more well known certification systems are Green Globe 21, ISO
14001, Australias Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program, Costa Ricas
Certification for Sustainable Tourism, the Blue Flag system for accrediting
beaches and marinas, Europes Protected Areas Network Parks, and ECOTEL.
However, the absence of a single international standard for ecotourism has
confused consumers and thus has limited the effectiveness of these schemes in
identifying true and high-quality ecotourism ventures. Thus, there have been
calls for industry to move toward a unified certification scheme (Honey and
Rome 2001; Crabtree et al. 2002; Sanabria 2002). However, such a setup would
undoubtedly be expensive for communities and destinations in the less de-
veloped countries. Further, there are concerns that a single international
standard would not be able to address the unique conditions of each country.
Thus, the industry seems to be moving toward a two-tiered international
certification system. The first level of certification would represent the mini-
mum or basic requirements for any destination to be considered as
ecotourism. Places that qualify for this first-level certification would be recog-
nized by the tourism industryand, more importantly, the tourist markets
as complying with ecotourisms basic economic, social, and ecological objec-
tives. The second level of certification would then represent the award or
recognition standard for destinations that aspire to be recognized as models
of ecotourisms best practice.
A similar structure could be employed in the Philippines. Again, there
would be basic certification level corresponding to some locally adapted
variant of the Mohonk principles (Table 5). By staying true to the Mohonk
Agreement, the system would ensure that the Philippine ecotourism prod-
uct is comparable to those in the global marketplace. Best-practice sites for
specific types of environments (e.g., marine, mountain, etc.) could then be
identified through a second, higher-level certification standard. Once insti-
tuted, a regular system of certification and recertification would then allow
the industry to continuously track each ecotourism site as they evolve and to
adopt or propose measures for mitigating the negative impacts from tourism
development.
Who will take the lead in this certification program? In many countries,
the certification process for sustainable tourism or ecotourism is usually led
by a private, self-regulating organization. A voluntary accreditation system
run by a private entity would be built on the potential marketing benefits that
the industrys de facto stamp of approval brings to successful applicants.
Table 5. Ecotourism criteria as suggested by the Mohonk Agreement
Ecotourism is sustainable tourism with a natural area focus, which benefits the
environment and communities visited, and fosters environmental and cultural
understanding, appreciation, and awareness. In any ecotourism certification
scheme, the criteria should address standards (preferably best practices) for
sustainable tourism (as described above) and at least minimum standards for:
Focus on personal experiences of nature to lead to greater understanding and
appreciation
Interpretation and environmental awareness of nature, local society, and culture
Positive and active contributions to conservation of natural areas or biodiversity
Economic, social, and cultural benefits for local communities
Fostering of community involvement, where appropriate
Locally appropriate scale and design for lodging, tours and attractions
Minimal impact on and presentation of local (indigenous) culture
Source: Honey and Rome (2001).
However, none of the so-called national trade associations, including the
Philippine chapter of the Ecotourism Society, appears to have the resources,
technical expertise, or interest to begin implementing a national ecotourism
classification scheme. National and international NGOs may have the techni-
cal expertise with regard to the environmental and social aspects of tourism
development. Yet, many NGOs in ecotourismincluding those whose opera-
tions are national in scopeare focused on communities and not industries.
Thus, the DOT appearsby defaultto be the entity best positioned to
take the lead in developing the minimum standards for classifying ecotourism
programs. In the short term, the agency may also have to provide accredita-
tion and classification services for ecotourism programs in the Philippines.
The national trade associations can support the DOT-led system by provid-
ing inputs related to the quality of the ecotourism product, as well as by
conducting advocacy campaigns designed to boost industry acceptance and
adoption of the ecotourism standards and guidelines. The NGO community,
on the other hand, can work with DOT and DENR on the more technical
criteria related to environmental and social impacts of ecotourism activity.
A national classification system will help ensure that quality and commit-
ment to ecotourism principles are consistent all regions. However, the ulti-
mate success of the certification standard, in particular, and Philippine
ecotourism, in general, will still be determined at the local level. Thus, it will
be critical to strengthen the ecotourism partnerships among LGUs, the orga-
nized community, and the local tourist industry.
The accreditation of tourism establishments has long been devolved to
the local government units, as required by the Local Government Code.
However, few local officials are formally trained in tourism development.
This could be an argument for allowing a national agency like DOT to de-
velop minimum ecotourism standards.
Local officials, however, have the power to enforce compliance with
ecotourism principles through such controls as the issuance of building
permits and business licenses as well as through various modes of local taxa-
tion. Furthermore, the LGU can make sure that ecotourism initiatives are
integrated and coordinated with local development plans. In particular, the
ecotourism ventures must be compatible with LGU plans in terms of infra-
structure, land use, and resource management.
As with any other sustainable tourism ventures, the pursuit of ecotourism
takes time, which, under the present system of holding local elections every
three years, is difficult to achieve. Thus, it is important for the accreditation
and classification systems to be institutionalized and quickly insulated from
the constantly swirling winds of political change. This is where community
organizations and private business can come in.
Community organizations, peoples organizations, and NGOs represent
the residents interests and concerns. They help organize the community,
thereby facilitating dialogue with government by providing residents with a
collective voice. If the projects are community-based forms of ecotourism, the
NGOs will be directly involved in the planning and implementation of these
programs. Thus, they will likely be deeply involved in educating local resi-
dents on the behaviors consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism
and ecotourism. Because of their intimate relationship with the community
and its environmental resources, an NGO is possibly the local stakeholder
with the most direct access to information about the environmental and so-
cial impacts of tourism development. Thus, it is best positioned to monitor
and evaluate the impacts of ecotourism programs.
Such impacts can be magnified by tourism businesses such as lodging
establishments, dining facilities, tour guides, and local shops that encourage
additional local spending by ecotourists. Moreover, these support services
affect the overall quality of the visitor experience even if there is no direct
link between the operations of these businesses and that of the ecotourism
program. Private businesses can also contribute to the success of the program
by linking the ecodestination to the national and international marketing
systems operating outside the community.
However, much like the organizational work done for local residents, the
local tourism industries will also need to be organized. An organized tourism
sector can become a more effective lobbying group relative to the LGU as well
as to the national government agencies. Similarly, organizing the local tour-
ism industry can enable the small businesses to pool their limited marketing
funds with those of the LGU, and market the destination collectively rather
than do their own separate promotions.
The LGU-community-industry partnership can thus be described as fol-
lows. The local government unit takes its cue from the national tourism in-
dustry and establishes the framework within which local groups and private
businesses will operate their ecotourism ventures. This framework will be
defined largely by the LGUs development agenda and its regulatory mecha-
nisms such as permits, licenses, and taxes.
Community-based as well as commercial ecotourism operations can, as
part of the normal licensing and building regulations, be asked to provide
the preliminary, as well as longitudinal data that the ecotourism classification
system will require. While the individual programs and businesses can be
expected to have their individual promotional priorities, the marketing of
the community or destination as a whole can be a collective effort. Whether
this is an LGU- or industry-led campaign will depend on the degree to which
the local businesses can be organized for collective action.
As a final point, the foregoing discussion more or less assumes participa-
tion in the classification scheme. This premise will become valid only when
the national ecotourism sector can convince developers, planners, and inves-
tors of the value that an ecotourism certification will bring to a given program
or project. The national ecotourism advocates must demonstrate that the
classification and accreditation scheme will benefit the programs by enhanc-
ing the destinations image as well as actual product quality.
Future questions
The classification framework proposed in this paper revolves around a rea-
sonable intent standard of sustainability. This standard is broad enough to
cover most definitions of ecotourismwhether these come from commercial
ecotourism organizers or from environmentalists interested in ecotourism as
a conservation tool. Conversely, this decision to accept a liberal interpreta-
tion of ecotourism, admittedly, will not lack for criticism, particularly from
groups who might insist on determining true ecotourism.
For such interests, the smaller-scale forms, more likely the passive varia-
tions, of ecotourism would probably conform to what is traditionally consid-
ered true ecotourism. However, the economic concerns of private as well as
community groups may well continue to fuel a strong advocacy for the more
commercial variants of ecotourism.
This lingering issue highlights some of the questions that this paper has
left unanswered for others to take up. Perhaps researchers may address them
in the future as more information and knowledge is gained from the
ecotourism experience in the Philippines.
As presented here, ecotourism programs would be classified according
to a set of descriptions collected about the attractions at any given time. It may
be necessary to track these programs over time to see if they evolve to the
point that they would have to be classified in a new category. In other words,
do destinations or programs move from one quadrant to the other? One may
surmise that of the three major elements of classification framework pre-
sented in this papereducational strategy, introduced facilities and infra-
structure, and volume of visitorsthe third is likely to be the most fluid. As a
destinations objectives and strategies regarding visitor volume change, it
may be expected that the education and infrastructure facilities will follow.
Destination lifecycle theory suggests that this evolution will likely involve a
movement from smallscale ecotourism to largescaleeven massecotourism.
Is this change inevitable and unavoidable? To an extent, much of the rhetoric
about sustainable tourism argues that it is possible to achieve a steady state
that maintains the quality of the environment. Researchers may also want to
take the issue further and ask if the reverse is possiblethat a mass ecotourism
program can evolve (or devolve) into a smaller, niche-oriented activity.
Image studies will also be useful in determining if tourists also view
ecotourism programs as catering more to mass markets or niche markets.
Similarly, they can determine if tourists perceive ecotourism programs as
being oriented more toward interpretation (passive) or toward personally
experiencing (active) the natural environment.
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Chapter 5
Perceived Tourism Impact on Indigenous
Communities: A Case Study of Sagada in
Mountain Province
Juline R. Dulnuan
Introduction
The emergence of new forms of tourism has focused the discussion of tour-
ism impact on indigenous peoples (IPs) whose pristine and biologically
diverse homelands have become natural targets. In particular, ecotourism,
often defined as nature-based sustainable tourism, is currently the most ag-
gressively promoted product of a global tourism industry that sells relatively
undisturbed and preserved natural environments and exotic areas (Chavez
1999). These destinations are usually found among indigenous communi-
ties in the Third World, where ecotourism is being pursued as a national
priority development strategy for its promise of environmental conservation
and protection, sustainability, and economic returns. Ironically, it is also
ecotourism that has mobilized IPs around the world to come together to
articulate their own experiences with tourism and reflect on its impacts and
meaning (Third World Network Clearinghouse No. 20, 2002).
Indigenous peoples comprise 5 percent of the worlds population and
occupy 20 percent of the worlds land surface but nurture 80 percent of the
worlds biodiversity as ancestral lands and territories. Even prior to the ad-
vent of ecotourism, IP communities for the past several decades have been
witnessing the growth of tourism in their midst. Yet, they have not received
much attention as a marginalized sector of the global economy, who until
recently were rarely considered in tourism research, planning, development
and economics (McLaren 1998).
This changed with the declaration by the United Nations (UN) and the
World Tourism Organization of 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism
to promote ecotourism as a tool for sustainable development; and the draft-
ing of the Guidelines for the Conduct of Tourism in Territories Tradition-
ally Occupied or Used by Indigenous and Local Communities under the
framework of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. As they were not
consulted in these two international processes that directly concerned them,
IP groups organized their own conferences and fora to assess the impacts of
tourism on their lives. They also attended international meetings to express
their concern. During the technical meeting of the UN Convention on Bio-
logical Diversity in Montreal, Canada, held in November 2001, the participat-
ing IPs pointed out the devastating impacts of tourism on their ecosystem.
Ecotourism is particularly damaging to Indigenous Peoples, who have
maintained high biological diversity within their traditional territory
over generations and millennia; their homelands and cultures are
now the prime target globally for rapid commercialization and exploi-
tation by the ecotourism industry. The only successful models for tourism
involving Indigenous Peoples are those designed by Indigenous Peoples them-
selves, on the basis of their own traditional knowledge, practices and innova-
tion systems, including their own customary laws (emphasis added).
In March 2002, delegates to the International Forum on Indigenous
Tourism held in Oaxaca, Mexico, came up with a similar declaration stating
that ecotourism and other forms of tourism should not be concept-driven but
instead be based on a long-term analysis of the pros and cons of tourism
development, recognizing and following collective decisionmaking processes,
and integrated into our long-term realities and visions of sustainable use and
access to collective goods. This was affirmed two months later at the World
Ecotourism Summit held in Quebec, Canada, where the participants acknowl-
edged that ecotourism development must consider IPs rights to land and
property, self-determination and cultural integrity, including their pro-
tected, sensitive and sacred sites as well as their traditional knowledge. They
also stressed that:
(T)o achieve equitable, social, economic and environmental benefits
from ecotourism and other forms of tourism in natural areas, and to
minimize or avoid potential negative impacts, participative planning
mechanisms are needed that allow local and indigenous communities,
in a transparent way, to define and regulate the use of their areas at
the local level, including the right to opt out of tourism development
(Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism, May 2002).
In the Philippines, a number of popular tourist destinations are tradi-
tional territories of indigenous peoples (Table 1). Emerging destinations
like Lake Sebu, Batanes, and Kalinga are also inhabited by indigenous groups.
A literature review reveals a dearth of studies on the effects of tourism on the
lives of the indigenous peoples who inhabit these destinations.
However, a visit to the area would reveal that the Mangyan, like the Iraya
of Puerto Galera, have long been displaced from their ancestral lands, now
home to tourism infrastructure. The is also true of the Ati of Boracay, the Aeta
of Subic, the Batak of Palawan, and the Ibaloi of Baguio. If the principles of
equity, sustainability, environmental protection, and conservation are to be
achieved, the experiences of indigenous peoples in relation to tourism must
be looked into and considered in tourism policy formulation and develop-
Chapter 5: Dulnuan 163
ment planning. The dearth of studies on the impacts of tourism on indig-
enous communities therefore needs to be addressed.
Purpose of the study
This study describes the impacts of tourism as perceived by the residents of
Sagada, a mountain resort town in the Cordillera Administrative Region
(CAR) in Northern Luzon. The Cordillera (Figure 1) is home to the most
number of indigenous peoples in the country, accounting for almost 1.4
million out of the 7 million inhabiting the Philippine uplands. The region is
vast and rich in natural resources. It is where most of the countrys mineral
reserves, particularly gold and copper, are found. It is also the watershed
cradle and prime ecological zone of Northern Luzon.
In spite of its natural wealth, the region lags behind in terms of economic
growth, which explains why the majority of its people remain poor. One of the
strategies adopted by the government to address this problem was to boost
tourism in the Cordillera. Thus, in the 1991 National Tourism Master Plan,
the region was identified as a priority area for tourism development. Citing
nature and culture as the regions two main tourism assets, the develop-
ment plan is pursuing an ecotourism thrust whose overriding goal is to
preserve, conserve and enhance the areas natural environment and its rich
tribal culture, for people and visitors to appreciate, enjoy and learn from
(Cordillera Tourism Master Plan 1995).
Table 1. Popular tourist destinations and their indigenous inhabitants
Destination Indigenous Group
1. Boracay Ati
2. Puerto Galera Mangyan, Iraya
3. Palawan Tagbanua, Batak
4. Subic, Clark Aeta
5. Baguio City Ibaloi, Kankanay
6. Banaue Ifugao
7. Davao Mandaya, Manobo, Samal
8. Sagada Kankanay
9. Bontoc Bontok
10. Batanes Ivatan
11. Kalinga Kalinga
12. Zamboanga Subanon
13. Lake Sebu Tboli
In 2000, the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) drew 1.1 million
visitors representing 12.5 percent of the total 9.1 million total visitors to the
regions. While ranking second to Region IV in terms of total visitor arrivals,
CAR also topped all regions in terms of total domestic tourist arrivals in 2000
(Table 2).
Figure 1. Map of the Cordillera Region
Table 2. Distribution of regional travelers in the Philippines (2000)
Region Number of Number of Number of Total
Foreign Overseas Domestic
Travelers Filipinos Travelers
CAR 53,879 40,749 1,044,744 1,139,372
I 46,982 1,453 241,288 289,723
II* 24,534 0 419,236 43,770
III 47,538 1,192 185,629 234,359
IV 47,180 22,591 2,977,141 3,146,912
V 18,913 3,558 334,724 356,724
VI 96,078 889 473,931 570,898
VII 322,514 2,468 680,089 1,005,071
VIII 9,819 2,532 123,286 135,637
IX 10,548 2,155 231,163 243,866
X 19,706 2,050 524,452 546,208
XI 58,813 5,917 496,227 560,957
XII 1,678 347 201,657 203,682
XIII 1,143 402 240,121 252,006
Total 869,665 86,303 8,173,217 9,129,185
Source: Department of Tourism
*Data for Overseas Filipinos are lumped under Foreign Travelers.
No study on tourism and its impacts has ever been conducted in Sagada
despite the fact that visitors paying for their temporary stay began arriving in
the community as early as the late 1960s. With no benchmark studies, it is
difficult to know what has changed because of tourism. The observation of
Hall and Page (2000) that one of the immediate problems facing the re-
searcher in reconstructing patterns of tourism visitation, activity and expen-
diture is the absence of up-to-date, reliable and consistent tourism statistics,
very well applies to Sagada.
In the absence of benchmark information to compare the area today to
how it was prior to tourism development, the study used time lines based on
a community profile focusing on the growth of tourism in the area. Informa-
tion on the current tourism situation (i.e., visitor trends, attractions, accom-
modations, transport, amenities and other tourism-related activities) was gath-
ered. It then looked into the tourism plans and programs being undertaken,
particularly by the national and local government, as well as the communitys
responses to and participation in these tourism activities. The findings of
this study can serve not only as baseline information for future researches on
tourism in indigenous mountain settings, but can also be utilized by
policymakers in the formulation of a sustainable tourism development frame-
work that will guide planners in future tourism projects involving indig-
enous communities.
Tourism impact research has been growing, as can be gleaned from the lit-
erature (Mathieson and Wall 1982; Theobald 1994). Tourism impacts are
typically grouped into three categories: economic, socio-cultural, and envi-
ronmental. However, as Mathieson and Wall (1983) point out, this distinc-
tion is somewhat artificial for, in reality, the boundaries between the catego-
ries are indistinct and their contents merge. Yet, early studies focused fre-
quently on the economic aspect, citing tourisms contribution to income, tax
revenues, balance of payments, employment opportunities, and improve-
ment in the standard of living (Archer 1977; Pizam 1978; Belisle and Hoy
1980; and Sheldon and Var 1984). While economic effects were quantifiable
and generally found to be beneficial, the opposite was true for the socio-
cultural impacts of tourism on host destinations, where change in social
values, increase in crime and prostitution, and commoditization of culture
are among the negative effects (Smith 1977; Cohen 1978; Liu and Var 1986).
As ecology, biodiversity, conservation, traditional cultures, sustainable devel-
opment, and ethics became global concerns and buzzwords, the adverse im-
pacts of tourism on the environment, particularly that of fragile host destina-
tions, brought into the spotlight the inhabitants of these destinationsthe
indigenous peoples (Archer and Cooper 1994).
The literature surveyed on the impacts, both negative and positive, of
tourism on indigenous populations present specific cases that describe them.
Pleumarom (2001) describes the expansion of protected areas and construc-
tion of national parks and golf courses cum casino resorts, which that has
resulted in the displacement of ethnic minority groups in northern Thai-
land. Similar cases have also been reported in Kenya and Tanzania among
the Masai tribes (Kamuaro 1996) and the Keiki O KaAina of Hawaii (Ling
1995). McLaren (1998), for his part, cites similar other cases studies describ-
ing the negative effects of tourism on indigenous communities. On the posi-
tive side, some exploratory works on indigenous communities show how the
people in these cultural settings have responded to the opportunities cre-
ated by tourism (Cone 1995; Long and Kindon 1997; Fairburn-Dunlop 1994),
developing their entrepreneurial skills and providing them work in a soci-
ety where there are few income-generating avenues (Fairburn-Dunlop 1994).
In the local scene, even if tourism as an academic field has been around
for almost three decades, tourism impact studies, particularly in the area of
society and culture, are scarce. Researches along this line have mostly fo-
cused on sex tourism (e.g., pedophilia, child prostitution, women traffick-
ing, drug abuse and breakdown of social values and norms). (See, for ex-
ample, Mananzan 1991; Eviota 1992; Chant in Sinclair 1997; and Azarcon
1985). Except for two qualitative studies both done in Banaue, Ifugao (Alangui
1999; Dulnuan and Mondiguing 2000), not much has been written about the
experiences of Philippine indigenous peoples, who have been invisible in
tourism research. This study hopes to contribute to the literature in this area.
Scope and limitations of the study
The study area, the town of Sagada in Mountain Province, is one of the top
three tourist destinations in the Cordillera, coming after Baguio City in
Benguet and Banaue in Ifugao. Of the three destinations, it is the least devel-
oped in terms of tourism facilities and infrastructure. Moreover, where tour-
ism development in Banaue and Baguio was massive and fast, the develop-
ment in Sagada had been small-scale and slow. The scale of tourism impacts
would naturally vary among the three destinations with Sagada, being the
least developed, presumed to have experienced the least negative impacts.
As earlier pointed out, the difficulty in doing an impact study arises from
a lack of baseline information that describes the situation prior to the entry of
tourism. Except for the number of tourist arrivals reported by the Depart-
ment of Tourism (DOT), there are no hard data on the visitors profile (i.e.,
the tourists length of stay, seasonality, type, activities, expenditures, purpose
of visit and other pertinent data). Basic statistics on tourism employment,
labor force distribution, crimes (specifically committed by or on tourists) are
absent. Whatever exist are outdated. Moreover, ever since the task of licens-
ing tourist facilities was devolved from the DOT to the local government
units (LGUs), guest monitoring by accommodation facilities has become lax,
being no longer a requirement of LGUs. Prior to devolution, reporting the
total number of guests registered for the year, as well as the number of rooms,
beds and other amenities available, was mandatory for an accommodation
establishment seeking renewal of its license from the DOT. Given the present
situation, data accuracy is doubtful. It was within this context that the study
proceeded to use an emic approach, or the view that researchers should
consistently take the actors point of view in trying to understand how they
think, feel and speak about tourism phenomena (Pearce et al. 1996).
The perceived impacts of tourism form the core of the data collected.
The lack of hard data from which these perceptions can be verified is a
limitation of this study. Moreover, the lack of baseline information makes it
difficult to distinguish the changes that are solely attributed to tourism. Nev-
ertheless as Pearce (1994), a noted authority on tourism, points out, real and
perceived impacts are equally important from the point of view of assessing
community feeling (Pearce in Theobald 1994). As such, it is hoped that
these data will be considered carefully by tourism policymakers and planners
alike.
The report starts with a community profile of Sagada, then discusses the
tourist products (i.e., the attractions of the place, accommodations, transport
facilities and other amenities), and traces the growth of tourism using statis-
tics (e.g., tourist arrivals). This is followed by a discussion of the governments
tourism strategies and programs and the communitys participation. Com-
munity perception of tourism development and its effects on their environ-
ment, society, and culture are then presented. These specifically include the
concept of tourism/tourist, and the perceived positive and negative impacts
of tourism. The last part of this paper presents the researchers reflections
and analysis , which then form the basis for the conclusions and recommen-
dations.
Methodology
This is a qualitative research project that tried to explore the impacts of
tourism on an indigenous community. Secondary data (e.g., the volume of
tourist arrivals and number of tourist accommodation and transport facilities,
as well as the tourism plans and programs) came from the central office of the
DOT and its regional office in Baguio City. The primary data were gathered
mainly through in-depth interviews, group discussions, and participant ob-
servations. Key informants were adults, elders, and youth, including local
government officials and employees; church and school authorities, retired
teachers, tour guides, owners of tourism-related establishments (e.g., inns,
lodging houses, restaurants, etc.), sari-sari store proprietors, farmers, ven-
dors, a nongovernment organization community worker, traditional commu-
nity leaders and students (see Appendix 1 for list of key informants). The
interviews were interactive, informal, unstructured, and guided by one major
question:
What are your thoughts on tourism and how has it affected you, your
community and your environment?
A total of 41 resource persons were interviewed for this study from No-
vember 2001 to May 2002. Sampling was purposeful and key informants were
selected based on the depth of information they had about the topic of in-
quiry. Maximum variety in terms of age (elder, adult, and youth), gender, and
work was sought in the selection of the key informants. More indepth infor-
mation was also elicited through a focus group discussion involving eight
women. All interviews were transcribed and the recurring themes that sur-
faced from the material became the basis for data organization and presenta-
tion. The approach to data analysis was self-reflexive and guided by the
researchers experiences as a native of the place and an advocate for respon-
sible and culture-sensitive community-based tourism that respects indigenous
peoples right to self-determination.
Study area
Sagada is a municipality in Mountain Province, one of the six provinces that
form CAR in Northern Luzon (Figure 2). A fifth-class municipality, it has 19
barangays and a total population (as of 2000) of 10,575 (Table 3). Located
5,000 feet above sea level, the town has a land area of 8,568 hectares and a
mountainous terrain and is classified as forestland.
Geographical formations like limestone valleys, a connected cave system
with underground pools, glistening stalactites and stalagmites, cliffs, moun-
tains and hills rich in biodiversity, waterfalls, lakes, swidden farms, stone-
walled rice terraces and gardens planted with vegetables and root crops,
characterize the place. Some of the caves have been utilized as burial sites by
the locals, and to this day, hanging coffins, some of which believed to be more
than a century old, have also become tourist attractions.
The people who inhabit Sagada are the Kankanay, one of seven major
ethnolinguistic groups in the Cordillera (the other groups being the Ifugao,
Bontok, Kalinga, Ibaloi, Tingguian, and Isneg). It was in this mountain vil-
lage that American missionaries built the Episcopal Church in the Philip-
pines in 1902 along with an Anglican community that grew and co-existed
with the traditional village. To this day, the people of Sagada are steeped in
tradition, combining Christianity with traditional customs and beliefs. It is
typical to witness, for example, a couple getting married first in the Anglican
church and then at home, undergoing rituals attendant to a traditional mar-
riage feast. The paradox of animism and Christianity is manifested in the
everyday lives of the i-Sagada (people of Sagada), who believe and practice
both to this day. Their cultural events have become tourist attractions in
themselves with both foreign and domestic visitors flocking to the area dur-
ing Christmas and summer time when these community activities and rituals
are traditionally held.
The 19 barangays of Sagada are grouped into five political divisions based
on their geographical locations. These are the following and the barangays
comprising each:
1) Central BarangaysPoblacion, Dagdag, and Demang;
2) Northern BarangaysAguid, Banga-an, Fidelisan, Madongo, Pide
and Tanulong;
3) Western BarangaysAmbasing and Balugan;
4) Eastern BarangaysAntadao, Kilong, Tetep-an Norte and Tetep-an
Sur;
5) Southern BarangaysAnkileng, Nacagang, Suyo and Taccong.
Most tourist facilities and services are found in Barangay Poblacion.
The main source of livelihood of the majority of the people of Sagada is
subsistence farming, with almost 70 percent working either as farmers or
farm laborers. Individuals engaged in other professions also do farming as a
complementary activity (Reyes 1998).
Modern telecommunication facilities have reached Sagada. Cable tele-
vision was introduced in 1994 and cellular phone services in December 2001.
While Sagada is only 145 kilometers away from Baguio City, CARs com-
mercial and regional center, travel from this main gateway takes six to seven
hours on the rugged Halsema Highway, the regions main access road and
the highest point in the countrys highway system. It takes longer during the
rainy season when the roads are blocked by slices of boulder and earth. Poorly
maintained roads have always characterized accessibility to the place. Only
one private bus line services the Baguio-Sagada route. At least four buses
Figure 2. Map of Sagada in Mountain Province
leave for Sagada daily. This number increases during the peak months
December, March, and April.
Sagada can also be reached via Bontoc, the capital town of Mountain
Province. Public jeeps ply the Bontoc-Sagada route daily. One can also reach
Sagada from Manila by passing through the Maharlika Highway, where pro-
vincial buses pass every hour of the day. From Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, one can
take a jeep to Banaue, Ifugao, and from there, take a two-hour bus or jeep ride
to Bontoc and then transfer to another jeep for a 30-minute ride up to this
mountain resort town.
Table 3. Population by barangay and number of households, municipality of
Sagada (2000)
Barangay Population Area Sq. Km Gross Density Number of
Person Sq. Km Households
(1995)
Aguid 512 23.358 25 111
Ambasing 675 2.868 231 147
Ankileng 886 4.770 163 187
Antadao 397 12.080 33 81
Balugan 694 5.316 118 121
Banga-an 583 3.808 130 111
Dagdag 647 1.203 598 135
Demang 626 1.298 538 123
Fidelisan 402 5.050 81 94
Kilong 484 2.023 222 88
Madongo 478 4.640 81 88
Nacagang 254 1.584 159 49
Patay
Poblacion 1,347 2.638 506 272
Pide 382 0.755 566 75
Suyo 450 1.870 224 93
Taccong 384 1.920 176 88
Tanulong 423 5.380 65 91
Tetepan Norte 502 2.070 291 115
Tetepan Sur 449 3.050 141 89
Total 10,575 85.681 121 2,158
Source: National Statistics Office
Tourism in Sagada
There are no formal records to describe how tourism began in Sagada. Like
the beginnings of tourism in the country, tourism in this mountain commu-
nity grew without any form of control from either the government or the
private sector (Cruz 1998). The guests of the early American missionaries
who established the Anglican Church in Sagada in 1902 could have been the
early tourists of the place. Based on interviews, a historical sketch of tourism
in the area has been drawn (Table 4).
The writings of Dr. William Henry Scott, an American scholar who was
sent by the Episcopal Church in the US to teach in the church-founded St.
Marys School in August 1953, may also have influenced local writers, re-
searchers, artists, and students to come to Sagada, not only to see the place
but to engage in intellectual conversations with Scotty, as he was popularly
called. This historian and teacher of Philippine history and Cordillera stud-
ies became a tourist attraction himself.
It was in the 70s when Sagadas tourism industry began. As Julia Agayo,
owner of one of the first inns there, called Julias Guest House, recalled
during the First Manila Consultation Workshop on Alternative Tourism held
in 1986:
(A)round the 70s, people started to come to Sagada. These were the
Filipino writers, poets and painters who came to Sagada most probably
because during those times these young people were becoming restless.
Around the late 70s backpack tourists came to Sagada and grew in num-
ber through the 80s, most of them coming from Europe. As there were more
guests than accommodation facilities and private houses that could accom-
modate them, the others had to stay in the hospital (Vergara 1986).
Table 4. Chronology of tourism development in Sagada
1902 The Anglican Church was established by American missionar-
ies in Sagada; the guests of the missionaries were the early
tourists to the place.
1953 Dr. William Henry Scott, an American missionary and scholar,
began teaching at St. Marys School, where he also started his
research on the Cordillera. His writings are said to have attracted
local writers, artists, and students to visit the place and meet and
talk with Scotty himself.
Late 60s The filming of a local movie, The Flight of the Sparrow, led to the
opening of private homes to accommodate some of the crew
and actors. Some of these houses eventually turned into com-
mercial guesthouses.
Table 4. (contd.)
1975 St. Josephs Guest House was opened to become Sagadas
first accommodation facility for tourists. It used to be an orphan-
age managed by Anglican sisters who decided to convert part of
the building into a guesthouse to generate funds for the orphans
under their care. It is now wholly managed as an accommoda-
tion facility by the Northern Diocese of the Philippine Episcopal
Church.
1977 Julias Guest House opened and later was sold and is now
known as Masferre Inn. Other houses were turned into accom-
modation facilities like Greenhouse and Sagada Guesthouse.
Aside from local writers and artists from Manila, the foreign visi-
tors who came at this time were of the backpack type originating
mostly from Europe. These backpackers taught the owners of
these guesthouses how to prepare foreign varieties of food and
gave others the idea that a house with several rooms can be
used for accommodating people.
1980s For the first time, buildings specifically designed to cater to tour-
ism began to be built. One of these was Mapia-aw Pension, which
was built in 1982 and with 14 guestrooms, a conference hall,
parking space and fireplace.
1993 The Sagada Environmental Guides Association (SEGA) was or-
ganized. This came about after the fatal accident of a tourist, who
while exploring the cave unguided, fell to his death. The local
guides decided to organize themselves to protect tourists from
harm.
1994 The Sagada Tourism Council was formed in compliance with a
DOT memorandum circular issued to all resort towns. The
Sagada Tourism Council objected to a proposal to construct a
youth hostel and a DOT view deck in Kiltepan, one of the tourist
sites. The Council said funds instead should be allotted to more
urgent priority concerns of the community like the development of
roads and water systems.
1995 The Asia Pacific Consultation on Tourism, Indigenous Peoples
and Land Rights, the first international conference on tourism
was held in Sagada. Aside from the Philippines, participants
came from Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, Papua New
Guinea, Nepal, Bangladesh and Hawaii.
2000 The Department of Tourism accredited 10 accommodation facili-
ties from which 17, 088 tourists reportedly registered. Of this
total, almost 97 percent were domestic tourists. 2001 The North-
ern Diocese of the Philippine Episcopal Church converted the
Convent of St. Mary the Virgin, situated right behind the Episcopal
Church, into a lodging house. Members of the community, par-
ticularly the women, protested its use as a tourist facility, es-
pecially during the Holy Week, but the church continued to ac-
commodate visitors.
Dec. 2001 At the height of Typhoon Feria, a Filipino tourist and his tour guide
drowned in the Big Cave (the first case of a tourist drowning
inside the cave). It was believed that garbage deposits blocked
the waterways and eventually loosened, causing the sudden rush of
water that swept the two; their companion, another tourist, survived.
A retired public school teacher, however, recalls that it was during the filming
of a Filipino movie entitled Flight of the Sparrow in Sagada in the late 60s
when private homes had to be opened to accommodate the crew, actors, and
actresses. The movie could have advertised Sagada. With tourists starting to
come, some of the private homes were eventually turned into guesthouses.
The first to operate an accommodation facility was the Anglican Church,
which opened the St. Josephs Guest House in 1975. St. Josephs used to be
an orphanage managed by Anglican sisters who decided to turn part of the
orphanage into a guesthouse to generate funds to support the orphans un-
der their care. In 1977, the second accommodation establishment, Julias
Guest House, opened. Other members of the community also started the
construction of their lodging houses. With the influx of tourists, housewives
were also encouraged to provide extra rooms in their private homes, signal-
ing the beginning of homestays in Sagada. Other related cottage industries
like handicraft making began. A few individuals guiding guests to the caves.
Others put up restaurants, with some of the tourists teaching the owners how
to prepare varieties of European, American, and Middle East dishes; bake
English muffins, cinnamon rolls, and bread; and make Israeli yogurt and
pita, and wines from local fruits like guava, pineapple, passion fruit, and
strawberry. It was from the tourists that the lodging owners also initially learned
how to run their business. As Agayo recounts:
As travelers came, they gave us new ideas, especially these Europeans
who gave us the idea that a house with several rooms can be used for
accommodating people, particularly the backpackers. We do appreciate
very much the influx of Europeans because without them, we would not
have ideas on how we could run our business . . . (Vergara 1986).
Today, Sagada has 10 accommodation facilities accredited by the DOT
(Table 5). All these facilities are owned and managed by people from the
Table 4. (contd.)
place. Of these, St. Josephs has the most number of rooms available, with 25
rooms and five cottages that can house families and groups. The community
hospital, high school, and what used to be a conventall church-owned
accept guests when there are no more rooms available in the commercial
facilities. Private homes complement these rooms during the peak months
of December, April, and May.
An association of tour guides called the Sagada Environmental Guides
Association (SEGA) has also been formed to assist in the regulation of the
entry of tourists to the caves. Prior to this, anyone could easily enter the caves,
but after a number of accidents where unaccompanied tourists either
drowned, fell, or got lost, the municipal government passed an ordinance
requiring the registration of all tourists, local or foreign, at the Tourist Infor-
A Seven House
Flora Abeya
7 P60/head
Antique shop,
parking space,
veranda
Ganduyan Inn
Marina A. Biag
5 P75/head
Restaurant,
laundry, tour
arrangement,
parking space
Green House Inn
(Lodge)
Cristina Deg-awan
5 P75/head
Dining room,
terrace, hot water as
requested
Mapiya-aw Pension
Lazaro Solang
14
W/ T & BP350-500
Dorm typeP100/
head
Conference hall,
parking space,
fireplace, viewpoint
Masferre Inn & Caf
(pension)
Monette Masferre
11 P85/head
Parking space,
laundry, massage,
fireplace, dining room
Olahbinan
Resthouse
and Restaurant
(Pension)
Hilda Piluden
11
Single w/ common
bath P200
Double w/ common
bathP400
Triple w/ common
bathP500
Double w/ hot
showerP1,000
Family roomP1,500
Conference hall,
recreational hall,
tour arrangement,
fireplace, terrace
Table 5. DOT-accredited accommodation establishments in Sagada (2001)
Name of Number Facilities/Services
Establishment/ of Rooms Room Rate
Owner
Rocky Valley Inn
(Pension) Prisca
Palangcha
8 P75/head
Parking area,
conference room,
terrace, bar &
restaurant
Sagada Guest
House Caf
Veronica Daoas
15 P75/head
Restaurant,
laundry,
tourArrangement,
parking space
Sagada Prime
Hotel
Dennis Piluden
18
Double bed w/ T&B
P1,000
Family room (6)
P1,000
Extra bed w/
beddingP150
Multipurpose hall,
dining room,
parking space
St. Joseph
Resthouse
Fr. Alex Wandag
25 rooms
5 cottages
RoomP75/head
Cottage
P500-1,000
Multipurpose hall,
parking space,
fireplace, tour
arrangement,
catering, laundry,
camping space,
abundant water,
viewpoint
Source: DOT-CAR Tourism Situationer 2001
mation Center within 24 hours upon entering the municipality (Municipal
Ordinance No. 19-94, Section 9). Section 11 of the ordinance further reads:
No tourist shall be allowed to roam around within the municipality of
whatever means unless duly registered . . . . Failure, neglect or unwar-
ranted refusal on the part of an operator, manager and/or cashier of
hotels, inns and lodging houses to instruct or cause the registration
of their tourist visitors shall be a sufficient ground for the revocation
of their business permit.
Furthermore, the ordinance stipulates a registration fee of P10, to be
collected from every tourist who enters the municipality, to cover incidental
expenses incurred in the registration (Municipal Ordinance No. 19-94, Sec-
tion 12). With the organization of the guides, guide fees were also standard-
ized (Tables 6a and 6b).
Table 5. (contd.)
Name of Number Facilities/Services
Establishment/ of Rooms Room Rate
Owner
Table 6a. Standard cave guide rates in Sagada
No. of Persons Guide Fee (in Pesos) No. of Guides
1-4 300.00 (Lamp fee included) 1
5 350.00 (Lamp fee included) 1
6-9 600.00 (Lamp fee included) 2
10 650.00 (Lamp fee included) 2
11-14 70.00/person + 150.00 lamp fee) 3
15 1,050.00 (Lamp fee included) 3
16-19 70.00/person + 200.00 Lamp fee) 4
20-24 50.00/person + 200.00 lamp fee) 4
25 and above 60.00/pax + lamp fee (1:5 guide-to-tourist ratio)
In spite of the influx of visitors to Sagada, during the 70s and 80s there
were no conscious attempts to monitor the volume and distribution of tourist
arrivals, seasonality patterns, and other travel characteristics of visitors. In a
1997 study on regional travel of the DOT, the profile of the regional tourist to
CAR was obtained from sample surveys conducted in Baguio City and Banaue.
The results of the domestic tourism survey became the basis for the formula-
tion of tourism policies and programs for all destinations in the region, in-
cluding Sagada (no study has been conducted since then). While visitors
during this time were reported to be mostly foreign nationals of the back-
packing type, locals in later years have become the main domestic tourists
(Table 7).
Almost 97 percent of the total visitor arrivals to Sagada in the year 2000
were domestic tourists; foreign visitors, including Filipino balikbayans, com-
prised only 3.percent. The same trend could be observed in the previous
years (1995 to 1999). In addition, in 2000, the total number of visitor arrivals
to Sagada comprised slightly over 41 percent of the total volume of visitors to
Mountain Province, and 11.0 percent of the total arrivals in the region, ex-
cluding Baguio City. In the same year, it posted higher arrivals than the prov-
inces of Abra, Apayao, and Kalinga (Table 8). The number could actually be
higher, since the data that came from the DOT were generated solely from
the registry logbooks of commercial accommodation facilities and did not
include those who stayed with friends and relatives and those who brought
their tents and camped out.
Government tourism plans and programs
The framework for tourism development in the Cordillera is embodied in
the Cordillera Tourism Master Plan (CTMP), which was jointly developed by
Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc., and Planning Resources
Table 6b. Standard trekking guide rates in Sagada
Big Falls
No. of Heads Guide Fee (in Pesos) No. of Guides
1-10 P500.00 1
11-15 600.00 2
16-20 700.00 3
Mt. Ampucao
1-10 500.00 1
11-15 600.00 2
16-20 700.00 3
Mt. Polis
1-10 700.00 1
11-15 800.00 2
16-20 900.00 3
Sightseeing
1-10 300.00 1
11-15 450.00 2
16-20 600.00 3
Conditions:
Minimum three spots only
Maximum three-hour touring time starting from the municipal hall
Notes:
Lamp fee of P 50.00/lamp
Additional guides could be provided upon request.
Children are charged full rates.
Accidents are not the sole responsibility of the guide.
Cave connection has a different rate.
Source: DOT-CAR Tourism Situationer 2001
and Operations Consultants Inc. for the DOT in 1995. Its goals are aligned
with the goals of the Master Plan for Tourism Development in the Philip-
pines earlier crafted in 1991. With a 15-year time frame (1996-2010), the
CTMP focuses on the two major tourism assets of the region:
The CAR Tourism Master Plan adopts culture and nature as its
main thrust and vision for development. This thrust is sufficiently
embodied and summed up in what is popularly known today as
ecotourism. The overriding goal is to preserve, conserve and en-
hance the areas natural environment and its rich tribal culture for
people and visitors to appreciate, enjoy and learn from.
The objectives of the CAR Tourism Plan are:
To reorient the focus of regional tourism along the concept of
ecotourism;
To empower local communities through participation in the devel-
opment and management of tourism resources;
To develop spatial priority staging areas for ecotourism development,
including support systems and infrastructures; and
To provide income and livelihood opportunities to the various
peoples of the Cordillera and contribute to the regional growth.
To attain these objectives, the plan identifies six program interventions:
1. Physical infrastructure program. This is intended to address accessibil-
ity, communications, and other basic infrastructure problems such
as water supply, electrification, sanitation, and waste management.
2. Site facilities development program. This should address specific clus-
ter/site development requirements for tourism development such
as the array of accommodation facilities and support infrastructures,
site enhancement projects, and other tourism products to be estab-
lished in each cluster/site identified.
3. Sociocultural and livelihood program. This covers community-based
schemes to enhance participation and expression of local culture by
the host communities, on one hand, and tourists appreciation of
cultural values and learning experiences on the other. It also pro-
vides for opportunities to the local communities to generate liveli-
hood and income from tourist activities.
4. Environmental protection and enhancement program. This provides appro-
priate intervention for ensuring environmentally friendly tourism
activities including restoration and enhancement of natural assets.
Table 7. Visitor arrivals in Sagada by classification (1995-2000)
Classification 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Domestic 7,134 7,202 11,930 18,899 15,456 16,524
Foreign 381 416 428 353 302 276
Overseas/
Balikbayan 154 105 162 206 187 288
Total 7,669 7,723 12,520 19,458 15,945 17,088
Tourist receipts
(in US$) 1,150,350 1,158,450 1,878,000 2,918,700 2,391,750 2,563,200
Growth rate 0.70% 62.11% 55.42% -18.05% 7.17%
Source: DOT, Cordillera Administrative Region
5. Tourism promotion and marketing program. This calls for a sustained tour-
ism information development to promote CAR tourism, particularly
ecotourism in the local and international markets.
6. Institutional/policy development program. This is designed to create a
conducive policy environment and acquire capabilities and resources
to implement and manage a coordinated multisectoral effort for
tourism development in CAR, including encouraging private sector
participation/investment in identified programs and projects.
The total investment cost for the implementation of the plan is P63.07
billion. Of this amount, about 90.0 percent, or P55 billion, shall be spent on
the physical infrastructure component of the program. The estimated costs
of the other programs are distributed as follows:
Site development programP7, 248,000,000
Socio-cultural enhancement and livelihood programP930 million
Environmental enhancement programP60 million
Institutional development and policy supportP150 million
The 15-year time frame within which the Cordillera Master Plan is to be
implemented is divided into three five-year periods: short, medium, and
long term. Short-term priority targets consist of sites already known and vis-
ited by tourists while medium- and long-term targets are those that are rela-
tively unknown, have poor accessibility and limited facilities and infrastruc-
ture (DOT 1995). Sagada, already known to tourists, is a priority target for the
short term. No significant tourism projects were accomplished in the munici-
Table 8. CAR tourist arrivals by city/province (1990-2000)
Province 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995* 1996* 1997 1998 1999 2000
Abra 3,357 3,871 1,081 5,390 1,933 6,821 5,426 10,932 14,144 12,592 12,767
Baguio 160,316 163,691 230,218 318,801 388,988 542,230 656,525 704,353 795,834 896,347 986,230
Benguet 6,427 8,517 25,092 36,500 35,210 37,396
Ifugao 9,348 14,405 10,823 12,837 23,206 23,502 28,392 49,674 49,936 47,257 49,441
Apayao 1,725 508 888 652 635
Kalinga 1,571 908 4,895 2,384 3,604 3,915 4,639 6,955 12,288 11,510 11,373
Mt. Prov. 7,959 11,538 12,784 10,309 22,175 17,339 18,699 30,038 42,430 39,863 41,530
CAR Total 182,551 194,413 259,801 349,721 439,906 600,234 723,923 827,552 952,020 1,043,431 1,139,372
Growth 6.00% 33.00% 34.00% 25.00% 36.00% 20.00% 14.00% 15.02% 9.60% 9.19%
Rate
*Data for Baguio and Benguet, Apayao and Kalinga are separated.
1989 total tourist arrivals numbered 480,000
Source of data: Different accommodations in CAR
Source: DOT-CAR
pality during the first five years (1996-2000) of the plans implementation
except for some training that involved tour guides and the building of a
public toilet. The building of a Sagada Cultural Center and the improve-
ment of the Bontoc-Dantay-Sagada Road have yet to be done.
On the municipal level, an ordinance regulating the tourism industry in
Sagada (Municipal Ordinance No. 19-94) spells out the policies of the local
government on tourism. It is the policy of the municipality to establish a
tourism industry that is 1) socially and ecologically sustainable; 2) continu-
ing; and 3) is beneficial to tourists and the local populace.
The objectives of the tourism ordinance are as follows:
1. Rationalize tourism development in the municipality;
2. Preserve the Sagada peoples identity and heritage;
3. Improve organizational capability and institutional mechanisms re-
lated to managing tourism development;
4. Maintain the natural beauty and attractions of Sagada;
5. Promote a more meaningful interaction and interrelationship be-
tween visitors and the community.
Community participation and control
The regulatory function of the DOT was devolved to the LGUs by virtue of the
Local Government Code of 1991. Since the devolution, the issuance of busi-
ness permits to tourism establishments and other tourism-related activities
has become the task of LGUs, with the DOT involved only in the inspection
of those who apply to the agency for accreditation. Accreditation by the DOT
requires compliance with certain minimum standards to ensure the quality
of service to tourists. Unlike licensing, however, which is a requirement, ac-
creditation by the DOT is not mandatory.
In 1994, the DOT issued a memorandum for all resort towns to form a
tourism council. The people of Sagada welcomed this move and set out to
form one without necessarily conforming to the DOT guidelines. This was
learned during the community consultations for the preparation of the Plan.
The DOT memorandum specified that membership in the council
should come mostly from the business sector. Sagada balked at the idea. They
thus formed a 24-member multisectoral tourism council composed of repre-
sentatives from the local government as well as business, farmer, women,
tourist guide, and church, and education groups (DOT 1995).
The municipal tourism council manages the tourism industry in Sagada
and advises the municipal government on all tourist-related matters (Mu-
nicipal Ordinance No. 19-94). It has also taken positions on proposed tourist
projects for Sagada. In October 1994, for instance, the council objected to the
proposal of the provincial government to construct a youth hostel costing P5
million, because it will compete with existing local accommodations, bring
moral decadence and worsen the water problem at the Poblacion (DOT
1995). The council also objected to the DOT-initiated construction of a view
deck in Kiltepan as a tourist site. It found the project useless, saying anyone
could just stand anywhere in Kiltepan and enjoy the same view (DOT 1995).
In lieu of a hostel and view deck, the council requested instead that the
funds be used for the more pressing concerns of the community such as the
development of roads and water systems and the improvement of dap-ays
(translated as traditional meeting places where community rituals are per-
formed) (DOT 1995). These concerns have not been addressed.
Organization and licensing of tour guides
Locals guiding tourists to the caves began as early as the 70s. However, this
was done on an individual basis, there being no organized tourist guides
group at the time. Besides, tourists at that time could explore the town, enter
the caves, and go spelunking without the benefit of local guides. In 1993,
because of a growing number of unguided tourists either getting lost or figur-
ing in accidents like drowning while spelunking, which eventually resulted
in deaths in some instances, the Sagada Environmental Guides Association
(SEGA) was formed. SEAGAs whose main aim was to protect tourists from acci-
dents. After an ordinance regulating tourism in the community was passed,
all tour guides were required to secure a license from the municipal government.
To apply as a tour guide in Sagada, one must be at least 15 years old. To
get a license, the applicant should first undergo an apprenticeship program
of SEGA, which normally takes months. Today, there are 35 active tour guides,
eight of whom are women. Unlike in Banaue, where all tour guides are male,
membership to the guides association in Sagada is open to both males and
females. Caving or spelunking, however, is limited to the younger members.
Self-regulation is strictly imposed on SEGA members, who set their own
standards for their work and fees (Table 5). Anyone found engaging in unau-
thorized tour guiding shall be penalized. Section 22 of Municipal Ordi-
nance No.19-94 states:
Any person who, without a valid license issued pursuant to this Ordi-
nance to engage in tour guiding activities within the municipality,
shall on first offense suffer the penalty of reprimand and on second
offense . . . suffer the penalty of 1 month imprisonment or both at the
discretion of the court.
Registration and monitoring of tourists
All tourists are required to register at the Tourist Information Center within
24 hours upon arrival and pay a registration fee of P10. Exempted from reg-
istering are government officials/employees whether national or local and
foreign dignitaries who are on official visit to the municipality . . . (Sagada
Municipal Ordinance No.19-94). Also exempted are students on field trips
or on camping activities, provided their names are included in a list required
to be submitted to the Center by the teachers or adults accompanying them.
Owners of vehicles are also requested to register even if they do not avail
themselves of the services of a tour guide. Monitoring all vehicles entering
the municipality became mandatory to SEAGA members immediately after
the abduction of a boy five years ago right in front of the church in Sagada.
Community perceptions
Interviews conducted for purposes of this study brought to the fore some
recurring themes, which became the basis of the organization of the data
presented here.
Concept of tourism/tourists
The peoples concept of tourism depended on their involvement in tourism
activities and their experiences with tourists. For example, those engaged in
the tourism business, like inn keepers, described tourists as individuals who
use tourism establishments (i.e., inns, restaurants, and other commercial
facilities) and avail themselves of the services of tour guides and jeepney
drivers who bring them around the town. Tourists are visitors who pay for
their stay in Sagada, said a restaurant manager). To the female youth, tour-
ists are those who come to learn about us. To a male community elder,
visitors are outsiders who come and see Sagada, go to the caves, climb the
mountains and take pictures of anything they see including abandoned na-
tive houses. The Anglican missionaries and their visitors, the community
elders added, are not considered tourists but part of the community, since
they come to Sagada for church-related reasons.
Tourism peaks during the Holy Week or the summer break and long
weekends, when domestic tourist arrivals mostly originating from Manila
dominate the foreign tourists who come from Europe, the United States,
Canada, Australia, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia. During the early
years of tourism in Sagada all Caucasian tourists were generally identified as
Amerikano (American). But constant interactions with foreign visitors
taught the residents, particularly the tour guides, to differentiate tourists by
nationality. The seasonality of tourist arrivals, or the time of the year when
tourists come to Sagada, has also been noted. One tour guide described thus:
(F)or the months of December to March, the majority of our foreign
tourists are South Koreans, because according to them it is cold in
their country at this time [and prefer to be elsewhere where the
weather is not as cold]. From March until May, we have the Israelis
(whom we call Kibbutz), who have just ended their military training
and go on an Asian tour. The Philippines being usually their first stop,
they come to Sagada being nature lovers. The French, German, and
the Dutchwe get them all year round.
There are good tourists and bad ones, said a young male tour guide. He
described Israelis as the worst among the tourists who come to Sagada. They
argue endlessly with you before they pay up, he said. One time I came close
to begging with a group of Israeli women before they finally paid me, he
recounted.
Europeans, particularly the French and Italians, on the other hand, are
said to be the best spelunkers and are appreciated for the mountain gear that
they have donated to the local guides association. These, together with the
other guiding tools provided by the town mayor and his friends, are what the
tour guides use inside the caves. Europeans are also appreciated for not
complaining about the condition of the caves. The tour guide said this atti-
tude contrasts with that of some of the locals who tend to make comments
like, This would be better if it had a railing, if it had lighting. The tour
guide added, I have never heard comments like this from foreigners who
might have seen better caves. In fact, he said, Europeans consider their visit
to the Sagada caves their best caving experience yet. Imagine, he quoted
them as saying, they can even remove their shoes before they can walk inside.
It is a truly natural experience for them, he said.
Tourists also vary according to their purpose of visit, said the tour guide.
Some tourists come for pleasure and culture. There are the student groups
who come for field trips; researchers and anthropologists who come to do
research; and those who just come to see the caves, and these are mostly
locals.
There are tourists, however, who openly ask to meet women to engage
them in sex. We tell them outright that our culture is different and it is very
difficult to court women here where you might get rejected, said the tour
guide. This, on top of giving them remarks that are meant to insult them and
thus discourage them from pursuing their prurient motives. The tour guide
said he and his colleagues are aware of sex tours, some of which come to
Sagada. These are usually Americans and Europeans who originate from
Angeles, Pampanga, before they come here.
In general, tourism and tourists are welcome in Sagada. The people are
not known to discriminate against visitors because of nationality or race. Be-
ing self-assured and content with simple living, the local folk do not feel
inferior to their more affluent visitors. Said a female tour guide, who used to
assist her mother run the first restaurant in Sagada:
The people here treat visitors as co-equal, as friends, with respect. .
. . That is one of the positive impacts of tourism [on Sagada]. Though
we were raised to think that the whites were superior to us, over the
years when tourists started coming and we interacted with them, we
learned to treat tourists like one of usnot as individuals who were
superior to us. The community does not suffer from colonial mental-
ity. Constant visits of tourists have had a positive impact on us.
Tourists who have been accepted as part of the community have been
have been granted lease to some lands. Other tourists eventually married
locals. All these tour guides are now abroad and regular visit Sagada with
their families. Along the way, there have been unhappy incidents such as
when one of the locals, a male, left his wife in favor of an Australian female
tourist, who claimed to have fallen in love with him as well.
An interesting finding is that the community elders who have no direct
gains from tourism perceive it positively. They also do not see anything wrong
with tourists observing them when they do their rituals for as long as they do
not cross the line, that is, they respect and obey the communitys established
rules. As one male community elder explained, There are places where
tourists can go, but there are also places where they cant and they should
respect that, because if they go against the rule, it will affect the community.
In 1980, the traditional council of men adopted Joachim Voss, a long-
time Canadian tourist, and his wife as members of the community, thus allow-
ing them to participate in the dangtey, a most celebrated community ritual
held once every 10 years. As a participant observer, Voss, an archaeologist by
vocation, documented the unfolding events.
Tourists, especially foreigners, learn about Sagada by word-of-mouth,
that is, from friends and other tourists who have visited the place and are
frequent visitors themselves. If foreign tourist arrivals have grown in number,
so have domestic tourists, mainly as a result of documentaries about Sagada
that they have seen on local television. It must be noted that the community
does not advertise itself and the nearest to a reference material that interna-
tional tourists can refer to would be the Lonely Planet guidebook. The lack of
local brochures and other information materials advertising, for example, a
local inn or restaurant is evident. The only reference material available in
local shops is a map prepared by a foreign tourist that shows the sites, tourist
facilities, and landmarks in Sagada.
Perceived positive impacts
Creation of jobs
The creation of a number of tourist-related jobs is one perceived positive
economic impact of tourism on the community. Among others, tourism has
become a major revenue earner for local entrepreneurs who are directly
engaged in tourism activities, such as operating inns, lodging houses, restau-
rants, handicraft stores, souvenir shops and transport vehicles. Local weavers
also derive their income from selling their products to the inns and handi-
craft stores, who in turn sell these to tourists. Friendship bonds, hand-woven
bags, and rattan baskets are sold in souvenir stores. Still another significant
impact of tourism is the shift among farmers from subsistence to market-
oriented farming, planting fruits and vegetables that lodging houses, inns,
and restaurants look for (e.g., lettuce, broccoli, cultured mushrooms, toma-
toes, and potatoes). Strawberries, which used to be raised only in La Trinidad,
Benguet, are now being grown in Sagada and sold as jam and wine.
Tour guides consist mostly of youth. At the time of the interview, the tour
guides association had 75 members, eight of whom were female. The tour
guides who are still students use some of their earnings to pay for their
tuition fees and another portion for the support of their families. Those who
have graduated from college but cannot find work yet have stuck to tour
guiding as their profession. One young male tour guide said there were 10 of
them in the association who were students of Trinity College in Sagada. There
are parttime and fulltime guides.
There are no estimates of income derived from tourism. Yet, there is no
doubt that it has been a viable source of income for some households, par-
ticularly those that are directly involved in tourism work.
Cultural understanding
Considered another positive impact of tourism in Sagada and which is often
mentioned by the residents is the crosscultural understanding that it has
created between tourists and hosts (Urry 1995). By interacting with foreign
tourists, the local people learned about different places and cultures. As the
mayor said, the locals learn by being exposed to and relating with people of
different nationalities. Why, they do not even have to travel to other places to
learn about them and their people. They have learned much about them just
by interacting with tourists.
Another indication of the positive effect of tourism is the locals appre-
ciation for some of the tourists efforts to for teach hem how to prepare for-
eign dishes, which have become specialties of some local restaurants and
inns. For their part, locals invite tourists to join them in community feasts,
partake of the local cuisine, and participate in the singing and dancing while
learning to play the gongs and drums.
What is also significant is that even the male community elders have
allowed tourists, even women, to join them in their traditional celebrations.
Said a tourist guide:
. . . the old men have changed, allowing visitors to join them,
answering questions of tourists while they are performing. This en-
ables the elders to articulate their customs and rituals while making it
a learning experience for the tourists. Once, they even allowed a
woman from the Netherlands to record what they were doing.
Environmental consciousness
According to Sagada Mayor Tom Killip, the members of the community . . .
have become more conscious of their environment, knowing that it is what
tourists go to their place forto see the pine forests, terraces, waterfalls, and
caves. This realization has evoked a sense of concern among the members of
the community to protect their environment, because that is their wealth.
This is what tourists come to enjoy.
Some informants, however, pointed out that the community has always
been practicing waste management the traditional way, and garbage was never
an issue until the tourists came. While environmental consciousness is strong
in the community, the growing garbage problem has become a community
concern, which is blamed on tourism. (This issue is discussed in detail in the
succeeding paragraph.)
Perceived negative impacts
Environmental impacts
Garbage accumulation
One negative impact of tourism is environmental destruction due to garbage
consisting largely of plastic water containers, plastic cups, soft drink bottles,
tin cans, Styrofoam containers, sanitary napkins, pampers, candy and food
wrappers, and plastic bags. It is said that the amount of litter during peak
seasons like Holy Week is such that tourists can find their way to certain sites
without the benefit of a guide just by following the trail of empty plastic water
containers and other pieces of garbage strewn all over the pathways. The change,
according to one tour guide, is now being felt by the community. He said:
Five years ago, the amount of garbage was minimal, but now it has
reached such a proportion as to force members of SEGA to clean up.
There is no proper disposal, and this sight (where garbage is thrown)
is hidden from the town.
While members of the local tour guides association have taken it upon
themselves to regularly clean up the caves and other trekking areas, the
informants see the need to come up with a proper garbage disposal system in
the community. The occurrence of flooding whenever there is a strong ty-
phoon is attributed to the accumulation of garbage that has blocked water
pathways. Garbage is also piling up in the caves and affecting the southern
villages. Continues the tour guide:
When it rains, the garbage that comes from the small Falls, Echo
Valley, Calvary, and Kenkitongan, are washed off to the Big Cave,
which is the lowest portion of the community. This is where the
garbage gets stuck. They say that Sagada is just like a honeycomb,
where all the water systems and the caves are interconnected so
whatever is dumped in one area comes out in the other area. The
villages in the south are affected by the garbage from the town center.
Another informant cited garbage as the cause of the unfortunate drown-
ing of a tourist and his tour guide at the height of a strong typhoon in Decem-
ber 2001. He said a sudden onrush of water caused by the loosening of
stuck-up garbage in the cave killed the two.
Popular trekking sites, too, in the northern villages, like the Big Falls or
Bumod-ok, are being destroyed by garbage. As described by a retired priest
who lives near the area:
In Bumod-ok, tourists have destroyed the environment because they
leave their garbage behind. They use it as a picnic ground and they
dont clean up afterwards. Those who go there pay a certain amount,
but it is not much compared to the garbage that they leave behind
and the ensuing destruction that they inflict on the place. When its
dirty and has no more water, what use will it be to the community and
tourists?
Vandalism
In their seminal work on the impact of tourism, Mathieson and Wall (1982)
conclude that the future of tourism is paradoxical for tourists who are de-
stroying the very resources that they come to enjoy. This conclusion is evi-
denced by what Sagada tourists have done, especially with the caves, through
the years. The vandals of the 70s left their mark in Sumaguing Cave, known
to tourists as the Big Cave, by inscribing their names and the date they were
there. Other names are etched on the rock walls and stone floor. Yet, the
worst damage has been inflicted on the stalactites and stalagmites that have
been chipped off. As one tour guide explained, cutting of stalactites still
happens, especially in big groups, even if they were briefed. This is really
unfortunate, he said, since one stalactite grows one inch in 10 years, and
once it is touched, the growth is disturbed. The oil in our hands can disturb
the growth.
In 1996, the tour guides association decided to close Crystal Cave to
prevent its snowlike stalactites and stalagmites from further destruction.
Noting that the regeneration of stalactites takes years, another tour guide
informant said, it might take years before the cave is open again to tourists.
The destruction of natural resources, however, is not done only by tourists.
Members of the community are to be blamed as well. With no zoning regula-
tions, some people have constructed accommodation facilities and residences
atop old rock formations, thereby destroying what used to be scenic views,
trekking sites, and natural landscapes.
Noise
What used to be a quiet town must now contend with the noise brought about
by tourists, especially during peak seasons such as Holy Week, which has
always been considered sacred, with everyone in the community expected to
comport oneself. Unfortunately, this has changed. As one adult female infor-
mant described the situation:
Noise is right here in the church grounds as the convent has been
opened to tourists. Growing up in this community which considers
Holy Week as solemn, people are shocked, knowing that this used to
be occupied by nuns, and now its very noisy.
The decision of the church to convert the convent just beside the church
into a lodging house has raised concerns from the community, particularly
the women who believe that the former convent has been desecrated by allow-
ing questionable couples to stay there. Aside from the noise, the solemnity
of the occasion has now become an amusing spectacle for tourists, said a male
community worker. He observed that the Station of the Cross on Good Friday
used to take place undisturbed. The community of Sagadathe men, women
and childrenwould undertake a pilgrims progress without being disturbed.
Today, curious tourists would stand by and look amused at them in the pro-
cession, and they dont like it.
Even the manner by which Holy Week is now being observed has not
escaped notice from community members concerned with the negative im-
pact of tourism. Said the community worker:
In the past, community activities at this time would revolve around
the church. Starting Wednesday evening, then onto Maundy Thurs-
day until Black Saturday, the atmosphere was solemn, with everyone
actively taking part in the religious activities like the tenebrae, night
vigil or the watch, and the stations of the cross. Now, locals have
become busier attending to the needs of mass tourist arrivals instead
of the traditional religious rites. The town center has become a site of
hustle and bustle. Pubs, restaurants, and inns are filled with tourists.
Gone is the solemn quiet of the occasion, having been replaced by
crowd noise. What used to be Holy Week has turned into Holiday
Break, thanks to tourism.
The owner/manager of an inn located a few steps across the church
agrees with this observation. Holy Week is when tourists are so many that we
(local entrepreneurs) celebrate our Holy Week after that, he said.
Water supply
Water is one important resource that has been greatly affected by tourism. As
one long-time tourist observed, washing machines and lots of water used for
baths are major changes brought about by tourism. The increasing number of
tourists, particularly during the peak months of April and May, is perceived
to have aggravated the prevailing water problem. The inequitable distribu-
tion of water has resulted in varying degrees of frustration and even anger
among households who must contend with lack of water for several days,
especially during the summer months while commercial establishments such
as inns, lodging houses, and restaurants have running water everyday for
their guests. Whereas there used to be sufficient water supply for all house-
holds, now the locals have to walk distances just to fetch water for drinking
and cooking while tourists use these for nonessentials. There is a growing
hostility among people, who quarrel with each other, because of water short-
age, said the community worker. This is borne of the knowledge that com-
mercial facilities have running water while many private homes must suffer
its lack for days.
Moreover, the water problem has resulted in the privatization of water-
sheds, which, by tradition, were communally owned. Said a female school
administrator:
What used to be communal watersheds are now being declared as
privately owned. In addition, there are a lot of claimants. Water rights
are now being privatized like land rights, and if there is someone who
should do something about the water problem, it should be the local
government. What happened to the P5-million iron pipes that the
local government was supposed to have bought. Too much money
came for a water system, but where is it? There should be a more
comprehensive resource plan, because there are many sources of
water but these are inequitably distributed. Just look at the water
from the Mission. An ordinary household pays a flat rate of P60 a
month, and how much do commercial establishments, which use much
more water, pay? I say, meter the water.
The water problem has come to a point where some residents have expressed
willingness to buy water. Thats how serious the situation is, according to a
source. She finds it ironic that those of the community members who are not
engaged in business have not felt the benefits of tourism. On the contrary,
she adds, the water problem has been aggravated by the influx of tourists.
It is difficult to assess the volume of water utilized by tourists and resi-
dents, since there is no meter system. Those who get their water supply from
the church-managed water systemand these are usually the business estab-
lishments (lodging houses and restaurants) and houses in the town cen-
terpay very minimal flat rates. Others pay monthly flat rates to owners of
privately owned watersheds. While there are no hard data on water use, the
lack of water, however, is felt mostly by the residents during summer when
tourist arrivals are at its peak.
Social effect
Demonstration effect
The youth are the most susceptible to the demonstration effect of other
cultures, observed Murphy (1985). This has been found to be true in Sagada,
where adults and youth alike agree with the observation. A former restaurant
manager rues the fact that the youth in Sagada have changed dramatically
since the advent of tourism in her community. I can attest to that because I
have a son who is a victim (of drug addiction), a fact she blames on the effect
of tourism on her community. Prohibited drugs are readily available in her
place, she said. Add to this the declining moral values of the youth, which she
also blames on tourists whose examples they follow.
A young female student echoes the above observation:
We, the youth, are affected by what we see, like how tourists are
dressed. Too much flesh is being shown, which our elders dont like.
Moral behavior is also loose, with tourists holding hands and kissing
in public. This has affected our own moral and social values. How
many early marriages are happening? How many single parents are
there?
A former parish priest of the local church has similar observations. He
said used condoms are strewn on the pathways. He relates this and similar
situations brought about by tourism to the significant rise in teenage preg-
nancies, which he said is worrisome. I think this is because the youth see
what the tourists are doing and they follow them. Students, for example, go to
karaoke joints where tourists normally go, and they come to class sleepy the
following day. Its really a bad influence, he laments.
The lack of respect for their elders is yet another reflection of the youths
declining moral values, according to teenagers interviewed for this study.
One female student describes disrespect as calling ones parents by their
first names and not bothering to greet elders when one meets them. A male
tour guide said addressing an elder with the customary alitao (uncle) or
alapo (grandmother/grandfather) is now a thing of the past
Another perceived negative effect of tourism is the growing disparity
between the rich (i.e., tourists) and the poor (i.e., people of Sagada). To an
adult male informant, this was never more evident than now, when tourists
have flock to Sagada in droves. He bewails the fact that during holiday breaks,
for example, one could only see three public buses pulling through the
limestone rocks as they arrived from Baguio during mid-afternoons. Now
look at what we have here. Mid-afternoon is dusty and bustling with the arriv-
als of private luxury cars, he said, referring to tourists. He thinks the city
denizens display of opulence in a simple farming village is not only out of
place in Sagada but also reflects the obscene economic inequality between
the rich and the poor in this country, he opines. On the other hand, car-
riding visitors create traffic when they use their vehicles to go to the caves,
crowding out the locals who must walk the narrow, unpaved roads without
sidewalks.
Drug problem
Tourism is blamed for the introduction of marijuana to Sagada, which is
believed to have been brought to the locality by tourists in the 70s. A foreign
tourist who got arrested and eventually deported reportedly introduced the
cooking of marijuana leaves into hashish. The effects were far-reaching, par-
ticularly on the youth. There was one student who came to school running
and wanting to jump from the rocks because he thought he could fly, re-
counted a retired parish priest, who believed he had smoked pot. The prime
bishop of the Philippine Episcopal Church, who hails from Sagada, agrees
that while tourism may not be stopped, its impacts on the community must be
addressed, particularly the drug menace. He said lives have been destroyed
by of the use of marijuana and hashish among some members of the commu-
nity, as evidenced by the eventual arrests and confinement in jails of some of
them.
Crime
If one goes by police record alone, Sagada may appear to be a relatively
peaceful place for tourists and locals alike. The police, after all, dutifully
make nightly rounds beginning at 9 oclock p.m., which is when curfew starts.
Then, too, not many crimes are being reported. In 2001, for instance, only
two cases of theft and one case of death by accident were reported. Sources
interviewed, however, the key informants pointed to the rise in petty crimes
committed not only on tourists (e.g., incidents of unattended cars being
forced open and burglarized) but also on the residents (e.g., houses burglar-
ized). It appears that most of these cases were not entered in the police
blotter, as petty crimes, particularly those committed on locals, are usually
amicably settled at the barangay level.
What used to be considered a safe and secure town has changed into an
unsafe environment and made the community wary of car-riding tourists af-
ter a boy was abducted a few years ago. This was not an isolated incident but
appears to be one in a slew of similar incidents that reportedly happened in
other Cordillera provinces. According to the community worker interviewed
for this study, there have been three incidents involving the abduction of
young boys. One happened in Ifugao a few years ago, another in Sagada in
1999, and still another in Dantay. In one case involving an eight-year-old boy,
he said it happened to him thrice. He managed to escape in all these in-
stances, he claimed.
It is believed that these abductions are related to child sex tourism or
forced labor in the cities. Instances of FX-riding men luring young boys with
chocolates and candies have also been reported and are believed to be re-
lated to the reported abductions. I fear that this might be a syndicate, said
the community worker. Concerned members of the community, particularly
the tour guides association, have tried to prevent similar incidents from
happening by requiring all vehicles that enter the municipality to register at
a designated center, as mentioned earlier.
Notwithstanding the lack of statistics to validate the growing incidence
of crimes related to tourism, a number of the key informants say more crimes
are being committed during peak seasons.
Negative economic impacts
While tourism has increased household income, the economic gains from it
are inequitably distributed, since only the entrepreneurs, who make up a
minority, benefit from it while the majority, comprising largely of farmers,
enjoy little benefits or none at all. Says the town mayor,
(T)hose who benefit from tourism are only these few sectors that
can afford to set up their own businesses. But the gains do not neces-
sarily trickle down to the majority. Ideally, the benefits should spread
to the grassrootsor to the poor farmers who plow their ricefields
which, are the attractions. But they dont.
The mayor admits, however, that while one cannot stop tourism, efforts
must be exerted to find ways by which the farmers can share in the profits.
Another perceived negative impact of tourism is fixed pricing of goods.
For tourists, there are standardized rates for accommodation facilities fixed
by the lodging house owners themselves. Also standardized are tour guide
fees for caving and trekking services as well as transport services. This afford-
able price cap has been cited by tourists, especially repeat visitors, as one
reason for returning several times to Sagada. Handicraft products such as
woven bags, shirts, and other souvenir items are also found to be cheap. For
the locals, however, tourism has jacked up food prices, particularly those of
fruits and vegetables. While tourists find these food items very cheap and
would readily buy, locals find them expensive. With tourists telling them to
keep the change, vendors now sell their goods at fixed prices, making it
difficult for locals, used to haggling, to bargain for lower priceswhich were
readily granted to them in the past.
Negative cultural impacts
Compared to Banaue and Baguio City, where one sees people dressed in
their native costumes posing for a fee, Sagada has no cultural representa-
tions of any kind that are staged for tourists. One can therefore only see a
traditional ritual if there is one scheduled by the community. Babayas (tradi-
tional wedding feasts) are usually scheduled during Christmas or summer
time. What has changed is the scheduling of traditional community rituals
(begnas, dangtey). The dangtey, which is celebrated every 10 years, has not
been held for more than a decade now. Some of these celebrations have also
been shortened, like the begnas, the duration of which has been shortened to
three days from seven days. While tourism is not solely blamed for some of
these changes, it is nevertheless cited as a major factor along with education
and migration.
Says a female adult informant:
It seems like the old men are changing. They are not as strict as
before. I the past, women were not allowed to sit in the dap-ay but
now they are. Today, the old men also allow visitors to join them,
answering the latters questions while they are performing. This prac-
tice enables the elders to explain their customs and rituals to the
tourists.
Cultural events in Sagada like the babayas are community celebrations
where everyone is invited to participate and partake of the abundant food.
With the rise in tourism, the solemnity of these important events seems gone,
according to the retired parish priest, having become, in his words, touris-
tic. Tourists, for example, come and take pictures without even asking per-
mission, he complained. In some instances, tourists even do odd jobs know-
ing that they get free food. It is a community tradition that help is extended
to the ones who are hosting the affair, who in turn feed the people who help
them out, he explained.
Changing land tenure patterns
In December 2001, one of the key informants interviewed said land owner-
ship was still controlled by the locals. Having been away for 18 years, he was
happy to note that the local government had not allowed outsiders to own
land or set up business in Sagada. By May 2002, the picture appeared to have
changed, based on interviews an inn owner/manager, a land owner, and a
retired pries. There are parcels of land that have already been bought by
tourists. In fact, a rest house is supposed to have been built on one of them,
only construction has not yet started. A couple who have been staying in
Sagada for some time used to live in the ili (traditional community), then left,
and came back. They have since kept coming back to Sagada. Now I under-
stand they have leased a piece of land and are now building their house
there, said the retired priest.
Confirming the above, another informant said a Canadian couple who
used to stay in Sagada in the 70s has just leased a piece of land there to build
a house on. Whether land lease or purchase, some of the informants ob-
served that this never happened in the past. Even outsiders, including Chi-
nese business people, were not allowed to set up businesses there because of
the competition they could create, which would disadvantage the locals.
Foreigners have also been observed to undertake certain activities from
which they make money, such as those who paint and engage in pottery and
then sell their products, according to a source. Theyre making use of the
natural resources of the place but Im not sure if they give back something to
the community.
Carrying capacity
During peak months, more tourists come to Sagada than it can possibly ac-
commodate. Starting from Baguio, where most tourists take a ride en route to
Sagada, locals often have to compete with tourists for bus seats. Moreover, the
available number of rooms and beds becomes insufficient to accommodate
tourist arrivals. Guests who cannot be accommodated have no recourse but to
go down to Bontoc, a nearby town. Some repeat visitors in anticipation of such
a situation bring their tents and camp out in the church grounds; others
sleep in their vehicles. For the past five years, Sagada has been experiencing
this kind of situation, prompting a young male tour guide to voice his con-
cern. He said even if the sites tourists come to see are beautiful, if water and
rooms are not enough, then making the trip will not be worthwhile. Some-
thing has to be done, he said. Perhaps the DOT office in Baguio can do
something about it.
Key insights and conclusions
Tourism development level, access and control
Tourism in Sagada is in place and can be categorized as community-based. Its
development which was unplanned (tourism just happened) started small
and slow and remains to be so. This may change, however, in the next few
years as the tourist arrivals grow. In 2000, for example, the total number of
visitors to the community accounted for 40 percent of the total tourist arrivals
in Mountain Province. The number was also higher than the registered arriv-
als in Abra and the combined total arrival volume in the provinces of Kalinga
and Apayao. Clearly, Sagada is now one of the most visited destinations in the
Cordillera, notwithstanding the fact that the local tourism industry does not
advertise itself.
Yet, tourism remains relatively within the control of the community in
Sagada, as evidenced by the accommodation facilities, which have not signifi-
cantly increased in number. The type of facilities has not also changed inspite
of a growing number of visitors that can very well afford to stay in first-class
hotels or facilities, which are still lacking in this town. Unlike Banaue, the
community rejected a proposal to construct a youth hostel in 1994, and there
are still no plans to develop high-end facilities that would cater to an upscale
market in the near future. Nevertheless, the growing mass market may lead to
tourism infrastructure development that may not be favorable to the resi-
dents unless the lack of building and zoning policies as well as sanitation
standards is addressed.
Despite the apparent relative control of the growth of tourism in Sagada,
gains from tourism business are not equitably distributed, because only the
local elite who have the capital to set up business enterprises (e.g., inns,
restaurants, handicraft and souvenir shops and transport services) are enjoy-
ing them. The poor farmers who comprise the majority are not getting any or
most of the benefits. Tourism has in fact reinforced the existing class struc-
ture that favors the rich and is grossly disadvantageous to the poor. Unless
this situation is addressed by enforcing appropriate measures, tourism will
only perpetuate such inequity. Among others, a household survey must be
conducted to determine who the direct beneficiaries of tourism are and what
its contributions are to household income. The survey should also identify
who should be the target of tourism development, with equity in mind. The
varying effects of tourism on people, including the indigenous communi-
ties, should also be taken into account in tourism planning and development.
Land ownership
Under Philippines laws, all lands in the Cordillera, which include Sagada,
are public forest lands, inalienable, and indisposable, notwithstanding the
fact that these lands have long been in the hands of indigenous peoples by
virtue of customary laws on the management, use, access, and control of these
lands. With the enactment of Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, the state recognize(s) the
applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations in de-
termining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain (Section 2b). IPRA
further states that individually owned ancestral lands, which are agricultural
in character and actually used for agricultural, residential, pasture, and tree
farming purposes, including those with a slope of eighteen percent or more,
are . . . classified as alienable and disposable agricultural lands (Section 12).
By tradition, the transfer of land ownership in Sagada is through inherit-
ance and through the years, tax declarations were sufficient legal documents
to prove ones claim to land ownership. The enactment of RA 8371 and
related laws has brought about conflicts and competing land claims even
among relatives. Land conflicts, which used to be settled by customary laws,
are now being settled in courts.
A notable observation which has occurred only during the last few years
is the accumulation and consolidation of small inherited lands in the hands
of a few for future tourism business (accommodation facilities in particular).
Another observation is the acquisition by outsiders of real estate. While some
of the key informants voiced their concern about allowing outsiders to own
land, others were not even aware of it. Others said that this kind of situation
was only temporary, although some leases were rumored to be for at least 15
years. Whether the acquisition is through lease or purchase, land ownership,
which used to be limited to the locals, is now open to outsiders.
The implications of the change in land tenure patterns on tourism can
be seen in two ways. With land titling, one can use the title to obtain loans
from banks, using it as collateral. Locals interested in attracting tourism in-
vestors and expanding their business will find this to be to their advantage.
On the other hand, the issue of ancestral domain is a very ticklish one, where
accurate delineation of boundaries is very difficult to do, especially when
these are communal lands involved. Five years since its implementation,
registration has become a lengthy process as conflicts of ownership and bound-
aries arise. Unless these conflicts are resolved, tourism development cannot
proceed. The case of an unfinished hotel in the Poblacion is proof of this. A
family dispute involving the land where it stands has stopped the construc-
tion of what could have been one of the biggest accommodation facilities in
Sagada.
Environmental sustainability
The government tourism strategy in Sagada and the whole of Cordillera falls
under ecotourism and the environment has become a key tourism resource
for the region. The tourism assets of Sagada are its natural attractions, along-
side its semi-temperate climate and pristine environment, its caves, cliffs,
lime, stones, and valleys, rice terraces, mountains, and hills. For many genera-
tions, these natural resources have been ably managed and protected by the
people who must be credited for their deep knowledge of when and how
best they can be utilized. Yet, a number of these natural assets have been
vandalized. Stalactites and stalagmites have been chipped off while coffins
stacked in the burial caves have been forcibly opened and the centuries-old
bones and skulls they contain stolen. The community has acted a number of
times to stop these destructive acts, putting up signs to indicate where tour-
ists are not allowed to go. The Crystal Cave, for instance, so called for the
glittering stone formations that it contains, has been temporarily closed to
allow the chipped off stones to regenerate. The Sagada Environmental Guides
Association whose members have taken it upon themselves to protect the
cave from further destruction has appealed to tourists to stop desecrating
and destroying the caves.
Environmental consciousness is strong in the community. The residents
are aware that what tourists come to see and enjoy are their natural assets.
Briefing tourists on what to do and what not to do and continually telling
them to leave nothing but footprints and kill nothing but time is done by
the tour guides who clean up the garbage after the tourists are gone. Tour
guides have also told tourists to pick up their own trash. However, if tourism
is to be sustained, more has to be done in the area of conservation and man-
agement of the environment. Equally important is the role of tourists them-
selves in protecting the natural resources that attract them to Sagada in the
first place. Managing waste had never been a problem of the residents until
the tourists came with their plastic and Styrofoam containers, tin cans, and all
kinds of garbage that defiled the otherwise clean surroundings of Sagada.
The garbage problem is, by any measure, a tourist problem that has to be
addressed. Education and environmental awareness programs should in-
volve not only the locals but visitors as well.
Sociocultural impacts
One of the popular theoretical frameworks on host-guest interactions and
relationships is Doxeys irridex or irritation index. Doxey (in Ryan 1991)
identifies four main stages in the assessment of tourist impacts on hosts: 1)
euphoriawhich means tourists are welcome and there is little planning or
control; 2) apathymeaning tourists are taken for granted and the relation-
ship between hosts and guests is more formal; 3) annoyancewhich implies
saturation is approached and residents have misgivings about tourism; and
4) antagonismwhich means irritations are openly expressed by residents
toward tourists. The stage in which residents feel irritated about tourism
and tourists would probably be between apathy and annoyance, which can
become more intense during peak seasons, particularly during Holy Week
when tourists flock to the place; do not show respect to the solemnity of the
occasion and walk around the church while Mass is going on, their radios
blaring; leave a lot of trash; use up lots of water at the expense of the locals;
dress so scantily; and display their affections in wild abandon. The stage of
irritation, however, is not constant and can revert to apathy or even euphoria
once the tourists leave or when it is not Holy Week. Moreover, the level of
irritation may not be the same for all residents, some of whom may be less
critical than others, such as those who are engaged in tourism activities them-
selves. Wariness and fear on the part of children and their parents toward
car-riding tourists have been felt as a result of the reported abductions of
young boys by car-riding men.
According to Pearce (1989), the social and cultural characteristics of a
host community will influence its attractiveness to tourists, the process of
development and the nature and extent of the impacts which occur. In spite
of outside influences like religion, education, and tourism, the culture of
Sagada is remarkably intact. Cultural commoditization has not occurred un-
like in Baguio and Banaue, where Ifugao elders dressed in their native cos-
tumes pose for tourists for a fee. While changes have been observed in tradi-
tional practices, rituals have not been staged to satisfy the curiosity of tourists.
What tourists therefore get to see when they have the opportunity are au-
thentic community events, which they are welcome to attend. To be sure
there are no front regions or back regions for staged authenticity
(MacCannell 1989) in Sagada. One of the most common assertions about
tourism is that it preserves rituals and traditions of indigenous cultures. In
the case of Sagada, tourism is not a factor in the preservation of its culture, as
the community prides itself on its cultural integrity. This attitude distin-
guishes Sagada from other tourist destinations in the Cordillera.
Tourism planning
The Cordillera Regional Development Plan (1999-2004) positions the re-
gion as an ecocultural tourist destination pursuing development that is
responsive to the needs of the Cordillerans while working for the welfare of
all. Baguio is identified as the primary tourist destination. In the national
tourism master plan, Sagada, together with Baguio and Banaue, has been
identified as one of the existing destinations in the region for priority tour-
ism development. This was reiterated in the regional tourism master plan,
which has a 15-year time frame (1996-2010), to be implemented across three
five-year periods: short, medium, and long term. The total investment cost of
the implementation of the plan is P63.07 billion. Of this amount, about 90.0
percent, or P55 billion, shall be spent for the physical infrastructure pro-
gram. Sagada, already known and visited by tourists, is a priority target for the
short term.
This study, however, found out that, unlike in Banaue and in Baguio, no
significant tourism projects have been accomplished in the municipality
during the short term except for some trainings that have been conducted
for tour guides and the construction of a public toilet. Commitment on the
part of the national government seems to be lacking. While infrastructure
development, like the building of roads and improvement of trekking paths
and walkways to tourist sites, is specified in the plan, the relevant projects
have yet to materialize. The massive infrastructure development approach of
the government to tourism development should further be studied to reflect
a development that is appropriate, doable, and equitable for the people of
Sagada and other indigenous communities in the Cordillera. This can be
achieved by consulting the people and planning with them, empowering
them to decide on the type of tourism that their community would pursue,
bearing in mind that the object of the planning is their community.
Tourism and the community
Compared to other destinations inhabited by indigenous peoples, tourism
as an indigenous enterprise seems to be succeeding in Sagada. One major
factor for its success is the willingness of the community to learn. There is
harmonious co-existence with interventions, as in the case of the Anglican
religion, and tourism. The local folk in general have never been against
tourists who are responsible and respectful of their environment and cul-
ture. They have been known to share their indigenous knowledge and sto-
ries with tourists who ask about them. Their culture has never been for tourist
consumption. Anyone is welcome to witness rituals that are held to celebrate
traditional events but never staged for the benefit of tourists. This is the
culturewhere traditional institutions are still in placethat can be tapped
by responsible tourism advocates to make this town, with its rich biodiversity,
a model for sustainable tourism in an indigenous setting.
Recommendations
Following are recommendations for tourism policymakers.
Research and planning
Research must become a permanent activity in the monitoring, evaluation,
and management of tourism impacts. Planning should be based on research,
which in turn should be conducted to determine the indicators of tourism
growth in the area, namely:
Types of tourists, sociodemographic characteristics, etc.
Nationality, country of residence
Purpose of visit
Length of stay, seasonality
Mode of transport, traveling companion
Preferences, activities desired
visitor attitudes and perceptions
Expenditure patterns, tourist receipts
Direct beneficiaries of tourism, income distribution
Volume of water used by tourists compared to locals
Volume of waste
Tourism-related crimes
Status of tourism resources, inventory of tourism product
Education and training
Educating both hosts and guests is very important in mitigating negative
tourism impacts. Workshops on visitor management and seminars on inn
keeping and tour guiding should regularly be conducted to ensure visitor
satisfaction and quality service. Seminars on tourism awareness and environ-
mental consciousness and waste management, planning workshops, and train-
ing programs on security and safety should also become regular activities.
The establishment of a Visitor Information Center (VIC), where long-
time residents like the community elders can be tapped for their indigenous
knowledge and orient tourists to become more appreciative of what they have
come to see, is recommended. The VIC can take care of trekkers, middle-
aged visitors, and children who do not engage in spelunking, as well as
repeat visitors who may opt to engage in some less strenuous activity. The VIC
can later on put up a museum, which this town lacks. The creation of a mu-
seum will be educative for tourists and local youth alike. The lack of informa-
tion materials can also be addressed in the VIC with the provision of collat-
eral, brochures, magazines, maps, audio-visual materials, and other educa-
tional media for visitors.
Community Involvement
The community should actively be involved in tourism planning and pro-
gram implementation. Community participation in such activities should
involve not only the members of the local tourism council but also other
groups in the community, particularly the farmers who comprise the majority
of the population of Sagada. Tourism planning consultations should be con-
ducted with all sectors to ensure that peoples participation leads to consen-
sus; the community should never be taken as a homogenous group as tour-
ism is not the same for all levels of society.
Governments Role
For its part, the national government should show a proactive commitment to
assist the community in realizing a sustainable tourism that would mitigate
negative impacts and work for the benefit of both tourists and hosts. One area
that needs to be addressed immediately is infrastructure development (i.e.,
the improvement of roads as clearly spelled in the 1995 CAR Tourism Master
Plan). The roads to Sagada and those leading to trekking sites are in terrible
disrepair. Accessibility is one vital element that can hasten tourism growth.
It is further recommended that Congress enact a bill making mandatory
the conduct of socio-cultural impact assessments prior to any planned tour-
ism development in indigenous peoples communities. Such assessments
are necessary to determine the suitability of the tourism development being
planned in fragile and sensitive areas like Sagada. To ensure the implemen-
tation of the proposed law, the study moreover recommends the creation of a
national body that will ensure that the tourism development plan is guided
by cultural sensitivity, sustainability, equity, respect for indigenous peoples
and their right to self-determination.
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Chapter 6
Impact of Whalewatching on the
Cetaceans and Coastal Populations in
Bais City, Philippines
Florence C. Evacitas
Introduction
Whales and dolphins are marine mammals belonging to the order of ceta-
ceans. They have been known to be present in Philippine waters for a long
time (Tan 1997). Since the mid-18
th
century, these mammals have been
hunted and killed for food and livelihood. They also face continued threats
of incidental catch, habitat destruction, and growing competition for food
supply. Although the status of most species is insufficiently known (Klinowska
1991), their distribution and migration route in the Indo-West Pacific makes
the Philippines an important component of the worlds effort to manage and
conserve them.
In 1992 the Department of Agriculture issued Fisheries Administrative
Order (FAO) 185, which bans the capture, trade, processing and exporta-
tion of dolphins in the country. This was later revised in 1997 to include
whales and porpoises. Full implementation of this law and other related
government policies requires a positive change in the attitude and behavior
of the local folk toward the uses and values of cetaceans and their habitat.
Such change requires incentives for the people, often in the form of alterna-
tive sources of income (McNeely 1988).
One program that may be of help is the establishment and development
of whalewatching stations (DENR and UNEP 1997). Until 1993, very few
people Filipinos realized the viability of whalewatching as an alternative
source of livelihood to poaching. Through the efforts of Siliman University,
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Bookmark,
and private volunteers, the first whalewatching expedition in the Visayan
waters was launched (Libosada 1998). Studies conducted by Dolar and Perin
(n.d.) showed that there were at least 19 species of dolphins and whales in
the Philippines and the potential to develop whalewatching as an ecotourism
activity was great.
Today there are two established areas in the Philippines where chances
of sighting are high. One of these and, considered the most popular, is the
Taon Strait between the islands of Negros and Cebu (Figure 1). Whale-
watching activities in the area are based in Bais City in Negros Oriental.
Statement of the problem
Bais City is among the first local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines
to package watching dolphins and whales in the wild into a tourist attraction.
Being a nonconsumptive resource and a promising source of economic op-
portunities, whalewatching seems an ideal choice of a management strategy
for the cetaceans in Taon Strait. However, the activity was established in
1996 without prior environmental impact assessment or baseline study which
would have served as bases for monitoring and evaluation.
Although the increasing annual revenue from whalewatching in Bais is
potentially financially viable, it does not indicate how effective whalewatching
has been in promoting conservation and what its benefits are to the local
community. As in most countries with established whalewatching industries,
assessments usually focus on monetary returns. Hence, the ecological and
socioeconomic implications of this form of tourism have yet to be understood.
The study assessed the impact of whalewatching on the cetaceans and
coastal populations in Bais City. Following were its objectives:
1. To determine the changes in species diversity and population size
of dolphins and whales in the watched area from 1992 to 1998;
2. To determine the impact of whalewatching on other fisheries in the
area;
Figure 1. Vicinity map of Bais City, Negros Oriental
Chapter 6: Evacitas 207
3. To ascertain the changes in the income and income disposition of
coastal households and in the revenue of the local government fol-
lowing the establishment of whalewatching in the area; and
4. To assess how the perception of the local community toward ceta-
ceans has changed as a result of the establishment of whalewatching
in their coasts.
The established impact of whalewatching will not only confirm or refute
its potentials as an ecotourism activity but will also lead to the identification
of management gaps so improvements can be to any existing management
scheme and tourism guidelines. The study also tried to analyze the implica-
tions of whalewatching on Philippine ecotourism.
Significance and limitations of the study
Most of the studies conducted on the cetacean species in the Philippines are
focused on the population, distribution, reproduction, social organization,
habit, and behavior of these species. Numerous accounts of these studies
have been published (Dolar and Wood 1992; Leatherwood et al. 1992). With
these reports also came the identification of ideal dolphin and whalewatching
sites in the country.
In its biodiversity assessment and action plan (DENR and UNEP 1997),
the DENR has identified the establishment of whalewatching stations in the
Philippines as a high-priority project. One of its aims is to identify additional
potential whalewatching sites to be developed as whalewatching stations. But
before additional whalewatching stations can be established, the ecological
and socioeconomic implications of whalewatching must first be assessed.
Given the dearth of research on whalewatching and the management of dol-
phins and whales, the results of this study will be useful in formulating man-
agement guidelines appropriate to this form of tourism in the country. This
is to ensure that the economic, social, and aesthetic needs of whalewatching
sites are satisfied while maintaining essential ecological processes, biologi-
cal diversity, and life support systems.
The study is limited in scope for the following reasons:
1. Much of the data used in this study were derived from secondary sources.
2. The study was conducted in 1999, or only three years after the estab-
lishment of whalewatching in the Philippines. Literature suggests
that cetacean behavior may vary over time.
3. The study was conducted in only one coastal barangayCapiahan,
Bais City has 13 barangays fronting its shoreline.
Review of literature
Cetaceans in the Philippines
The archipelagic nature of the Philippine islands and the proximity of the
islands to very deep waters have provided a great diversity of habitats for a
good variety of marine organisms, including cetaceans (e.g., dolphins, whales,
and porpoises). To date, 21 species of these marine mammals belonging to
six families have been confirmed present in Philippine waters (Alava and
Yaptinchay 1997; Libosada 1998; Tan 1997). These are the following:
1. Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
2. Pantropical spotted dolphin (S. attenuata)
3. Frasers dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei)
4. Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
5. Rissos dolphin (Grampus griseus)
6. Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrohynchus)
7. Melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra)
8. Pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata)
9. Dwarf sperm whale (Kogia simus)
10. Pygmy sperm whale (K. breviceps)
11. Humpback whale (Megastera novaeangliae)
12. Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
13. Brydes whale (B. edeni)
14. Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis)
15. Striped dolphin (Stenella coerulealba)
16. False killer whale (Psuedorca crassidens)
17. Killer whale (Ornicus orca)
18. Blainvilles beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
19. Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
20. Curviers beaked whale (Ziphius cavirastris)
21. Finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaeroides)
Recent surveys conducted by Aragones et al. (1998) confirmed that the
first 10 species in the list above were present in Taon Strait, which bounds
the eastern side of Bais City. This high diversity of cetacean species in such a
small area as Taon Strait is both rare and unique (Aragones et al. 1998). The
area reportedly has a very rich food supply for these species, such as squid,
fish, and zooplankton. It is also believed to provide shelter during the south-
western and northeastern monsoons. These unique features were the pri-
mary considerations of DENR in declaring the area a Protected Seascape in
May 1998 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1234, pursuant to Re-
public Act No. 7586, otherwise known as the National Integrated Protected
Areas System Act.
Importance of protecting the cetaceans
The proclamation of Taon Strait as a Protected Seascape and the formula-
tion of specific policies such as FAO 185 and FAO 185-1 are clear indications
that the Philippines recognizes the need to protect cetacean populations
from depletion.
Unlike fish and other marine species, cetaceans and all other marine
mammals are very vulnerable to depletion because of their very low repro-
ductive rates. They produce one young at a time after a gestation and nursing
period that lasts for as long as four years. Most species mature sexually at ages
six to 12 years. Hence, their population cannot withstand a mortality rate
exceeding more than a few percent a year without a decline in population.
For the same reason, a population takes a long time to recover. In cases of
population depletion or extinction, the situation may be irreversible not-
withstanding all efforts to restore it.
Perrin (1994) lists the following reasons why people should be con-
cerned with the condition of cetaceans:
1. Cetaceans are part of the fishery resources by themselves. In coun-
tries like Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Norway, Spain, and the United
States, some of these species are consumed as food. If they are driven
to a point of extinction, the possibility of using them as food source
is lost.
2. Cetaceans are part of natural systems that function in ways that hu-
mans are not fully aware of. In the eastern Pacific, for example, the
population of tuna is bigger than it would otherwise have been if not
for the species symbiotic relationship with dolphins.
3. Cetaceans are valuable in tourism and education. In countries like
Australia, Japan, and Mexico, whales and dolphins in the wild attract
very large numbers of tourists who spend considerably for the chance
to watch them, resulting in substantial economic benefits to the local
economy. Whalewatching and similar activities are also opportuni-
ties for tourists to learn about the history and culture of the local
community.
The fact remains that dolphins and whales are vulnerable to depletion
and require better treatment and management than most other marine re-
sources.
Whalewatching as a management strategy
Whalewatching is a worldwide industry accepted as a sustainable use of
cetacean populations, compatible with Agenda 21 of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (IFAW et al.
1997). It began as a commercial activity in 1955 in North America along the
Southern California coast. As of 1995, more than five million people in 65
countries and overseas territories had engaged in whalewatching (Hoyt n.d.).
Monetary returns are estimated at US $504 million per year and have nearly
doubled since 1991 (IFAW et al. 1997).
At its best, whalewatching teaches people to appreciate whales and dol-
phins, facilitates research, contributes to the conservation of the animals,
and helps ensure the economic security of local communities that protect the
marine habitat. Whalewatching that is purely commercial is a wasted opportunity.
Components of quality whalewatching
A survey conducted by Hoyt (1998) among several whalewatching operators
worldwide resulted in the identification of five important components of
quality whalewatching. The most important of these is the presence of a good
naturalist or nature guide. Ideally, the nature guide should be enthusiastic
and personable, and can combine practical knowledge of cetaceans at sea
with knowledge of marine species and ecology.
Quality whalewatching can be extremely valuable as form of recreation
and learning experience. Learning takes place not only informally, that is,
while one is whalewatching aboard a vessel, but also formally, that is in a
formal setting where planners and operators alongside their clients educate
themselves about ecotourism as it applies to whales, resulting in deeper
environmental awareness (IFAW et al. 1997). The presence of scientists, who
can act as naturalists, during whalewatching trips can help ensure respon-
sible tour operations. In addition, when scientists are allowed to do research
on board, the whalewatching visitor can learn much about whales.
Whalewatching is further enhanced by the presence of certain equip-
ment and other items that can be used on the ship. These include hydro-
phones for listening to the sound of whales, binoculars, and guidebooks
about whales. The provision of these devices is part of customer service and
can boost a tourists understanding of whales.
Whalewatching is enhanced by strict compliance with safety require-
ments, not least of which are those mandated by government. Minimum safety
requirements include the use life jackets, lifeboats, and radio. Equally im-
portant is strict compliance with whalewatching guidelines or regulations
that seek to ensure that whales are not disturbed. Despite the existence of
these regulations, however, some areas remain unregulated, because either
whalewatching is new or it has become highly commercial.
Impact of whalewatching
When whalewatching was introduced in the Philippines, many hoped that
whales would be accorded ample protection to ensure at the very least their
survival (Tan 1997). Among others, appropriate regulations were needed,
without which whales could be easily endangered. Cliff-top watching, for
example, of some species as they migrate or linger close to shore cannot
harm them. Yet, a large number of boats approaching too closely, moving too
quickly, or operating too noisily could interrupt their breeding and feeding
patterns (IFAW et al. 1995).
Some species (e.g., Spinner and spotted dolphins) use shallow bays to
rest during the day. Certain tourist development efforts, including dolphin-
viewing trips, are considered a threat to the habitat of these species and may
adversely affect resident populations, as in the case of the spinner dolphins
off Brazil (Alava and Yaptinchay 1997). In addition, some species are re-
ported to move away from the sound of boats, although some are found to
habituate with humans. Frequent contacts with humans can make the wild
unafraid. Thus, cetaceans may begin approaching every boat they see and
unwittingly expose themselves to danger.
Inappropriate human activities, with and around them, may significantly
change their behavior by disrupting their normal feeding and reproductive
patterns. Feeding dolphins and whales has been shown to affect their ability
to feed themselves in their natural habitat. This was what happened to the
dolphins in Monkey Mia, Australia, where whalewatching is conducted from
shore and includes feeding of animals. This brought about a host of prob-
lems: (a) substantial alteration of natural behavior, including foraging for
food and migration; (b) the loss of wariness of humans, placing the animals at
increased risk of injury or death due to interactions with vessels, gear, or
intentional harm by those who consider them as pests; (c) unsuitable or
contaminated food being fed to whales; and (d) increased injuries to hu-
mans due to the predictable increase in aggressive behavior of habituated
animals.
Because the dolphins are being regularly handfed by the people from
the shore, there was a noticeable change in their foraging behavior. The
resulting long-term impact of this was an increased dolphin juvenile mortal-
ity. Juvenile dolphins have not been trained to forage, which makes it diffi-
cult for them to do so independently. There is reduced maternal investment
in protecting juveniles from predators. Juvenile mortality rate could increase
for a number of reasons linked to certain feeding practices. For example,
feeding male dolphins allows them more time to harass the females, which
could significantly inhibit the latters ability to adequately take care of and
train their young. Additionally, the greatly increased number of people drawn to
the area cause environmental problems like overflowing sewage systems, which
in turn could cause the transfer of pathogens to dolphins (IFAW et al. 1995).
In addition to its possible effects on whale and dolphin population and
habitat, whalewatching, like other forms of tourism activities, could easily
result in overcrowding, especially in areas accessible from already crowded
metropolitan areas. This may in turn create changes in the socioeconomic
and cultural patterns of the local communities, including ex-whaling com-
munities, in both rich and poor countries.
A major concern confronting the conservation of marine mammals is
their potential to affect fisheries. Some species are reported to damage fish-
ing gear and feed on the captured fish. They also disturb schools of fish,
causing the fish to stop biting on the baits set by the fisherfolk. The fisher-
men attribute the decrease in their fish catch to the presence of whales or
dolphins in their fishing sites.
An examination, however, of the stomach contents of the dolphins and
whales in one area showed that not all of them feed on the fish varieties that
were the fishermens targets, the perception that they do remains. It be-
hooves the host community to use the economic benefits of whalewatching to
make conservation of cetaceans beneficial to the households comprising it.
It must also be used to compensate those who may suffer loss from being
denied resources that are rightfully theirs.
Conceptual framework
Whalewatching is an ecotourism activity accepted as a sustainable use of
cetacean populations. Like other forms of ecotourism, it affects both the
objects of the activity, the cetaceans, and the populations involved in doing it,
specifically the residents of the area where the activity occurs. Effects on
cetaceans include changes in population size and species diversity in the
watched area. Frequent whalewatching trips and the presence of cetaceans
that feed on fish also affect fisheries.
Whalewatching becomes a source of much-needed income both for the
households and the local government. This in turn leads to improved in-
come disposition among families and, it is hoped, better services for the
community.
The residents general perception of cetaceans changes as a result of
whalewatching in their area. Such perception is a function of their knowl-
edge of and attitude toward whales.
Whalewatching as a form of ecotourism requires management strategies
to enhance or mitigate its effects on the cetaceans and the coastal inhabitants
on which its sustainability depends. Figure 2 shows the various components
of the ecotourism industry. It also shows that tourism and the environment
need not be mutually exclusive, provided management is integrated.
Statement of hypotheses
The study considered the following hypotheses:
1. Whalewatching in Bais City significantly affects the population size
and species diversity of the dolphins and whales in Taon Strait.
2. Whalewatching in Bais City affects the catch levels of associated fish-
eries.
3. Whalewatching improves the household income and local govern-
ment revenue in Bais City.
4. Whalewatching improves the perception of local residents toward
the value of dolphins and whales.
Methodology
Characterization of the whalewatching industry
Knowing the characteristics of the whalewatching industry in Bais City is key
to understanding its impact on the environment. Secondary information such
as monthly and annual tourist arrivals, visitors origins, revenue, and future
development plans of the city government on the said industry was obtained
from the Bais City Tourism Office, the City Planning and Development Of-
fice, and available literature.
Tourist arrivals in 1997 and 1998 were compared to those of the preced-
ing years. Average monthly arrivals for 1996 and 1998 were also determined.
Data on the operation and conduct of whalewatching activities were obtained
through semistructured interviews with boat operators, crew, and tour guides.
The questions asked were intended to assess the different whalewatching
activities that could have had significant impact on the cetacean species, asso-
ciated fisheries, and the socioeconomic condition of the area.
Figure 2. Conceptual framework on the assessment of the impact of whale-
watching on cetaceans and coastal populations in Bais City in
Negros Oriental
Assessment of whalewatching impact
On cetaceans
Studies on the short- and long-term impacts of whalewatching on cetaceans
ordinarily include experimental and observational studies of behavioral and
physiological reactions to human presence such as changes in sound pro-
duction, elevated heart rate, avoidance patterns, reproductive rate, recruit-
ment, and mortality. These were not employed in this study due to time and
cost constraints.
Assessment of the impact of whalewatching on the cetaceans is limited to
a comparison of the species diversity data from the surveys conducted by
Leatherwood et al. (1992) and Aragones et al. (1998). Published results of
surveys indicate rough estimates of population size and therefore cannot be
used in comparing the status of the different cetacean species. In this study
reference was made to various case studies abroad on the impact of various
anthropogenic activities on cetacean species and populations to determine
possible long-term effects due to various human activities related to
whalewatching.
On associated fisheries
Impact of whalewatching on associated fisheries may be determined by moni-
toring catch levels, shifts in fishing grounds, fishing effort, and changes in
fishing gear used.
This study used secondary data on catch levels from the Participatory
Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA) conducted in 1996 in barangay
Capiahan. The data included a historical diagram of fish catch from 1975 to
1995. The fishing households interviewed for the socioeconomic and per-
ception survey were also asked on the level of fish catch. The information
obtained was used to assess the possible impact of the existence of
whalewatching activities on the fishing activities and catch levels of the
fisherfolk in the barangay.
On coastal populations
An initial survey was conducted in barangay Capiahanthe base of the
whalewatching activities in Bais Cityto determine the number of house-
holds that were engaged in tour operations and fishing and those that were
not . From this survey, the respondents to the survey proper were chosen
based on a stratified sampling design to get a representative sample from
each household group. A total of 125 households, or 41 percent of the total
number of households in the barangay, were interviewed. These respon-
dents were the primary source of information on the effects of whalewatching
on the socioeconomic conditions of the community.
The survey was guided by an interview schedule (Appendix A). Data
obtained related to the socioeconomic and demographic profile of the re-
spondentsincluding household income, income disposition, education
educational attainment, household size, age structure, public services, and
social amenitiesbefore and during the establishment of the whalewatching
tourism. Frequency analysis was used to compare the different household
groups in terms of demographic characteristics. Analysis of variance, or
ANOVA, was used to determine if there was a significant difference in the
socioeconomic conditions among different household groups by comparing
household income and income disposition. Social services before and after
the establishment of the whalewatching tourism were also compared.
The same sets of respondents were asked to answer a 30-item question-
naire to assess their perception (20 items) and attitude (10 items) toward
the resource and relevant issues by using a five-point Likert scale for the
response format. Perception items were classified according to: (1) the exist-
ence of the cetaceans in the area; (2) the practices and activities affecting
dolphins and whales; (3) the effects of the presence of whales on other
marine resources; (4) the economic benefits of whalewatching; (5) the socio-
cultural effects of whalewatching; and (6) the operation of whalewatching.
Attitude items were grouped into the following categories: (1) attitude to-
ward the practices affecting dolphins and whales, (2) attitude toward other
marine resources, (3) attitude toward the economic effects of whalewatching,
and (4) attitude toward the conduct of whalewatching.
The data collected from the survey were processed using the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences software (Norusis 1993). Multivariate tests
were applied to determine whether significant differences existed in the
perception and attitude by respondent type and independent variables.
Correlation analysis was done to determine the relationships between re-
spondents perception and attitude scores.
Results and discussion
Bais City is one of the three cities in Negros Oriental, the others being
Dumaguete and Canlaon, and one of the LGUs bordering the Bais Bay. The
city is located 45 km north of Dumaguete City and lies southwest of the
province of Cebu (Figure 1). It is accessible by land from the cities of
Dumaguete and Bacolod, which are the two major seaports and airports on
the island of Negros.
The city has a land area of 31,690 hectares, 60 percent of which is agricul-
tural land, 30 percent grassland or shrub land, 3.9 percent forestland, 3.3
percent wetland, and 2.5 percent built-up areas. The city consists of 27
barangays, 13 of which are located along the coast.
Recognizing the potential tourist attraction of its coastal area, the city,
through the Tourism Operation Unit of the Mayors Office, established a
Marine Ecological Appreciation Tour in 1996. Operation of the tourism ac-
tivities is based in barangay Capiahan, a coastal barangay located 123
o
9.2 E
and 9
o
34.5 N, 4 km east of the city. It is one of three barangays comprising the
Dewey Island, which separates the North from the South Bais Bay (Figure 3).
Capiahan has a land area of 64 hectares, or only 0.2 percent of the citys
total land area. In terms of coastal resources, the 1996 PCRA results showed
that mangrove cover was estimated at 6.65 ha and classified as good with a
variety of invertebrates, fish, and avian species. Sea grass cover is estimated at
63.5 percent, with a variety of invertebrates. Coral reef condition was assessed
as low to poor (24.5 percent) with live hard corals at 16 percent and live soft
corals at only 8.5 percent. Ten cetacean species belonging to two families
were also listed.
Whalewatching tourism profile
With the diversity of marine life in the coastal and offshore areas, the site has
become an ideal base for the Marine Ecological Appreciation Tour. The tour,
which features dolphin and whale watching as its main attraction, also in-
cludes a trip to the 7-km sandbar in the North Bais Bay and a visit to the 200-
ha protected mangrove forest in the South Bais Bay. It officially started oper-
ating in April 1996 using with a government-owned pump boat Dolphin I. A
smaller pump boat, Dolphin II, was added in June of the same year. Privately
owned pump boats later came into operations. At present, there are five fully
operational boats, three of which Vania I, Vania II and Horizon, are privately
owned (Table 1). There are also two other seasonal private operators but
none of the operators hold exclusive operating rights. Based on an interview
with the tourism officer of the city, anybody can invest or operate in the area
provided he or she registers the vessel with the Maritime Industry Authority.
Operation of all whalewatching vessels is based in the new Hindungawan
Wharf located in Capiahan (Figure 4). The wharf, together with other tour-
ism support facilities such as the Tourism Extension Office, the Bahia de
Bais Restaurant located on the wharf, and the Bahia de Bais Hotel located in
the same barangay, is owned by the city government. Also located on the
wharf is the Coast Guard Detachment, which monitors the compliance of the
vessels with the Philippine maritime regulations. The wharf also serves as a
docking area for cargo boats and private yachts.
The Tourism Extension Office coordinates all whalewatching activities
from reservations to scheduling and conduct of trips. It is responsible for
vessel assignment , giving priority to Dolphins I and II. The office also monitors
and records tourists joining the ecological tour on monthly and yearly bases.
It is open daily and is manned by one tourism personnel who also serves as
the tour guide of Dolphin I.
In addition to the tour guide, Dolphin I is operated by a boat captain, one
mechanic, and two boatmen/spotters. Dolphin II and the three other vessels
are each operated by one boat captain, one boatman/spotter, and one more
crew who is either a mechanic or a tour guide or an additional boatman/
Figure 3. Map of Bais City showing barangay Capiahan (Scale: 1 : 120,000)
spotter. In the absence of a guide, either of the boatmen/spotters will also act
as one. With the exception of the crew of the Horizon, all are employed by the
city government and receive a daily wage of P136 to P215, depending on the
nature of the job, that is whether the person works as a boatman or the captain.
Table 1. Relevant information on the five regular operating vessels in the
whalewatching industry in Bais City
Dolphin I Dolphin II Vania I Vania II Horizon
Operator City LGU City LGU Villanueva Villanueva Not known
Engine 135 HP 85 HP 85 HP 175 HP 85 HP
Capacity (max) 30 ind. 15 ind. 15 ind. 30 ind. 20 ind.
Cost per trip P3,500 P2,500 P2,500 P3,500 P3,500
No. of boatmen 5 3 3 3 3
Communication Two-way Two-way Two-way Two-way Two-way
facility radio radio radio radio radio
Safety facility Life vest Life vest Life vest Life vest Life vest
Tours are conducted daily, depending on the weather and tourist de-
mand. According to the crew and captain interviewed, trips are most fre-
quent during summer months starting April until August in time with the
southwest monsoon (Habagat). During these months the seas are calm and
the waves are small and low. Frequency of trips is relatively low during the
northeastern monsoon, especially in January, when winds are strong and the
sea is rough. Under such conditions, the boat operators and captains usually
Figure 4. Map of Barangay Capiahan showing the location of the Hindungaan
wharf and other government-owned facilities in the barangay
Source: Baldemero Garzon, Barangay Secretary
refuse to conduct tours for safety reasons and low chances of sighting. During
this slack in tourism activities, the boatmen engage in boat maintenance.
These observations jibe with the monthly record of visitors participating in
the ecotour. In 1998, for example, the greatest number of visitors came in May
and the least in November, December, and February, with practically none in
January (Figure 5). Visitors who joined the whalewatching trips in 1998 totaled
4,935, representing a 51 percent and 88 percent increase over 1997 and
1996, respectively. Figure 6 shows the number of visiting domestic and for-
eign whale watchers from 1996 to 1998. The office of the City Tourism Opera-
tion Unit attributes the increase in the number of visitors to active participa-
tion in travel fairs and festivals in the neighboring cities of Bacolod and Cebu.
Figure 5. Number of whalewatching visitors in Bais City, by month (1998)
According to the crew, weekends are the busiest, with all five pumpboats
rented out, especially during the peak season. Based on the 134 paid trips
recorded in 1996, the number of visits per month, and the capacity of each
boat, the average number of trips during peak season is estimated at one to
two daily per day, and two to three every 15 days during the lean season.
These figures must have changed with the increase in the number of visits in
the succeeding years, as shown in Figure 6. Unfortunately, there are no data
in the revenue and number of paid trips for 1997 and 1998. Still, an attempt
was made to estimate the number of trips and the total annual revenue based
on 1996 data and the annual number of tourists.
Assuming that the cost per trip is constant for three years at P2,500 for
the 15-seater boats (i.e., Dolphin II, Vania I, and Horizon) and P3,500 for the 20-
seater boats (i.e., Dolphin I and Vania II), and given that the annual revenue in
1996 was at P259,100 from the 134 paid trips, the total revenue for 1997
would amount to about P322,908 based on an estimated 167 trips; and
P487,263 for 1998 from 252 paid trips.
V
i
s
i
t
a
t
i
o
n

r
a
t
e
Month
Figure 6. Number of visiting domestic and foreign whale watchers in Bais City
1996-1998
These figures provide rough estimates of the actual figures since there
were 19 to 20 tourists per paid trip. In reality, only two of the operating vessels
can accommodate a maximum of 20 passengers each while the other three
smaller boats can serve only a maximum of 15 passengers per boat per trip. In
addition, the computation did not consider the special rates (50 percent of
the regular rate) given to students and in cases of failure to sight whales.
Hence, the actual total revenue and number of trips could be higher or lower
than the computed estimates. In addition, since fees were charged per boat
trip regardless of the number of passengers per trip, it could be that the
estimated number of trips based on the number of visitors was not highly
reliable.
The work of Abrenica and Calumpong (2000) shows a decrease in the
number of visitors from the 4,935 recorded in 1998 to 3,541 recorded from
April 1999 to March 2000. Yet, the industry generated a total of P504,000
during this period, 53.4 percent (P269,151) of which went to the local gov-
ernment and 46.6 percent (P234,864) to the private sector. According to the
barangay captain of Capiahan, the barangay receives 10 percent of the in-
come from the tourism activities. It was not clear, however, if this figure was
based on the gross income or the revenue of the local government. If it is
based on the former, then the 53.3 percent that goes to the local government
is shared by the city and the barangay (Figure 7a). If it is based on the latter,
then the barangay receives 5.34 percent of the gross amount and the city
48.06 percent (Figure 7b). In both cases, the private sector is assured of a
46.6 percent share.
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

T
o
u
r
i
s
t
s
Year
Figure 7. Income derived from whalewatching (based on specific schemes)
Notes: (a) The barangay receives 10% of the gross income;
(b) the barangay receives 10% of what the city government receives.
Assessing the whalewatching activities based on the components identi-
fied by IFAW et al. (1997), interviews with the respondents yielded the fol-
lowing observations made and information gathered from the respondents.
Absence of a trained naturalist or nature guide
Only Dolphin I has a regular tour guide. Boat crews were mostly (66 percent)
fisherfolk prior to their employment by the tourism office and are therefore
familiar with the cetacean species there. However, mean perception scores of
boat operators/crew/captain on the effects of unregulated practices on the
cetacean species, particularly on feeding and touching of the cetacean spe-
cies, and on the effects of boat noise on the feeding and reproductive habits
of the species, are relatively low (1.70 and 2.10, respectively, in the range of 1
to 5). This is reflective of certain misconceptions on, or lack of awareness
among the crew of, some very relevant issues on whalewatching. Such percep-
tions could be passed on to the average tourists.
In an interview conducted among the crew/captains of the different
boats, it was learned that they received training or orientation from the city
tourism officer when they were first employed by the city government. Mini-
mum requirements for employment were skills in handling a motorized boat
and swimming. None of those interviewed from this particular sector said
a)
b)
they were engaged in hunting or poaching of whales and dolphins prior to
their employment by the city government.
Presence of the coast guard detachment in the wharf
Operators observe strictly the passenger capacity of their vessels. They do not
operate during bad weather. All five boats have radio and life vests, which are
two of three minimum requirements for safety set by IFAW et al.(1997), the
third being a lifeboat. The crew, however, do not require passengers to wear
life vests during the tour, saying the matter was up to them.
Absence of a code of conduct
When asked if they follow certain codes of conduct or rules and regulations
in the operation of the tours, the respondents, including the crew of the
same boat, had different answers. For the common dos and donts, five out of
nine respondents said that clapping of hands and shouting are allowed near
packs of dolphins and whales, as the animals respond actively to such noises.
One of the five respondents, however, said that allowing such activities on
board depends on the species sighted. Pilot whales, for example, are bothered
by the sound while spinner dolphins become more acrobatic in response to the
noise. Two of the nine respondents said they allow feeding; another two said
they allow tourists to touch the cetaceans if they are brave enough to do so
while three respondents said they just let their passengers watch the cetaceans.
Falling under the list of donts are swimming with dolphins, which is a
common answer among all respondents, and shouting when around the more
sensitive species. Agitated movements on board the vessels are also kept at a
minimum for safety reasons. When asked on who informs the tourists of these
code of conduct, respondents replied that they do it themselves. Other ques-
tions asked were in line with the manner of conducting the trip with and
around the cetacean species. Usually, boats leave the bay and ply the Taon
Strait at a speed of 7 to 10 knots. When approaching a pod of cetaceans, they
decelerate at the speed of 0.5 to 2 knots, and approach is made parallel to the
direction of the cetaceans. Five of the respondents said they pursue the
dolphins and whales even if they show signs of avoidance, that is, they move at
a different direction from the boat. This does not apply to the spinner dol-
phins that approach the boat themselves. The rest of the respondents said
they would look for other groups on such occasions. Approach is made up to
a distance of 1 meter or shorter. Viewing time depends on the passengers.
During peak season, all five boats can approach the dolphins and whales
at the same time. On the contrary, three respondents said that boats can
approach the cetaceans one at a time as some species are bothered by the
sound of so many boats and thus show signs of avoidance and evasion. When
all five boats are in the same area to watch a group of whales or dolphins, they
usually maintain a distance of less than 2 to 200 meters from each boat.
Absence of whalewatching equipment and field guides
Equipment such as camera, binoculars, and hydrophones, and field guides
to enhance the whalewatching experience of the visitors are not provided
during the trips. Visitors have to bring their own equipment and materials.
Impacts of whalewatching activities on cetaceans
Animals react in various ways to noise and other indications of human pres-
ence. They either change their behavior or physiology or response to human
presence in the short or long term, or they ignore such presence. An appar-
ent lack of response to human presence may indicate no effect due usually to
habituation in which the animal no longer reacts to stimulus. Alternatively, it
may indicate tolerance, a condition in which the animal may be stressed
physiologically but tolerates the stimulus anyway simply because the area is
important for other activities, such as foraging, or because the animal is un-
able or unwilling to show an avoidance reaction (IFAW et al. 1995).
Although it is more difficult to measure reactions in cetaceans than in
terrestrial mammals, observational studies and anecdotal reports indicate
that cetaceans may react to a variety of disturbances related to whalewatching
and other human activities. The most important goal of researchers has been
to find links between short-term behavioral and physiological reactions and
the potential for long-term changes due to human actions. If reproductive
success is reduced, physical condition compromised, or distribution affected
drastically, then one can assume that whatever caused the change was a nega-
tive influence on the dolphins and whales. Repeated changes on short-term
behavior or physiology could result in stress, with the potential for declined
health or long-term shifts away from important areas of habitat. Thus, popula-
tion may change and species composition may vary over time.
The case of Monkey Mia, Australia (IFAW et al. 1995), for example, has
demonstrated a clear causal link between human activities (i.e., hand feed-
ing of dolphins), and a long-term impact on the dolphin population (re-
duced recruitment). Due to the regular hand feeding by people from the
shore, there has been a change in the foraging behavior of dolphins. As cited
in an earlier section of this paper, males have more time to harass the fe-
males, which may have significantly inhibited the latters ability to adequately
take care of and train their young. Juvenile dolphins are less able to forage
independently. There is also reduced maternal investment to protect them
from predators, resulting in increased juvenile mortality.
In lieu of comparing population sizes before and after the establishment
of whalewatching to assess impacts on the cetaceans in Taon Strait, this
study examined the different whalewatching activities in Bais, as character-
ized in the previous section, for their potential impact on the same. The
answers of the whalewatching crew and boat captains show that they either do
not comply strictly with regulations or they are not aware of such regulations.
Allowing or encouraging tourists, for example, to feed the cetaceans
would have short-term and long-term negative impacts on the organisms, as shown
in the case study in Monkey Mia, Australia. Clapping of hands and shouting
may not cause a significant disturbance among dolphins and whales as refrac-
tion at the air-water interface disperses the sound and transmission into
water is considerably reduced, as it is mostly reflected from the seas surface.
Noise from above the water surface is not generally a problem for whales and
dolphins, provided the source, like an aircraft, is not directly or within an
inverted 13
o
cone above the animals (Baxter and Donoghue undated). Reac-
tions may differ among species and, as observed by the tour guides and crew
in Bais, some species like the pilot whales are more sensitive to human sounds.
Sounds coming from the vessels should be treated differently, as noise
can travel considerable distances underwater and whales and dolphins will
be aware of an approaching boat from a long distance away. Noise generated
from tourist boats should not be significantly different from the background
ambient noise or from the levels that cetaceans normally have to cope with
(Baxter and Donoghue undated).
Anecdotal reports of the crew and boat captains indicate that the dolphins,
particularly the spinner dolphins, are not disturbed by the sound of the vessels,
especially with those regularly operating in the area for whalewatching. Accord-
ing to them, the dolphins are drawn instead by the familiar sounds of the vessels.
Studies of terrestrial animals (Schultz and Bailey 1978; MacArthur et al.
1982) have shown that wild mammals often habituate to a variety of back-
ground human activities that are steady and predictable. Disturbance re-
sponse patterns of wild mammals may, however, vary from species to species.
Hence, the observation that some species are drawn by the sound of the
vessels while others show avoidance to the same. On the other hand, wild
mammals are less likely to habituate to disturbance involving close approaches
and pursuit, or to unusual unpredictable events (Mainini et al. 1993). These
general observations should be taken into account in regulating the
whalewatching activities in Bais and anywhere else in the country.
In terms of impact of the whalewatching activities on species diversity of
the cetaceans, there is no recorded evidence to indicate significant change
in the species composition in the area. The survey conducted in 1992 by
Leatherwood et al. (1992) recorded nine identified and one unidentified
species of cetaceans off Taon Strait. Survey conducted by Aragones et al.
(1998) between 1997 and 1998 in the same area confirmed 10 species of
these marine mammals (Table 2). With the exception of the melon-headed
and the pygmy sperm whales that are not listed in the former survey and the
beaked whale, which is not listed in the latter survey, all species identified
have been present since the earlier surveys. Even the reportedly sensitive
pilot whale is still sighted in the area to date. Species diversity, however,
should be closely monitored through the years.
Table 2. Cetacean species found in Taon Strait in 1992 and 1998
1992 1998
Spinner dolphin Spinner dolphin
Pantropical spotted dolphin Pantropical spotted dolphin
Frasers dolphin Frasers dolphin
Rissos dolphin Rissos dolphin
Short finned pilot whale Short finned pilot whale
Pygmy killer whale Pygmy killer whale
Dwarf sperm whale Dwarf sperm whale
Beaked whale Melon-headed whale
Unidentified species Pygmy sperm whale
Impact of whalewatching on associated fisheries
Since fishing is the major source of income in the local community and given
the perceived conflict between marine mammal conservation and the status
of fisheries that exist in other countries, the situation of the local fisheries in
relation to the existence of the whalewatching tourism industry in Capiahan
is worth looking into.
The trend diagram made during the PCRA in 1996 defined the average
fish catch per unit effort per fisherfolk from 1975 to 1995 (Figure 8). The
fisherfolk attribute the decline in fish catch to illegal and destructive fishing
methods employed by some of the local fisherfolk (Barangay Capiahan
Three-Year Coastal Management Plan 2001) and the increase in the number
of fishing individuals. Further, the trend diagram projected an increase in
fish catch to 5 kg in 2000 from 3 kg in 1995. This projection is based on the
plan to set up fish cages to be managed by a fishing cooperative in 1997 and
the implementation of coastal resource management methods such as man-
grove reforestation and pollution/waste management. However, the fish cages,
although started in 1997, did not continue operating due to emerging con-
flicts among the cooperative members. Interviews among fisherfolk revealed
that in 1999, the average fish catch per unit effort per fisherfolk still stood at
3 kg (ranging from 0 to 7 kg).
For this study to assess the possible conflict between the existence of
whales and dolphins and the local fisheries, fisherfolk were asked about
observed patterns in fish catch in relation to the abundance of cetaceans in
the Taon Strait. The various answers were given were relative to the location
of their fishing ground. For those who fish within the bay area and use
nonmotorized boats and gillnets, the volume of their fish catch is not affected
in any way by the presence or absence of dolphins and whales in the deeper
parts of the strait nor by the whalewatching activities. Those who fish outside
the bay (i.e., in the deeper parts of the strait), on the other hand, have ob-
served that some species of dolphins actively feed on the fish caught by their
hook, particularly the galonggong (Decapterus sp.), which appears to be the
favorite diet of dolphins. The fisherfolk do not consider this as cause for
concern since not all of their target fish are not consumed by the dolphins
unless their number increase significantly in the area.
The fisherfolk who use fish corrals near the wharf claim to be the most
affected by the presence of cetaceans in the strait. According to them, al-
though the dolphins and whales never enter the bay area unless they become
weak or disoriented, whalewatching tourism has caused them problems. These
include damages to their fish corrals caused by the vessels used in
whalewatching. Water has become turbid due to constant vessel operations
and waste oil coming from the vessels has driven the fish away from the area.
Consequently, the volume of fish catch has declined since whalewatching
began in their area.
The season during which the catch level of the majority of the fisherfolk
interviewed is highestthat is, from March to Junecoincides with the peak
season of tourism. Yet, the increased arrival of tourists during these months
does not create a corresponding increase in the demand for fishery prod-
ucts. The fishermen said the higher catch level during this season is due to
favorable weather that allows them to catch more fish. This observation im-
plies that the presence of the dolphins in the strait has no direct effect on the
fishery resource as fish catch per unit effort is also highest during the months
when the cetaceans are most frequently seen in the strait.
Figure 8. Catch per unit effort in barangay Capiahan (1975-2000)
Source: PCRA 1996
Impact of whalewatching on the coastal populations
Socioeconomic conditions in Barangay Capiahan
As of 1997, Capiahan had a population of 1,376 individuals (2.12 percent
of Bais Citys population). This represented a 4.2 percent increase from the
projected 1,318 individuals in 1995 based on a 1.8-percent annual growth
rate from 1990. The number of households also increased from 274 in 1995
to 346 in 1997. When this study was conducted in 1999, there were only 306
households recorded (Table 3) or a 13 percent decrease from 1997. Average
household size from 1995 to 1999 was at five.
Table 3. Demographic profile of Capiahan, 1995-1999
1995 1997 1999
Population 1,318* 1,376 (no data)
Number of households 274 346 306
Average household 5 5 5
size
* Projected
Out of the 306 households recorded in 1999, 110 were engaged in fish-
ing, 166 were either employed in government offices or private firms or
engaged in entrepreneurial activities, 10 were in the whalewatching
ecotourism, and 20 were not classified. The interview conducted covered 43
percent of the fishing households, 41 percent of the nonfishing/nontourism
households, and all of the tourism-related households. Table 4 lists the char-
acteristics of the majority of the respondents from the three household groups
while Appendix Table 1 lists the sociodemographic characteristics of all
respondents to the study.
Table 4. Sociodemographic characteristics of the majority of the respon-
dents from each household type
Respondent Fishing Nonfishing/ Tourism
Characteristics Nontourism
Age < 60 < 60 30-40
Gender Male Female All male
Educational attainment Elementary Elementary/high Elementary
school college
Civil status Married Married Married
Average household size 5 5 5
Daily household income < P150 < P200 < P200
More than 80 percent of those interviewed from the fishing households
were males, below 60 years old, and married. Seventy-four percent reached
elementary education while the remaining 26 percent either reached high
school or college, or had never gone through formal education. Average
household size was five and daily household income ranged from zero to
more than P250, depending on the fish catch; 64 percent of the households
were earning P51 to P150 per day. Sixty-five percent of these households
spent more than 75 percent of their income on food and the remaining, 25
percent or less, on shelter, clothing, education, health care, and vices. Most
said they did not have enough money to spend for recreation.
Sixty percent of those interviewed from the nonfishing/nontourism-re-
lated households were females, more than 80 percent were below 60 years
old, married, and either reached or finished elementary or high school edu-
cation. Average household size was also five. Daily household income ranged
from none to P150. Similar to the fishing households, the majority (62 per-
cent) of these households spent more than 75 percent of their income on
food and the remainder on clothing, education, shelter, health care, minor
vices, and sometimes recreational activities.
Respondents from households engaged in tourism were all males; 70
percent were in their 30s or 40s, with educational attainments ranging from
elementary to college. Most were married, with an average five household
members. Household income ranged from P100 to more than P250 daily.
Only 40 percent of the respondents spent more than 75 percent of their
income on food. The other 60 percent of the respondents spent less than 75
percent of their income on food and the remaining 25 percent or more on
shelter, education, health care, clothing, and minor vices. More respondents
spent for recreational activities compared to other household groups.
All of the fishing households could only afford to send their children to
public schools either in the barangay (for elementary education) or in the
city (for high school education). Only about 25 percent of the nonfishing
households and the tourism-related households could send their children
to private schools in the city.
Based on the records of the barangay for 1997-1998, 75 percent of the
residents in Capiahan were landowners while the rest were renting land.
Fifty percent of the houses were made of light materials and the rest of con-
crete and iron. Ninety percent of the households had electrical power sup-
ply and the majority had level-three water supply. Expenses for shelter for
most of the respondents from the different household groups included re-
pair or renovation of existing structures and payment for electricity and water
bills.
Health care-related expenses covered purchase of generic medicines,
as most of the respondents did not avail themselves of the health services
from the barangay health center, where medicines were seldom available. A
common practice among the respondents was consulting physicians only
when ailment was already severe. The prevalent disease among adults was
tuberculosis while pneumonia, H-fever, and gastroenteritis were common
among children. Only 10 percent of the respondents, usually with higher
daily household income, consulted medical or dental doctors on a regular
basis.
Most respondents from all household groups seldom bought clothes in
a year. If ever they did, they usually bought from the local stores selling relief
goods. Those with higher income bought their clothes from stores in
Dumaguete City almost at the same frequency.
Although income was low and sometimes not enough to feed the entire
family daily, the respondents said they still set aside a portion of their income
for vices like smoking, drinking, and gambling. They said these were not
luxuries but mere diversions that they engaged in after a hard days work.
Recreational activities among the respondents included going to the
beach and playing basketball in the barangay court. Only those who were
either barangay officials or public school teachers have took part in whale-
watching tours. None of those interviewed from fishing households had ever
gone whalewatching through the tourism office. They were discouraged by
the coast guards to conduct the activity on their own as it was risky and against
maritime regulations.
A comparison of household incomes showed no significant differences
among household groups. In terms of income disposition, both fishing and
nonfishing/nontourism-related households spent most, if not all, of their
income on food and other basic needs. Those employed or engaged in the
tourism industry, on the other hand, spent significantly (P < 0.05) less for
food and other basic necessities than the other two household groups. More-
over, they spent significantly (P < 0.05) higher for recreational activities than
the other two groups. According to Engels principle, the greater the per-
centage of income spent on food and basic needs, the poorer the household
is. This, therefore, means that the fishing and nonfishing/nontourism-re-
lated households were relatively poorer compared to those engaged in tour-
ism activities.
If the tourism industry has not contributed to the improvement of the
standard of living in the barangay, what then are its benefits to the local
community? According to the barangay captain, the barangay receives 10
percent of the annual revenue of the industry while the rest goes to the
operator or to the city government. This additional revenue for the barangay
is expected to be used for the provision of better social services and facilities.
When asked if there had been significant improvements in the eco-
nomic condition of the barangay since the whalewatching industry began in
their area, most of the fisherfolk said no, not even with the advent of
whalewatching ecotourism. The nonfishing/nontourism-related households
expressed the same view. The social services and facilities of the barangay, for
example, had remained the same. In fact, the local community did not even
have its own barangay hall. The 3-km barangay road was still in poor condi-
tion. The elementary school had not had any improvements since it was built
during the Marcos administration. The health center still did not have ad-
equate supply of medicines for the community. Water supply remained inad-
equate and could even worsen, according to the respondents, once the
planned construction of an additional swimming pool in the Bahia de Bais
Hotel finally pushed through. The respondents said the amount of water
needed to fill the pool would deprive them of what little was left of the
available water supply. The only significant changes in the barangay, accord-
ing to the respondents, were the tourism facilities.
The respondents were unaware of the revenue share of their barangay
from the whalewatching industry. When asked if they would be happy with a
10 percent share, some said yes provided it would be utilized properly and
translate into improvements of the social services in the barangay. Others
said it was too small, considering the perceived exploitation of their barangay
in view of the whalewatching operations taking place there. Thus, the share
should at least be 15 percent, they said.
The only benefit that the community had been able to derive from
whalewatching, added the respondents, what that their barangay became
known as a whalewatching site in Bais. Others, however, felt that such popu-
larity was misplaced, since the dolphins and whales were not really found in
Bais Bay but in the deeper parts of Taon Strait, an area shared by several
other municipalities in Negros and Cebu. Whalewatching, they said, was best
done off the coastal waters of Malabuyoc, Cebu, during certain times of the
year, and in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental, not in Bais. Since the boats still had
to get out of the bay area, it took longer for whalewatchers to find dolphins
and whales if the take off point is Bais.
Community perceptions and attitudes
An assessment of perceptions among different household groups of the ex-
istence of the cetaceans in the Taon Strait, the practices and activities affect-
ing cetaceans, the effects of the presence of cetaceans on associated fisher-
ies, the economic benefits of whalewatching, and the sociocultural effects of
whalewatching ecotourism revealed that respondents from tourism-related
households had relatively higher mean scores than those from the fishing
and nonfishing/nontourism households (Figure 9).
Perception scores, however, are not significantly different among house-
hold groups. Figure 9 also shows that, in general, respondents had low mean
scores relating to the items on the impact of human activities on cetaceans.
Results of correlation analysis showed that these perception scores were sig-
nificantly correlated (P < 0.05) with the level of education of the respon-
dents. The mean perception scores on the economic benefits of
whalewatching, on the other hand, were significantly correlated (P < 0.05)
with the household income of the respondents.
Figure 9. Mean perception scores of the different household groups
Notes:
PC1 = perception on the existence of the resources in the area
PC2 = perception on practices and activities affecting dolphins and whales
PC3 = perception on the effects of presence of whales on associated fisheries
PC4 = perception on the economic benefits of whalewatching
PC5 = perception on sociocultural effects of whalewatching ecotourism
PC6 = perception on the operation of whalewatching
The high perception scores on the economic benefits of whalewatching
reflect the communitys belief that conserving the dolphins will generate
more economic benefits than hunting them. The low perception scores
among households on the effects of human activities on cetaceans and the
effects of cetaceans on associated fisheries despite the existence of the whale-
watching industry in the locality show a need to actively educate the commu-
nity and to get them more involved in activities relating to whalewatching
ecotourism.
The mean attitude scores among tourism-related households are rela-
tively higher than those of the two other types of households except for the
attitude cluster on whalewatching (Figure 10). The mean score of tourism-
related households for attitude items pertaining to practices affecting dol-
phins and whales (AC1) is significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the two other
households. The same household group has a significantly lower (P < 0.05)
mean attitude score on whalewatching operations. This means that those
involved in tourism activities do not agree that the fisherfolk should be al-
lowed to conduct whalewatching tours for reasons of safety. They also do not
believe that whalewatching can be more effectively managed by the community.
Nonfishing
Figure 10. Mean attitude scores of different household groups
Notes:
AC1 = attitude toward practices affecting whales and dolphins
AC2 = attitude toward other marine resources
AC3 = attitude toward economic effects of whalewatching
AC4 = attitude toward operation of whalewatching
No significant correlation exists between attitude items and the
sociodemographic variables. Significant (P < 0.05) correlation, however, ex-
ists between attitude items on the economic benefits of whalewatching and
the perception items in the same category.
Results of interviews also revealed that fishing and nonfishing/
nontourism households believed that tourism households were earning more
than they were. Although they, too, wanted to be employed in whalewatching
tourism, they felt that politics was getting in the way of their getting hired.
When told, however, the tourism industry had a limited need for crew, the
respondents suggested that a rotation system be followed so that the majority
of the community members could be employed. As an alternative, the pro-
posed that the communitys revenue share from the tourism industry be
increased so that the entire community can benefit from its economic benefits.
Implications of whalewatching on Philippine ecotourism
With increasing environmental consciousness among people, ecotourism
destinations have become popular to both local and foreign tourists. The
establishment of whalewatching station in Bais City has not only made the city
famous but it has also provided a new venue for the countrys ecotourism
industry and served as an additional source of tourism revenue. Now other
municipalities in the country are planning to establish their own
whalewatching stations.
Based on a study conducted by Abrenica and Calumpong (2000) on the
tourism aspect of whale watching in Bais, a total of 1,126 visitors had gone
whalewatching in the area as of May 1999. This figure is lower than what was
recorded in same month of 1998, which was 1,538. The total number of visi-
tors from April 1999 to March 2000 was only 3,541 compared to the 4,395
visitors in 1998. The Filipino-to-foreigner ratio in 1999 was the same as in
1998.
Do these figures indicate a decline in whalewatching ecotourism? It is
hard to tell, since there could be several factors behind such decrease in
tourist arrivals. It would interesting to find out, however, if visitors, after a
whalewatching ecotour, would still be interested to undertake this activity in
the same area. The findings would have implications on the demand for and
sustainability of the industry. The challenge now lies with the tourism office
of the area as well as the private operators to make the industry competitive in
the face of potential competition in the future.
Conclusion
There is no evidence that whalewatching in Bais City has significantly changed
the species diversity and the population size of the cetaceans in the Taon
Strait since it began operating three years ago. What is certain, however, is
that it has led to the intensification of observation on the cetaceans in the
watched area. If the whalewatching operations in Bais will continue without
regulations, it may, in the long run, cause changes in the population and
diversity of the cetaceans in the strait and the associated fisheries in the bay area.
To be sure whalewatching activities have caused damage to fishing gear
and led to poor seawater quality and consequently low fish catch in the area
near the wharf. Fisheries, however, in the eastern side of the bay and in the
deeper parts of the strait are not affected by the ecotourism activities.
Whalewatching ecotourism has provided a new source of income to the
residents of Capiahan. Although the income from whalewatching
ecotourism is not significantly higher than that of fishing and other liveli-
hood activities, the households involved in the conduct of whalewatching
spend significantly higher on items (e.g., recreation) other than their basic
necessities.
Whalewatching has influenced the residents perception of the eco-
nomic benefits from cetaceans. This in turn has led them to believe that
keeping the cetaceans alive is more beneficial than hunting them. Yet, there
are opposing perceptions about whalewatching activities among the house-
holds.
Recommendations
Any manifestation of disturbance in the population and diversity of ceta-
ceans must be regularly monitored and addressed, since it has a long-term
effect on species composition and population. Indicators of stress in ceta-
ceans include changes in sound production, elevated heart rate, change in
diving patterns, and shifts in habitat use.
Although studies on the long-term negative impact of whalewatching on
cetacean individuals, groups or populations continue, a precautionary ap-
proach to the conduct of whalewatching ecotours is still necessary. The tour-
ism office and all tour operators and crew should follow a code of conduct or
set of guidelines in their operation. Such guidelines should specify the
appropriate and inappropriate behaviors among both crew and tourists dur-
ing whalewatching trips, taking into account the biology and ecology of ceta-
ceans. The guidelines should cover the following:
Number of vessels that can operate in the area
Number of vessels that can approach a pod of cetaceans at one time
Distance of vessels from the cetaceans that should be maintain
during in the duration of whale watching
Manner of approach (i.e., it should be parallel to the direction
of the cetaceans and never head on or perpendicular)
Speed of vessel during approach
Appropriate behavior of whale watchers and tourism crew around
cetaceans
Standard operating safety measures
The guidelines should be properly and promptly communicated to the
operators, crew, whale watchers, and community members. Orientations on
the dos and donts of whalewatching should be done prior to the trips to
ensure that the tourists will keep them in mind.
Guidelines developed by other countries offering whalewatching tours
can temporarily be adopted while research continues. It would also help to
take into account the General Principles for Whale Watching (Appendix B
of the Report on the International Workshop on the Educational Values of
Whale Watching) recommended by the Scientific Committee to the Interna-
tional Whaling Commission (IFAW, WWF and WDCS 1997) in any efforts to
formulate a code of conduct or guidelines for whalewatching. The following
should also be considered (IFAW 1995):
The conduct of whalewatching, if permitted, should foster positive
interactions between whales and whale watchers to avoid causing
irritability or overt stress among the whales.
Whalewatching should not be allowed to change the cetaceans vital
population characteristics such as birth rate and mortality.
Whalewatching should affect neither the cetaceans distribution and
habitat usage nor their behavioral modes such as feeding and mating.
It is important to develop training programs for operators and crew on
the biology and behavior of the cetaceans, whalewatching operations, and
management conditions. Also recommended is the strict enforcement of
maritime laws by the coast guard in the area, if only to avoid accidents and
ensure that tourists travel only with licensed operators, who can best secure
their comfort and safety while traveling. Efforts must be made to communi-
cate this clearly as well as its rationale to the fisherfolk and the entire commu-
nity who might feel that they are being deprived of an additional source of
income by conducting trips on their own.
The relatively low perception and attitude scores among households
underscore the need to educate the community and involve them in whalewatching
activities. The presence of whalewatching tourism in their barangay does not
guarantee awareness of its importance or of the issues involved such as whale
conservation if there is very little community participation in relevant activities.
Unlike the people in Pamilacan, Bohol, the local folk in Capiahan, Bais
City are not traditional whale hunters although some of them did patronize
dolphin meat when doing so was not yet prohibited by law. Thus, enforce-
ment of FAO 185 and 185-1 has not adversely affected their livelihood oppor-
tunities. This does not mean, however, that if economic opportunities will
arise from the proper use of the cetaceans as a resource, community involve-
ment should be given priority since no losses will be incurred.
The respondents said the community was never consulted before whale-
watching tourism was introduced in their barangay in 1996. They said this
was an issue not because they did not want it operate in their community but
because they felt it deprived them of some of their rights as well as of the
economic benefits being generated from the industry. To them making them
aware of the benefits of the existence of the cetaceans in the Taon Strait means
increased community participation and more tangible benefits for them.
Involvement does not just mean employment in the tourism office or by
the private sector. It also means creating opportunities for the locals to inter-
act with the tourists to share their knowledge and experience dealing with
cetaceans. This should enable the tourism office to promote environmental
awareness on both sides. As it is, the locals have very limited interactions with
the tourists and therefore feel they are outsiders in their own community where
whalewatching is concerned. Still another opportunity that should either be
provided or enhanced is letting the community experience whalewatching
themselves so they will appreciate their own resource and its proper use.
Not the least of opportunities that should be created for the community
are income-generating ones, which should naturally result in increased com-
munity involvement in whalewatching tourism. These could come in the
form of organized selling of souvenirs and provision of services catering to
the needs of the tourists.
Finally, there should be greater transparency when it comes to inform-
ing the community of how much revenue is being realized from whalewatching
operations in their area and how it is used. How much of this revenue should
go directly to the community can be determined in a dialogue among the
households, the tourism office, and the private operators.
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Chapter 7
Contested Space: Tourism, Power,
and Social Relations
Jose Eleazar R. Bersales
Introduction
How does rapid and accelerated change brought about by the appropriation
of space reconfigure local power and social relations? This study intends to
answer this question by looking at tourism development in two islands in
Central Philippines. Specifically, it will look at the political dynamics of Phil-
ippine tourism development at the local level. This involves the study of
space its appropriation and development, and how this relates to tensions in
local social relations. It also focuses on the dimensions of power and how
these are exercised locally.
While tourism policy has been generally elite-driven in most countries,
including the Philippines, everyday struggles and conflicts that ensue at the
local level reveal the culturally mediated manners in which issues are dis-
puted and resolved. They also show the kinds of claimants to social and
political influence. Such conflicts reveal the degree of community cohesion
and the type of social relations that in turn are implicated in local under-
standings of tourism, the tourist-host encounter, and the attendant appro-
priation of space for tourism development.
Research overview
Using the anthropological perspective, this study looked at the intrusion of
tourism into the socioeconomic and sociocultural structure of two island
communities: one with little prior exposure to external-driven and large-
scale forms of development and the other currently hosting an export-pro-
cessing zone and an international airport. Specifically, the research agenda
developed an anthropological approach to understanding tourism develop-
ment in the Philippines. The approach was shaped within a critical position
that looked at the appropriation of space for tourism development as a prod-
uct of the distribution policy and decisionmaking power in tourism.
It is important to look at the political organization of power (i.e., tourism
agencies, national and local government units, nongovernment and peoples
organizations as well as local residents) and its expression within a specific
locale vis--vis the emergence of tourism as a means of economic growth as
well as a source of tension and active resistance by residents. Equally impor-
tant is the task of investigating which players are maximizing the potentials of
tourism as a medium of development, who are not and why.
Anthropology looks at tourism as an element of culture, as part of some
way of life. It provides a holistic, cross-cultural approach to the phenomenon,
the study of which was not long ago considered a frivolous exercise by many
scholars (Nash 1981). The anthropological study of tourism formally emerged
as a legitimate area of study during the late 70s when anthropologists began
to seriously consider the study of the social and cultural dimensions of the
phenomenon (see for example Smith 1989). This provided a different per-
spective focused on what Nash and Smith (1991) describe as the forces that
generate tourists and tourism, the transaction between cultures and subcul-
tures that are an intrinsic part of all tourism, and the consequences for the
cultures and the individuals in them.
The early anthropological interest in tourism grew out of a long-stand-
ing tradition in acculturation studies embedded in culture theory and social
change. Recent studies have gone beyond this level and are now delving into
the nature of tourism itself. In addition, the post-modernist conceptions of
culture as unbounded have begun to cast new light on how tourism both
engenders and is eventually implicated in a broad range of cultural politics,
bringing attention to domestic stratification and conflict up front in tourism
studies (Wood 1991). Contested tourist space is where cultures begin to
appear problematic.
Research sites
This study was undertaken in two island communities hosting varied scales
of resort tourism development. Mactan Island, just off the eastern coast of the
bustling metropolitan city of Cebu, is home to a combination of five-star and
business-class hotels as well as craft-type beach resorts. Panglao, on the other
hand, hosts bungalow tourism (Cohen 1983), though it, too, hosts an inter-
national resort hotel.
Mactan Island, which occupies a total land area of 67.69 sq. km., is the site of
the city of Lapu-Lapu, with a total population of 217,019 located in 30 barangays.
The island is not only home to tourist resorts but also a thriving export pro-
cessing zone and an international airport, all found in the city of Lapu-lapu.
Since 1974, Mactan Island has been connected to the main island of Cebu by
a kilometer-long bridge spanning the Mactan Channel. In 1999, a second,
this time single-span, cable suspension bridge funded by Japanese overseas
loans , was inaugurated to handle increasing traffic to and from the island.
Panglao Island is 13 km. long and 4 to 8 km. wide, and has a total popu-
lation of 21,337 located in 10 barangays. It is connected to Bohol Province by
two concrete overflow bridges leading to Tagbilaran City, the provincial capi-
tal. It hosts a number of beach resorts, mostly owned by foreigners who have
married Boholanas, not necessarily from the island of Panglao. Panglao town
also administratively controls the island of Balicasag, where resorts have been
in existence for some time.
Chapter 7: Bersales 241
While both Panglao and Mactan are coraline with a few patches of clay,
the former boasts large strips of sandy beach; the latter is dotted with craggy
beaches with a few patches of white sand. A common feature of both is the
presence of subsistence fishing communities and coral reefs that beckon tourists.
To illustrate the lack of sandy beaches on Mactan, consider the case of
the five-star Shangri-la Resort. During construction, it was decided to import
sand from an island near Bohol to the hotels shoreline. As a result, the
source island almost disappeared from the map. Beach authenticity notwith-
standing, tourist arrivals in Mactan have been increasing. The Department of
Tourism (DOT), for example, reports a 30 percent rise in foreign tourist
arrivals over an 11-month period in the Central Visayas, the region to which
both Bohol and Cebu belong, with Japan accounting for the main bulk of
arrivals (Lim 2003).
Both islands have been subjects of development efforts, with the government
undertaking the drafting of development master plans for each (Schema Konsult
1995; UP PLANADES 1990). Tourism has figured prominently in both plans.
Two barangays in Panglao and one in Mactan were selected as study sites,
based on their proximity to beach resort clusters. The two barangays of Panglao
straddle Alona Beach with some 30 resorts, dive shops, and restaurants. Al-
most half of these are managed by European tourists and their Filipina part-
ners. Of the three sites, Maribago on Mactan Island has the largest concentra-
tion of resorts that cater to both local and foreign tourists. It has about seven
world-class beach resorts and a number of dive shops, run either by Filipinos
or foreigners with Filipino partners.
Based on the 2002 Census of Population, Panglaos barangay Tawala has
a total population of 2,425 in 419 households, while Danao has 2,635 in 506
households. Barangay Maribago on Mactan has a total population of 7,235 in
1,452 households.
Major research problem and subproblems
How has rapid and accelerated change brought about by the appropriation
of space reconfigured power and social relations in the study communities?
Subproblems:
1. What is the local meaning of space and landscape? How do individu-
als and their community maximize the benefits from available space
and landscape?
2. How is space appropriated for tourism development? What are the
major conflicts that have sprung up because of this?
3. What are the historical forces that have contributed to the dynamics
of local response to tourism development?
4. How has tourism development reconfigured social relations in the
community?
Major research concepts
This paper tackles the following major concepts:
1. Local perceptions of space and landscape;
2. Local understandings of tourists and tourism;
3. Extent and history of local participation in tourist enterprises;
4. Political and social conflicts related to tourism development;
5. Social differentiation that results from tourism; and
6. Impacts of tourism on local social and power relations
Review of literature
The study of tourism has been claimed by anthropologists as largely falling
within the subject of development and acculturation (Nash 1994), which
began when Nuez (1964) investigated the socio-cultural impacts of tourists
coming to Cajititlan, Jalisco, in Mexico, for weekend respites. Since then,
there has been a steady flow of anthropological and sociological studies on
the impacts of the tourist-host encounter and the whole process of tourism
itself. Pizam (1983) defines these impacts as the ways in which tourism
contributes to changes in value systems, individual behavior, family relation-
ships, collective lifestyles, creative expressions, traditional ceremonies and
community organization. De Kadt (1979), meanwhile, posits that tourism is
an important mechanism for increasing international understanding. How-
ever, numerous studies have challenged the validity of such a position (Nash
1994). The impact of tourism on subsistence communities, for example, can
be seen in Robbenss (1982) report of the complaints of Coqueiral fisherfolk
in Northern Brazil, accusing tourists of taking charge of their traditional
fishing village.
In the Philippines, there have been minimal research attempts to relate
tourism to social phenomena. Indeed, tourism as a research interest in the
country appears quite recent. In fact, what may be considered the first defini-
tive study of tourism in the Philippines came out only in 1979 as a discussion
paper (Arroyo and Cunanan 1979). This may seem rather awkward, since the
Philippines has been touted as a tourist destination for over 60 years (Damaso
and Castaeda-Rivera 1983). In their discussion paper, Arroyo and Cunanan
report that the process of beach resort development can create situations of
exclusion. They saw that while development of certain beach resorts would
not render the shoreline beyond the reach of barangay residents, the facili-
ties available would increase in price, effectively dropping the lower-income
consumers out of the potential market(s).
In 1983, a study of tourism in Pagsanjan, Laguna, (Arroyo and Buenventura
1983) concluded that income in that town had increased rapidly when com-
pared with other towns. However, tourism did not improve the size distribu-
tion of income, since employees were not recruited from the poorer sections
of the community. In addition, the opportunities for female entrepreneur-
ship and employment generated were not outside the traditional gender-
determined occupations. Moreover, tourisms impact on the income of resi-
dents in the area was not significant.
A study of rural beach resort development (Olofson and Crisostomo
1999) compared two types of resort development in Cebu. One type of resort
was developed with little participation from locals or insiders. This, they
referred to as induced or industry type of tourism. The other type of
resort development was referred to as craft tourism because it was com-
posed of small firms established by individuals from the immediate vicinity,
province or region. Here, the chances for local firms/households to supply
goods and services to resorts were greater. However, in both types of resort
development, the authors found little evidence of the historical participa-
tion of (the) local government in (the) regulation and planning of the (in-
duced type of) resort.
This study has much to bear on the role of space and spatial analysis in
social relations, especially with regard to problems of power and representa-
tion, which has been increasingly recognized as a productive endeavor within
anthropology (Van Beek 1995). Here space, expressed in landscape, is seen
not as a neutral entity but as the result of social production; how space is
planned and developed reflects the existence of power (Vincent 1995).
Hence, landscapes represent social differentiation: They are the site and
stake of struggles over power (Smith and David 1995). An important ele-
ment of this notion is the convergence between space and power, between
cultural production and reproduction.
Adam Smith and Nicholas David (1995), in presenting a critical analysis
of space, present four tenets central to the theoretical link between space
and power useful to this study. First, specific forms of landscape and built
space are shaped by the historical development of social relations. Second,
space is not only defined by the exercise of power but also constraints and
directs its use (space conditions the exercise of power). Third, these prin-
ciples are insignificant unless applied in particular cases. Finally, spatial
practice must be viewed beyond simple ties to architectural details that de-
fine spatial experience but encompass how spaces are perceived.
A strategy of spatial practice is the appropriation of meanings and re-
sources via the establishment of particular relations in physical space (a more
detailed discussion can be found in Lefebvre 1991). This is done through
both exclusion and proximity. In tourism development, enclaves are usually
created near spaces where infrastructure is modern yet locals are physically
separated from tourists and the tourist enterprise. This is largely a result of
policies designed to create niche markets, where spaces are designed around
a series of implicit and explicit boundaries that redefine space and alter
the function of the locality from serving the needs of its inhabitants to that of
serving the leisure needs of others (Meethan 1999). This physical demarca-
tion in tourist space also results in social demarcation, controlling the circu-
lation of people and creating situations of privilege and domination (Olofson
and Crisostomo 1999). This then is how tourism becomes part of the struggles
over symbolic representations of reality. An unpublished social acceptability
study undertaken in one barangay of Mactan already observed this scenario,
when it noted two possible disadvantages from tourism in Mactan: eviction
from home sites and the blocking of access to the sea (Bersales and Nolasco
1996). The study further noted that,
For local residents, tourism is seen . . . as an opportunity for increased
family incomes. However, such opportunities are seriously constrained
by lack of capital, education and skills, and what is perceived as a
preference for hiring outsiders in tourism.
The German sociologist Erhard Berner (2001) describes this phenom-
enon in 2001 as the result of the creation of what he calls (excluded) cita-
dels and (included) ghettoes, which he notes in Mactan, where accelerated
economic growth has not resulted in a sustainable form of development for
the majority and instead has sharpened divisions and conflicts. He describes
such citadels as places where access is severely restricted in terms of both the
physical (through fences, gates, and walls) as well as the economic (through
high-entrance fees and prices inside the resort).
Seen from the perspective of globalization, tourism deterritorializes
(Kearney 1994) by commodifying local space, appropriating it from locals
and reconstituting power relations. One of the key aspects in the political
arena of tourism is the manner in which space (or place) is commodified. Hall
(1994), for example, describes the dynamics of the tourist production system as,
Sell(ing) places in order to attract tourists. . . . Within this setting,
place is commodified and reduced to an experience and image for
consumption. The production of leisure spaces (Lefebvre 1976),
which are discrete and categorized landscapes that actively maintain
and consolidate prevailing production relations . . . is a functional
given.
The production of leisure spaces becomes most contentious when seen
against the backdrop of subsistence communities. Tourism is one of many
enterprises that integrate spaces into the global economy. This integration
is, however, problematic for many, for whom tourism becomes part of the
struggle for the control of space, resulting in what Castells and Henderson
(1987) term as placeless power and powerless places for the disenfran-
chised.
Denise Browns (1999) study of a five-country tourism project called
Mundo Maya (literally Maya World) helps elucidate this. The study traced
the evolution of the Maya landscape from its use value to its value in ex-
change, where a different landscape has emerged, one that has become a
commodity in which the Maya (as hosts) have to negotiate a new identity in a
newly constructed space that is outside of their control. The ensuing attribu-
tion of importance (by outsiders) to what was seen before as an empty or non-
meaningful landscape has resulted in an imagined or artificially constructed
cartography vying for meaning with locally constructed space and local con-
ceptions of landscape. For Brown, the act of reconstructing these landscapes
is a product of spatial appropriation, with power struggles resulting from
challenges to such a cultural landscape. Wilson (1988) refers to this as the
struggle in which the dominant group seeks to legitimate, through statute
and administrative fiat its understanding of the appropriate use of space . . .
and the subordinate groups resist through individual rebellion and collec-
tive action.
Nash (1996), in his very important review of weaknesses in the anthropo-
logical study of tourism, calls this the power trail of the touristic process.
Appadurai (1996, cited in Winslow 2002) sees this from the perspective of a
postmodern world, which is marked by fragmentation, heterogeneity, and
discontinuity. He describes this as a world where a variety of global forces and
the state pull people in an increasingly intrusive manner as they struggle to
retain control in the midst of competition from other global entities, which
in this case happens to be tourism.
It is the task of anthropology, according to Pertierra (1996), to under-
stand the ways in which external structures are experienced locally, as well as
the responses to these external structures. Tourism is one external structure
that falls under this category. Vital to understanding this is the consideration
of the community in society. A community is not simply a group of people
who share common goals or opinions (Williams and Lawson 2000). It is also
something within which members share issues (usually symbolic) about which
they agree or disagree (Cohen 1985). For example, land or space could be a
symbol of the community. Its use can be a focus for community cohesion, with
the community as a structure of regular and stable interaction of significant
others.
It is also in the community where the fragmentation of power (Richter
1991) can be witnessed, where the distribution of political influence in spa-
tial appropriation by interest groups from both within and outside the com-
munity is evident. Usually, real power and decisionmaking is beyond commu-
nity control and influence (Sindiga 1999). Either that or such control passes
from the local community into the local government with vested interests in
tourism development (Faulkenberry et al. 1999). This is an important point
to consider, since ultimately, the success of tourism development depends on
its acceptance by the host population. This realization can be linked to how the
host population perceives tourism and what roles they see (and perform), if
ever, in the tourist enterprise. Citing Appadurai, Winslow (2002) writes:
People do not just go with the flow, abandoning their own places and
the feelings of connection that come with them. Because locality, as
a sense of social immediacy, is a fundamental human quality, people
fight to maintain the local neighborhoods and landscapes that pro-
duce it.
Elaborating on the role of the community in tourism, Besculides et al.
(2000) point out that community attachment, seen in terms of the level of
social bonds such as friendships, sentiment and social participation (Gursoy
et al. 2000), can affect how residents perceive and deal with tourism in their
midst, as do length of residence and economic dependence on tourism.
Thus, those who derive economic benefit from tourism are expected to have
a more positive attitude toward it than those who do not (Williams and Lawson
2000). Local community support for tourism is an important factor because a
friendly, hospitable local population is critical to the success of the tourism
industry. This is especially true in that despite the positive economic impacts
it brings on local communities, tourism as an industry and as a phenomenon
also brings an undeniably dark side, which is mostly seen and felt by the
local community (Faulkenberry et al. 1999).
Tourism development follows its own dynamism, or what is referred to as
the resort cycle; that is, tourist destinations tend to pass through successive
stages, from discovery, to growth, to maturity, and then on to decline (McElroy
and Albuquerque 1986). It is the task of tourism planners and policymakers
to ensure that a given tourist destination avoids reaching the impasse brought
about by boom-bust cycles by factoring in not just the economic and ecologi-
cal side of development but also the social and cultural aspects, thus forging
a more sustainable future for tourism.
In the Central Visayas context, sustainability is the main catchword ex-
pressed in, among others, the Regional Development Plan prepared by the
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The plan envi-
sions that by 2025, Central Visayas (comprising Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental
and Siquijor) shall be a leading growth center in Southeast Asia, with its
economic growth based broadly on a sustainable and more equitably shared
region, which will be a major center for transportation, communications,
trade, tourism, knowledge, professional services, finance and shipbuilding
(NEDA Regional Office Central Visayas 1999). This ambitious and compre-
hensive plan is predicated by an emphasis on socioeconomic equity that
translates to everyone in the region profiting from such growth. Achieving
this is a two-fold strategy: protecting nature and culture, and spreading the
benefits of tourism through a well-organized spatial-functional system (De-
partment of Tourism Region VII 1996).
A key to determining the strategys success may lie in determining the
types of tourists who come to the region and their resort preferences. These
were precisely the subjects of a study undertaken in Central Visayas (Blijleven
and van Naerssen 1999). The study found that the tourists in the region are,
on the one hand, organized mass (or package-deal) tourists of East Asian
origin, who tend to stay in Cebu City and Mactan Island, and, on the other
hand, North American and European drifter- or explorer-type. The latter
tend to stay longer (up to two weeks), travel throughout the whole region,
and are more interested in the local culture, which brings them to places
beyond the major urban centers.
Based largely on Cohens tourist typologies, the study recommends that
tourism policy be matched with tourists preferences, suggesting the impor-
tance of the strategy offered by nongovernmental and private-sector stake-
holders, who provide tourism facilities outside of major economic centers. In
terms of policymaking, the study reveals that the organization of tourism in
the region was marked by a lack of finetuning or agreement in the direction
of policies from the national to the local level and the low level of coopera-
tion among tourism stakeholders, both in the public and private sector. The
authors of the study suggested more responsibilities and opportunities for
participation, and that influence and policy direction be given to stakehold-
ers to make them more accountable for the execution of policy.
It is important to add the concepts of intragenerational and
intergenerational equity in the strategy of sustaining tourism. Intragenerational
equity refers to the creation and strengthening of opportunity, income equity,
and the redistribution of power within the host population (McCool et al.
1996), of creating equality and economic and social welfare of the local
community (Aronsson 1994), and meeting the needs of the host popula-
tion through improved living standards in both the short and long term
(Cater 1993). Intergenerational equity means securing the same abovementioned
benefits for future generations. This is a tall order for sustainability, both in
the present as well as the future, one that requires what McCool et al. refer to
as resiliency. In discussing resiliency, these authors move the notion beyond
its usual biophysical connotations to embrace social, economic, and environ-
mental systemssystems which contain the capacity to be resilient. In this
instance, tourism, to be sustainable, must be transformed into a tool to en-
hance a given communitys capacity to cope with change. Such an approach
sees the type of tourism development as dependent on what the community
needs to be resilient, increasing or decreasing in scope according to commu-
nity preferences.
Methodology
This study is descriptive in nature and will utilize both quantitative and quali-
tative methods of research in pursuit of its objectives. A necessary phase
involved literature survey and collation of periodical articles revolving around
the subject of this study.
The triangulation method applied in rapid ethnographic studies was
utilized in this study. It involved the use of three important research meth-
ods: the survey, the key informant interview, and the focus group discussion
(FGD). While the original proposal did not call for the conduct of a Knowl-
edge, Attitude and Perception Survey (or KAPS), it was deemed necessary to
conduct one using a mostly closed-choice instrument to elicit initial informa-
tion that will guide the drafting of key informant and focus group questions.
A purposive sampling method was applied to the recruitment of
interviewees for the survey. This involved the random selection of a starting
point in each of the target research sites (in this case, two barangays in Panglao
and one in Mactan). From this identified point, interviewers were sent out in
different directions following the road network with instructions to seek out
every house near or adjacent to the tourist resorts and interview the house-
hold head alone (that is, without the presence of the spouse or partner).
Outright refusals were noted and replaced with the next available house. In
cases of clusters of households, interviewers were instructed to interview
every third house from where he or she started.
The key informant interview also involved purposive sampling to locate
specifically named persons considered influential members of the commu-
nity (i.e., traditional leaders, barangay officials, church laypersons, etc.), gov-
ernment officials (i.e., local government officers, tourism officers), and heads
of nongovernment organizations operating in Panglao and in Mactan, if any.
The interviews were conducted with the use of an instrument containing
questions that served to guide the interview and allow for probing of re-
sponses to elicit important and more in-depth information that could not
otherwise be elicited in the survey.
The FGDs among local stakeholders were undertaken using a purposive
recruitment procedure that involved local contacts. These contacts were
briefed on the study and its objectives as well as the maximum number of
participants and the types of sectors/groups that were to be recruited into
each FGD. Two sectors were identified as targets for the FGD sessions in this
study, namely, community residents and farmers/fisherfolk. In Mactan, the
absence of farmers around the tourist sites resulted in an adjustment of the
focus group composition to cover two sectors: community residents and
fisherfolk. Because all lands around the tourist resorts as well as most of the
properties on the island of Mactan have been converted to residential and
commercial uses, no farmers could be located to participate in the FGD. The
case was different for the two focus group compositions in Panglao, where
one FGD was conducted for participants recruited from among community
residents and one for fisherfolks and farmers. The idea of mixing the farm-
ing and fishing participants was adopted based of a simple inquiry which on
the information that in Panglao (as in many rural coastal communities in the
Visayas), farming communities were also fishing communities, where house-
holds engaged in both fishing and farming as a subsistence strategy.
An FGD guide was prepared to elicit in-depth information on the topic
of this study. The FGDs were mostly composed of a mixed group of both men
and women.
Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of tourism: data from the survey
of community residents
The sample of households surveyed for this study is shown on Table 1, which
details this sample in comparison to the total household sizes of the sites
under study.
Table 1. The sample of households and household size
Barangay Sample Number and Total
Universe Percentage of Population of
(households) Households in Sample
Sample Households
Danao, Panglao 506 14 2% 2,635
Tawala, Panglao 419 42 10% 2,425
Maribago, Mactan 1,452 81 5.6% 7,235
Only households in or adjacent to the resorts were surveyed. Hence, the
small sample sizes may not be reflective of the opinion of the general popu-
lace. They are representative, however, of the opinions of households living
in or adjacent to the resorts.
Fifty-six households in Barangays Tawala and Danao in Panglao and 81
from Barangay Maribago in Mactan were surveyed for this study. Mean age for
the Panglao respondents was 39 years compared to 40 for Mactan. The oldest
respondents from Panglao and Mactan were 73 and 75 years, respectively.
Majority of the respondents were female. They represented 73 percent of the
respondents from Panglao and 84 percent of the Mactan sample. In terms of
educational attainment, the majority of the respondents from Mactan had
either elementary (36 percent) or high school education (37 percent), while
a much larger majority from Panglao had only elementary education (57
percent), or 25 percent reached high school. The majority of the respon-
dents80 percent in Panglao, and almost 60 percent of those from Mactan
were married. Almost all of the respondents described themselves as belong-
ing to the Roman Catholic religion.
A large number of respondents from both research sites were unem-
ployed, with 45 percent for Panglao and 41 percent for Mactan. One-third of
the respondents from both sites were self-employed, while just over 20 to 25
percent were employed. Furthermore, 58 percent of the Panglao and 36
percent of the Mactan respondents were in tourism-related occupations.
The majority of respondents from both Panglao and Mactan were born in
the barangay where they where interviewed. The number increases if respon-
dents who were born in another barangay of the same municipality are in-
cluded. The overwhelming majority of respondents from both sites had also
been living in the same place for over 20 years (i.e., 57 percent for Panglao
and 56 percent for Mactan). Only 42 percent of respondents in Mactan owned
farmland while 64 percent did in Panglao.
Tourism and the local economy
Respondents were asked to look into tourisms contributions to the local
economy, especially with regard to providing jobs for local residents. Respon-
dents were also asked to determine what role they thought tourism occupied
in the local economy and to rank its desirability as a form of economic devel-
opment from among a set of other potential industries. Over 60 percent of
households surveyed in Panglao and Mactan had members who were hold-
ing tourism-related jobs or livelihoods. However, the majority of these jobs
were manual in nature, i.e., as carpenters, gardeners, laborers, cooks, wait-
ers/waitresses and laundrywomen.
As mentioned earlier, respondents were asked to ascertain what role
they thought tourism played in their community. Table 2 shows an almost
even division among Panglao respondents in this regard, with 30 percent
seeing a minor role for tourism and 32 percent indicating that tourism played
a dominant role in the local economy. In comparison, almost 60 percent of
respondents in Mactan saw a dominant role for tourism in their economy.
The data seem to indicate that the majority of Panglao respondents did not
depend on tourism as much the Mactan respondents did.
Table 2. Role of tourism in the local economy
What role does PANGLAO MACTAN
tourism contribute F % F %
to the local economy? (n=56) (n=81)
No role 8 14 3 4
Minor role 17 30 17 21
A role equal to other industries 13 23 14 17
Dominant role 18 32 47 58
It may be significant to note this ambiguity with which Panglao respon-
dents see tourisms role in their economy despite the high percentage of
household members working in the industry. This ambiguity is borne out
further by the next data set where respondents were asked to rank a set of
industries in terms of their desired form of economic development.
That data show that Panglao respondents ranked the tourism industry as
the most desired form of economic development with 39 percent, although nearly
an equal number (38 percent) would prefer agriculture. Panglao is still very
much an agricultural place. Many landholdings beyond the resorts are still
family-owned, subsistence farms. While one member may work in a tourist
establishment, the rest may be working in farms or fishing. This may explain
the respondents who still desire agricultural development over that of tourism.
For the Mactan respondents, there was no ambiguity between agricul-
ture and tourism. Agriculture was ranked last by 54 percent while tourism
was ranked first by over 60 percent. Clearly, the absence of farms on the island
meant that agriculture was no longer a desired form of economic develop-
ment. Cottage industries were the next preferred modes of development,
after tourism and trade. This is probably because Mactan is still home to
various shellcraft, stonecraft, furniture woodcarving, and other artisan sub-
contracting activities that have been a source of livelihood for a number of
locals since the export boom began in the late 70s.
When respondents in Panglao were asked to ascertain their degree of
dependence on tourism (Table 7), 86 percent reported that part or majority
of their communitys products and services went to tourist resorts. In con-
trast, 92 percent of the Mactan respondents made the same claim.
These results once again bear out the significantly different economic
activities on the two islands. In Panglao, there is an amalgam between the
resorts along the beach and farms beyond, where farm produce and available
human resources go to the resorts. In Mactan, however, family farms and
fishing activities have long given way to residential, tourist, and export pro-
cessing activities. Thus, resorts are not expected to avail of local produce or
resources except for human resources.
When it came to employment dependence on tourism, almost 94 per-
cent of Panglao and Mactan respondents reported that employment was some-
what-to-very dependent on tourism.
Tourist-host interactions
What is the extent to which community residents come into contact with
tourists? What is their attitude toward the presence of tourists in their midst?
These questions were posed to respondents, since the degree of contact with
tourists might affect resident opinions and attitudes regarding tourists.
Almost 60 percent of the respondents from both Mactan and Panglao
reported frequent contact with tourists in the community. This indicated that
tourists did not only spend their times inside the resorts but also strayed into
the community. In a similar vein, almost two-thirds of the respondents from both
Panglao (64 percent) and Mactan (69 percent) indicated that they enjoyed
meeting and interacting with tourists. Such interactions are inevitable since
the survey sites are adjacent to the resorts. The data suggest that residents are
receptive to having tourists in their midst as they would most likely interact
with tourists who do come or stray into the community around the resorts.
Community attachment
Two questions determined how attached the respondents were to the com-
munity that they lived in. Their responses may indicate how they react to
changes and developments that affect their community. Where community
members feel strong attachment to their community, active stakeholder par-
ticipation, or even resistance to, decisions regarding any introduced- or in-
duced-type of development may be expected.
The majority of respondents from both sites agreed to statements indi-
cating attachment to the community. This was most especially true for the
statement, Id rather live here than anywhere else, which over 90 percent of
Panglao respondents and nearly 80 percent of Mactan respondents agreed
with. Such a large number of respondents who felt attached to the commu-
nity may be a result of long residential tenuremore than 80 percent of the
respondents had lived in their respective communities from 6 to 20 years.
Land use and decisionmaking issues
The attachment expressed by community members, in turn, reflected a strong
concern about the use of land as well as a desire to be consulted for future
tourism development decisions. Most of the Panglao (71 percent) and Mactan
(64 percent) respondents agreed that there was still adequate open space in
their community. Most respondents (77 percent and 64 percent in Panglao
and Mactan, respectively) also expressed concern for the potential disap-
pearance of open space. Similarly, over 70 percent of respondents from both
sites supported regulation of land use.
However, the problem of access to the sea was more pronounced among
Mactan respondents, with over half expressing this problem, while only 36
percent said so in Panglao. In addition, a larger portion of respondents from
Mactan (50 percent) than from Panglao (36 percent) felt that their leisure
and recreation opportunities were now limited by the presence of tourists.
With regard to decisionmaking on tourism development, there was over-
whelming agreement across both sites that community residents needed to
be consulted. They also agreed that decisionmaking could not just be left to
government and business interests.
Tourisms influence on quality of life
Respondents were also asked in this section what influence tourism had on
selected aspects of quality of life in the community. The concept of quality of
life is taken here to mean several variables that contribute to livability and
include the availability of quality public services, certain infrastructure, peace
and order, as well as sanitation and cleanliness.
In general, the majority saw tourism as a positive influence on quality of
life factors. Cost of living was the exception, as the respondents from both
sites perceived tourism as having a negative influence (41 percent and 43
percent for Panglao and Mactan respondents, respectively). In Panglao, an
overwhelmingly large number of respondents indicated that tourism was a
positive influence on the condition of the barangay road (91 percent), which
was asphalted just a few weeks before the start of this survey. This was followed
by cleanliness and overall appearance (71 percent) of the place and infra-
structure (64 percent).
However, a relatively large proportion of respondents from Panglao indi-
cated that they did not see any influence of tourism on education (39 per-
cent) there. In Mactan, the three factors which overall ranked highest in
terms of tourisms positive influence were cleanliness of the place (73 per-
cent), road condition (69 percent), and job opportunities (69 percent).
Yet, only 48 percent of Panglao respondents (48 percent) and slightly
over half of Mactan respondents (52 percent) saw tourism as a positive influ-
ence on overall community livability. In fact, a fourth of Panglao respondents
and a fifth of Mactan respondents found tourism to be both a positive as well
as a negative influence on overall community livability. These results imply
that respondents were quick to appreciate the visible signs of progress from
tourism, such as new or improved infrastructure. However, they were aware
that prices of commodities increased because of tourism.
Perceived benefits and disadvantages of tourism
Panglao and Mactan respondents were clearly divided on the perceived ben-
efits and disadvantages brought about by tourism. The majority of Panglao
respondents agreed that the jobs open to locals were those that paid low
wages. In contrast, only 40 percent of Mactan respondents agreed with the
statement. On whether resort owners cared for the well-being of the sur-
rounding community, the Panglao respondents were ambiguous in their
response. An equal proportion of 48 percent indicated agreement and dis-
agreement among these respondents. However, more than half of Mactan
respondents affirmed that resort owners cared for the community, with only
38 percent in disagreement.
The helpfulness of tourists in both Mactan and Panglao were clearly
perceived by an overwhelming number of respondents from both sites
(around 84 percent). This was the only statement where only very little dis-
agreement existed among the respondents from both sites. A large majority
of both Panglao and Mactan respondents also perceived that tourism was an
influential factor in the migration of outsiders to their community.
Fifty-three percent of the Panglao respondents agreed with the state-
ment on crowding in the community due to too many tourists. Conversely,
more (46 percent) Mactan respondents disagreed with this observation than
those that did (43 percent). As for overcrowding from foreigners settling
down in the community, over half the Panglao respondents agreed with the
statement but another 44 percent disagreed. The opposite result again came
up in Mactan, with almost 52 percent disagreeing that foreigners deciding to
live in the community were causing the overcrowding.
Limited access to recreation and leisure spaces resulting from the pres-
ence of resorts was perceived by nearly 60 percent of Mactan respondents but
only by 40 percent of Panglao respondents. Fifty-five percent of Panglao re-
spondents also disagreed that their access to livelihood opportunities was
now limited due to resorts proliferating on the beach. However, for Mactan
residents, almost the majority, or 48 percent, agreed that this was happening
to them.
It is important to note the near-equal number of Panglao and Mactan
respondents who either saw tourism as advantageous or disadvantageous when
it came to three things: resorts caring for the community around them, over-
crowding, and limited access. Respondents appeared to be aware of the glar-
ing difference in terms of the appearance of their community and those of
the resorts. This may also indicate that they already perceived problems of
carrying capacity and access to these resorts.
A second set of statements, this time overwhelmingly supportive of tour-
ism development, was drafted and read to the respondents for them to agree
or disagree with. In Panglao, the statement that received the most positive
response talked about opportunities for economic advancement through
jobs brought about by tourism, with 95 percent of the sample in agreement.
However, over 50 percent of respondents in Panglao disagreed that govern-
ment should promote tourism and encourage more tourist arrivals. This was
the only statement on tourism support that elicited a negative response from
more respondents.
In contrast, the majority of Mactan respondents agreed with all the tour-
ism support statements. The statement that obtained the most number of
agreements concerned tourism helping to make the respondents commu-
nity grow in the right direction, with 90 percent.
Both Panglao (69 percent) and Mactan (89 percent) respondents be-
lieved that their community was a good place for further investment in tour-
ism. Almost two-thirds of the respondents from both sites also agreed that the
overall benefits of tourism outweighed its negative impacts. Two statements
had to do with whether tourism would personally benefit the respondent.
On the first of these, about 80 percent of Panglao and 69 percent of Mactan
respondents agreed that their personal incomes would also increase or be
more secure if tourism increased in their community. Seventy percent from
both groups also agreed that they would personally benefit if tourism in-
creased in their community.
Tourism and community information
The respondents were fairly divided in terms of how well informed they were
about the tourism and travel industry. Almost 40 percent from both sites
claimed to be well informed, while 20 and 25 percent from Panglao and
Mactan, respectively, said that they were not informed at all. The remainder
considered themselves to be somewhat informed.
On issues such as tourisms impact on the local economy, as well as on
local quality of life, the proportion of well-informed respondents was higher
for Mactan than for Panglao. Conversely, the proportion of those that were
not at all informed was significantly higher for Panglao. Overall, information
dissemination on all aspects of the tourism industry appeared to be present
in Mactan. However, Panglao respondents still needed adequate informa-
tion on how tourism affected their lives and well-being.
In general, there appeared to be strong awareness of the benefits of tour-
ism in both Panglao and Mactan. This awareness is fundamentally rooted in
the respondents appreciation of the economic rewards that they have en-
joyed because of the presence of resorts. The fact that a large majority of the
respondents have household members holding tourism-related jobs helps
explain the positive opinions that have been obtained. This is despite the
fact that the jobs reported by respondents are generally low paying and labor-
intensive.
Panglao respondents, however, were almost evenly divided on the role of
tourism in their economy. Such ambiguity was absent among the Mactan re-
spondents who saw tourism as dominating their economy. As a result, Mactan
respondents ranked tourism as the most desired form of economic develop-
ment in their locality, with manufacturing ranked next. In contrast, Panglao
respondents ranked tourism and agriculture almost equally as their most
desired form of economic development. The majority of Panglao and Mactan
respondents, however, are in agreed that employment opportunities were
not totally dependent on tourism.
The majority of respondents enjoyed meeting and interacting with tour-
ists. However, they were concerned about the resorts relationship with the
community around them, overcrowding by tourists and limited access to
beaches. Respondents apparently saw the glaring difference between the
physical appearance of their community and those of the resorts. They also
seemed to have already perceived problems of carrying capacity and access in
the future.
Thus, while the respondents across both study sites appreciated the eco-
nomic benefits that tourism brought to them individually and as a commu-
nity, they were also wary of the problems attendant to tourism development.
This may explain the ambivalence exhibited by Panglao respondents, who
would rather not encourage tourism promotion and yet saw their area as a
good place to invest further for tourism. The Mactan respondents were aware
of some of tourisms disincentives. However, for them, as a community along
a fully developed resort enclave (with no more farms and fishing ventures to
pursue), tourism appeared to be a fait accompli.
It is important to note further that a very large majority indicated their
attachment to their respective communities, where they had lived for over 20
years. This helps explain the overwhelming agreement from both sites that
community members should be consulted regarding decisions having to do
with tourism.
Finally, exposure to information regarding tourism appeared to be a
personal initiative in both Panglao and Mactan, which show near equal num-
bers of respondents who were either well informed or only somewhat in-
formed about tourism in their midst.
Tourists, tourism development and local perspectives:
data from focus group discussions
Four FGDseach involving from 7 to 12 participantswere undertaken in
Panglao and Mactan. Each session lasted from one hour and a half to two
hours and was carried out with the use of an FGD field guide composed of
general questions. The Panglao focus groups were relatively evenly divided
between males and females, while there were more males in the Mactan
sessions. The average age of participants across all four groups was 40 years
old, the youngest being 18 years old and the eldest 73 years old. A total of six
questions were prepared to serve as the FGD Guide, with further probing
undertaken to elicit additional information.
Panglao residents and farmers/fisherfolk groups still believed that agri-
culture and farmlands had definite places on the island, despite the pres-
ence of tourism. In contrast, Mactan residents and fisherfolk groups no longer
saw much potential for agriculture or farming on their land. They saw their
land as better suited for residential, commercial, and tourism development.
The development of resorts in Mactan and Panglao was initiated by out-
siders, or those who lived near the beaches. For Mactan, resorts began to
appear in the 70s, although American service personnel from the nearby US
air force base had come to the beaches even in the mid-1960s. The first
resorts consisted largely of privately owned rest houses that were later opened
to tourists. The same phenomenon occurred in Panglao, where the first re-
sorts were established in the early 1980s. Again, outsiders or nonlocals were
the ones who initiated resort development.
Across all four focus groups, tourists were seen as different both in ap-
pearance and language. Individual participants perceived tourists as either
helpful to them or not. There had been many reported instances of tourists
helping the poor in their midst. These were seen as a positive effect of having
tourists visit the community.
Focus group participants generally acknowledged tourisms advantages
through the economic benefits that accrued to them, especially in terms of
resort jobs as well as opportunities to sell souvenirs to tourists or supply fish to
the resorts. Others reported the network of tour guides and operators, or
hupu-hupo in the vernacular, provided financial gain to many. A few point to
the friendships with tourists as financially and materially useful in helping
them emerge from poverty.
In Panglao, the perceived disadvantages of tourism were lack or limited
access to the sea, fencing of resorts, conflicting land claims, and breakdown
of kinship ties as a result. The farmers/fisherfolk among them expressed
lack of certainty about their future in relation to the airport planned for
construction in Panglao. There also appeared to be an absence of informa-
tion regarding development plans for the islandeven as the provincial
government continued to buy lands from them. Lack of access roads was also
a problem in Mactan. Many participants pointed to the construction of illegal
dikes as limiting movement along the beaches. At least one participant warned
that Panglao should learn from the resort sprawl now obtaining in Mactan.
A sense of fait accompli pervaded the discussion on the suggestions to
enhance tourism. This feeling was evident in the helplessness of Panglao
participants when faced with the reality of tourism development in their
midst. They suggested, however, that locals should be consulted in the entire
process of development. Mactan residents, on the other hand, proposed that
the problem of access to the sea be addressed soon.
Finally, all four focus groups saw no other role for them in tourism other
than to offer their labor and services to the resorts and tourism-related enter-
prises.
Tourism development and the community:
data from key informant interviews
Six interviews in Mactan and Cebu and nine in Panglao and Tagbilaran were
conducted with individuals selected purposively for their influential roles in
the respective tourism industries. These included regional officials from
DOT and PTA, municipal planning and development officers (MPDO),
barangay chairs, religious leaders, as well as officers of nongovernmental
organizations or community organizations.
Tourism advantages
Almost all the key informants interviewed in this study identified income
generation as the most important advantage of tourism. Jobs were the most
visible results that these informants appreciated. There was also an apprecia-
tion of the multiplier effect of the establishment of resorts, especially in the
provision of additional income for fisherfolk, who sell to the resorts. In Mactan,
being able to sell locally made guitars and shell craft was mentioned as a
positive result of the presence of tourism in the barangays.
Among the informants from the government sector, the most palpable
benefit of tourism was the provision of improved infrastructure, of which
none or only very little would have otherwise been present. The education of
locals or their interest to attain a certain level of formal education was also
attributed by some informants to tourism. One key informant cited income
generated from tourism and accruing to the municipal coffers in Panglao
was another benefit. Finally, a key informant from the government sector in
Panglao also enumerated positive changes in the landscape, more beautiful
surroundings, and sense of pride in ones place as benefits from tourism.
Problems in resort development
The problem singled out in almost all the key informant interviews in both
sites was accessibility. In Mactan, the concrete jetties or groins (locally called
dikes or seawalls) set up by individual resorts effectively controlled the move-
ment of people (i.e., tourists) within these resorts. The structures also en-
sure that the resorts are able to collect entrance fees for day visitors. Locals,
understandably, took this development negatively, because it forced them to
swim elsewhere. This was also a contravention of the 20-meter exclusion
zone, which prohibits the construction of any concrete structures within 20
meters from the highest tidal point inland.
Compounding the problem resulting from jetties was the lack of access
roads and boat landing sites in Mactan. The local barangay executive, want-
ing to address the situation, sought the support of his constituents by starting
a petition to have more access roads for locals. As for the lack of boat landing
sites, the same informant pointed to the continued violations of the salvage/
exclusion zone.
The problem of access in Panglao was not so much about concrete dikes
as it was about the actual fencing of resorts that effectively blocked access
from one resort to the next. Alona Beach was quite different from Maribago
in that locals and nontourists were not denied access to the white sand beach
segments. However, actually gaining access to the beach was the problem.
Fencing by some resorts had forced locals (as well as tourists) to take a detour
so they could move around. Related to the problem of accessibility was the
lack of access by fisherfolk to the beach fronting the resorts after a days catch.
Increasing prices of real estate coupled with the so-called fake land titles
for sale had resulted in a fencing frenzy around Alona Beach and the two
barangay study sites. This brought to the fore a second problem in Alona
(and elsewhere in Panglao), which came about when the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources lifted its ban on the titling of real prop-
erty five hectares and above located on the island. This caused a frenzied
dash for formal titling of properties by dint of of mere tax declarations. Con-
sequently, this spawned intrafamily squabbles over whose name or names
should be placed on the land titles. It also resulted in the so-called double-
selling of land and the appearance of fake titles in the real estate market in
Tagbilaran.
The problem of multiple claimants to real property also emerged in
Mactan, albeit to a lesser degree. Nevertheless, cases were filed in at least one
land dispute involving multiple claimants.
Both Mactan and Panglao shared the problems of drug addiction and
prostitution, albeit in varying degrees. The Panglao informants traced the
negative changes in youth attitudes, particularly the perceived loosening of
their moral values, to the presence of tourists in their area for the past more
than two decades. Such changes were evident, among others, in young people
wearing skimpy clothing, which the locals blamed on the almost constant
sight of bikini-clad tourists. They said the presence of tourists had influ-
enced the youth into drug addiction and, to a lesser extent, into prostitution.
Moreover, they noted that many of the younger generation now refuse to
farm or fish, preferring instead to spend their time doing all kinds of chores
at the resorts. Some members of the fishing families, for instance, were now
reportedly devoting more time at the dive shops so they could serve as guides
and errand boys to tourists. The result was fewer fish catch, which was tradi-
tionally vended from house to house. However, one local official was not
alarmed by changes like this. He believed that this was a mere problem of
acceptability level between two generations, pointing out that young people
had a higher level of acceptability. Finally, one of the barangay chairs in the
Panglao study sites tacitly admitted that only resort owners became rich from
tourism.
Government tourism programs and policies
It is interesting to note that when key informants were asked about govern-
ment programs and policies on tourism, the immediate response came in
the form of tourism projects currently pursued either by national govern-
ment agencies (i.e., the Panglao Tourism Estate) or local government units
(i.e., comprehensive land use plans, local government tourism project con-
cerning landscape and beautification).
According to a key informant, accessibility problems would not have
emerged had the resort owners as well as local government units followed
the mandate of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) to control any forms
of development in Mactan as well as in Panglao, among others. However, with
the Local Government Code vesting authority and jurisdiction to local gov-
ernment units, many national line agencies could only inform LGUs about
violations because the ultimate authority in these matters now rests with them.
Thus, for example, it is now up to the local government in Panglao to ensure
that the exclusion/salvage zone is strictly observed.
Concerning tourism projects, all government informants from Panglao
expressed some familiarity with the Panglao Tourism Estate project in terms
of some of its components. Awareness among the informants from the farm-
ing/fishing sectors of the project hinged on an implied concern for the
future should the proposed airport materialize. To date, the project remains
on the drawing board although some of its infrastructure components have
already been realized.
Interviews with the key informants revealed a sense of uncertainty about
the planned construction of an airport. Only the municipal engineer in Panglao
could categorically state that the planned airport would be constructed, but
that it had been downgraded from a subinternational to domestic type. At the
regional tourism office, the person tasked to oversee the Panglao Estate
projects could not say with certainty what the status of the airport project was.
The same was true of key informants in Panglao. While farmer leaders
and barangay chairs of the two barangays as well as one NGO stakeholder
were aware of the project, they had no information at all about its status. This
finding is significant because Barangay Tawala, is one of the barangays cov-
ered by the tourism estate project.
In Mactan, key informant interviews elicited information regarding the
plans and programs of the local government unit there. A city tourism office
had already been set up to coordinate all plans and activities in relation to
tourism. Four barangays (Maribago, Mactan, Punta Engano and Marigondon)
had already been identified in the latest comprehensive land use plans as
tourism zones. Unfortunately, the barangay chair interviewed for this study
could not identify any policies or programs concerning tourism in his
barangay, and pointing instead to other programs pursued by the municipal-
ity in his barangay that were hardly related to tourism (e.g., waiting sheds,
satellite market, marine park). In fact, other than the municipal planning
officer, all others tended to point to specific plans concerning tourism which
were clearly off tangent because they were all concerned with city beautifica-
tion. Further probing elicited no additional information.
Community participation
There is quite a long history in Panglao about whether locals were consulted
in tourism development projects or not. According to the key informants, the
government learned its lesson in 1989, when it sent Manila-based academics
to develop a framework plan for Panglaos development. Locals did not take
kindly to this Tagalog-speaking group. Thus in 1992, a research team from
the University of San Carlos in Cebu was sent to conduct a needs assessment
study and involved locals in community meetings and workshops that
stretched up to 1993.
The informants admitted that there was very active and strong resistance
to any planned tourism development in Panglao, until signs of acceptance
appeared around 1995. This level of acceptance, however, seemed to be one
of acquiescence among the farmer leaders because they felt there was no
mope avenue left to stop the estate project. Locals had apparently come to
accept that Panglao was now going to host a tourism estate, and their only
concern was their possible displacement from their own lands.
In Mactan, the growth of resorts in Maribago was not attended by commu-
nity consultations. Since all resort properties were privately owned and for-
mally titled, the need to consult the surrounding communities was deemed
unnecessary by resort developers. Moreover, most of the resorts were built
under martial law. Thus, it was quite expedient on the private owners to
convert their properties for whatever purpose they saw fit.
Local leaders in Maribago claimed that resort development in Mactan
was largely an autonomous affair involving private entrepreneurs. Many of
these showed little regard for local and national laws, as exemplified by the
construction of seawalls and the subsequent resort sprawl. Local government
officials in Mactan could only provide prescriptions on how development in
the area should have proceeded but without making any reference whatso-
ever to community participation in the decisionmaking for tourism develop-
ment.
In 1995 a comprehensive long-term development plan for the entire
island of Mactan came about (Schema Konsult 1995). After this, the city
government delineated (or zoned off) Maribago as one of the barangays in-
tended solely for tourism. It came, however, as another fait accompli as resorts
had long been established even before this study and subsequent zoning
came about. What the zoning declaration produced was the improvement in
local infrastructure, especially in terms of road asphalting and widening,
street lighting and water systems delivery.
For the barangay chairs in both the Mactan and Panglao study sites, com-
munity participation meant calling residents to barangay meetings and pub-
lic hearings to explain a certain project and to hear their opinions. One
informant said that the reason why no community participation, other than
public hearings, ever occurred in the study site was because these resorts
were hurriedly developed one after another. Such forms of development and
investment in tourism were very profitable and locals simply accepted what
was going on around them.
Local social and political dynamics
The emerging impact of tourism on the social dynamics in Panglao and
Mactan largely revolved around the observable changes among the youth. In
Mactan, informants reported problems like young people now gallivanting
late at night. One informant cited the tourists as the main culprits behind
this change. A few others mentioned changes in the social status of residents
who were either working in the resorts or married tourists.
The most obvious change that informants, most of whom from Panglao,
cited concerned the breakdown of kinship ties resulting from intra-family
fights over real estate in the light of increasing land values in Panglao. One
other informant observed that life was much simpler when farming and fish-
ing were predominant in Mactan. However, with the arrival of tourists, clus-
ters of communities were physically separated as lands were sold off. People
had also become less religious, rarely ever going to church.
There is a history of conflict over tourism development in Panglao that
began when the first studies for the establishment of the proposed tourism
estate were made in 1989 (see above). According to informants, the Catholic
church, as early as 1992, had begun actively opposing further tourism devel-
opment. Based on perceived erosion of moral values that emerged from the
arrival of more tourists, the ensuing rallies and demonstrations accordingly
compelled the local government as well as national agencies to take of local
sentiments seriously. The period 1992-1995 was identified by informants as
the time of active resistance to any form of tourism development proposed by
the government. This may have created a kind of vigilance on the part of
locals that emboldened them, according to an informant, to actively partici-
pate in meetings, especially now that an airport was being planned.
From talks with Mactan key informants, none of the situations described
appeared to have been obtained in their area. Neither did Mactan witness
seen rallies or demonstrations organized by the Church against tourism devel-
opment.
Local dependence on and alternatives to tourism
Farming and fishing continued to be identified as alternatives to tourism in
Panglao. The informants still believed that the future allows for farming and
fishing to exist in Panglao. Besides, they argued, locals did not depend to-
tally on tourism for their livelihood anyway. One alternative pursued by the
local government in Panglao involved the establishment of a craft village in
Barangay Lourdes. Funded by the Province of Bohol, the village is a 1.1-
hectare site composed, for now at least, of a loom-weaving center with 25
handlooms and two warp mills. Selected local residents were trained by DOLE
and monitored by the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure quality
production. A nursery for buri plant was set up by the municipal government
to provide the raw materials for the center. Unfortunately, by the time of the
interview, the center had run out of funds and appeared idle.
In contrast, key informants from Mactan reported that with the absence
of farms and local boat landing sites, locals who lived adjacent to the resorts
were now very dependent on tourism. For those living further inland, two
other alternatives existed. One was participation in local craft production
(i.e., shellcraft, stonecraft, woodcarving and guitar-making), for which the
study site and its adjacent barangays are famous. The other was to work at the
Mactan Export Processing Zone or in the city proper. However, according to
one informant, the latter option might be difficult to pursue for those who
lacked the necessary education and skills.
Summary of findings
Indepth interviews confirmed most of the findings and issues raised during
the FGDs. The key problems raised by the stakeholders, both in government
as well as those outside it, pertained to accessibility and demonstration ef-
fects as well as land ownership disputes.
Significantly, the pattern of development of resorts differed between
Panglao and Mactan. In Mactan, tourism had already taken root before large-
scale government plans or comprehensive zoning activities were undertaken.
To the frustration of local and national government officials, private initia-
tives at establishing resorts overlooked local needs for accessibility and land-
ing sites for boats. When government finally got its act together, resorts had
already installed fencing and other barriers to the locals. The only recourse
left was to challenge these resort owners in court.
In Panglao, problems of accessibility for locals did not seem to have
reached the same proportions as those Mactan. This was due in part to the
communitys history of opposition to tourism development, which may have
made locals more aware of their situation vis--vis tourism development. The
early learning experiences of Panglao appeared to have institutionalized
community participation, with consultations as its most concrete expression.
Nevertheless, the confusion about the status of the estate project might be
construed as a sheer lack of information among the affected sectors and
government stakeholders. On the other hand, this may also be indicative of
too many government agencies handling the project, none of which pro-
vided a venue for coherent exchange of information.
The emergent problem of intra-familial squabbles in Panglao, however,
evinced changes in the social dynamics of a hitherto kinship-based commu-
nity. These signaled the beginnings of breakdowns in community cohesion
as personal interests began to subsume kin and community relations. Con-
flicts between local government executives (attributed to personal stakes in
the municipalitys tourism development) highlighted the evolving changes
in power relations as what some construed as progress began to take shape.
Perhaps it was most telling that such community cohesion was not dem-
onstrated in Mactan, now highly urbanized and developed, its days of pris-
tine conditions long gone. Mactans people had begun to rely on tourism for
their livelihood. Where this was not possible, the study sites proximity to
other sources of livelihood provided locals with alternatives, as long as they
had the necessary skills.
Locals in Panglao still saw hope for farming and fishing in the midst of
tourism development. This is most interesting in light of the fact that there
seemed to be tacit acceptance of the inevitability of the planned tourism
estate project. This may be because the project itself had already undergone
significant changes since local stakeholders voiced their protests. It may also
be because of strong attachment by the community members to their place
be it farm or fishing ground. They were willing to accept tradeoffs for as long
as they remained in their communities, or, where others were concerned,
were properly resettled by the government. The tourism estate project had
taken this possibility into account in that agriculture formed part of the over-
all development plan vis--vis tourism. Unfortunately, the lure of tourists and
the resorts were pulling young people out of traditional forms of subsistence
and livelihood, and more importantly, away from community-accepted values
and norms. This did not bode well for the future of farming and fishing
activities in the communities under study.
Conclusions and recommendations
This study is about local communities in the midst of varying levels of tourism
development. Using the anthropological perspective, the paper scrutinized
two resort communities in two islands using the triangulation method of
survey, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The findings
of this study can be understood only when seen against the backdrop of
important issues raised at the beginning of this report.
What is the local meaning of space and landscape? How do individuals and their
community maximize the benefits from available space and landscape?
Space and landscape are seen differently by locals from Panglao and Mactan.
For the former, space is constitutive not just of its physical dimensions but
also of its capacity to provide subsistence and livelihood for its occupants. In
Panglao, locals see much value in land for farming and the sea for fishing.
Thus, there is potential for conflict when forms of development overlap with
traditional views of resource utilization. Locals in Panglao, for example, find
it hard to comprehend why beaches that used to be open must now be off
limits, following the establishment of resorts. In Mactan, on the other hand,
the absence of farms and boat landing sites has meant that, for locals, their
space is congruent to a mere place of residence. However, the sea is still seen
as a valuable source of subsistence.
Because space in Panglao is also perceived in terms of its agricultural
value, the sample population in this study is almost evenly divided among
those who see its development in terms of tourism and those who see it as fit
for agriculture. There is no such division of opinions among respondents in
Mactan. For them, tourism is the major form of development there. While
there is strong attachment to their community, the locals in Mactan see the
value of space only to the extent that it is able to support their livelihood. In
the case of Mactan, these livelihoods are tied in some way to tourismwhether
as vendors, hupo-hupo tour guides, boatmen, or resort employees. Place has
become nothing more than habitat. The sense of placethe essence of be-
ing in a communityhas been expanded to include tourists, as tourist life
now pervades the local communities there (or at least, in Barangay Maribago).
How is space appropriated for tourism development? What are the major conflicts
that have sprung up as a result?
The appropriation of space for tourism in both Panglao and Mactan came
independent of local interests and land/sea use by local residents. In both
study sites, tourist resorts failed to emerge from the initiatives of locals (what
Cohen [1983] calls insiders) because of two things. First, they simply did
not have the capital to start any type of tourist accommodation. Second, locals
did not see the meaning (and sense) of privatizing hitherto open space and
charging fees for its use. On the other hand, neither the local nor the na-
tional government played a role in initiating the emergence of resorts in
both study sites. Government interest in spatial appropriation, while deeply
pronounced today in Panglao, was absent when the first resorts started to
emerge in the early 80s. Such absence is much more pronounced in Mactan,
where violations here and there of the 20-meter salvage zone law evince the
almost lack of government supervision of development, from the time resorts
were first built in the early 1970s to their growth into high-end international
resorts in the late 80s. By the time the comprehensive land-use plans for the
city of Lapu-Lapu were approved in 1995, most, if not all, of Mactans beaches
were teeming with resorts.
The form and timing by which space was appropriated for tourism vary and
provide some important insights into the type of tourism development that
was pursued in each study site. In Mactan, beachfront properties were largely
owned by wealthy urban Cebu-based families with titles to their properties.
Thus, resort development emerged during the period of martial law, when
severe restrictions on individual freedoms as well as on public assembly were
in place. Thus, no protests could be expected from the locals. The presence
of other forms of economic development (like the Mactan Export Processing
Zone) as well as an international airport also meant that pressure on land
and sea as sources of livelihood was not as strong as it was in Panglao. Thus,
private resort developers created an enclave of sorts, cordoning their proper-
ties off the surrounding community. The locals, powerless because they held
no title to beachfront properties, could only complain to their barangay offi-
cials who were just as powerless. This, coupled with a seeming lack of political
will on the part of city chief executives, exacerbated the situation.
Unlike Mactan, tourism development in Panglao happened on an island
where landowners held only tax declarations, not land titles. Moreover, such
development appeared in a very rural environment, initiated by backpackers
staying away from the expensive resorts of Mactan and elsewhere. The charac-
ter of Alonas tourists (Bersales 1999 and Blijleven and van Naerssen 1999)
dictated the type of accommodations that were eventually offered by resort
owners. Because the early tourists were young and adventurous types who
loved to travel individually or in small groups, no largescale high-end resorts
appeared in Alona. To borrow from Cohen (1983), Alona hosts craft-type
tourism as opposed to the bungalow tourism in Mactan, thus preventing the
creation of resort enclaves. This is best evidenced by Alonas architecture and
spatial arrangements that merge with the rural character of the place, extend-
ing well into the communities and households that sit adjacent to Alona.
Change began when the national government saw the islands potential
for economic growth, thereby proposing the implementation of the Panglao
Tourism Estate project in the early 90s. The timing could not have been
worse as, armed with the experience of people power/EDSA revolt of 1986,
the Catholic church, resort owners, and local lay leaders as well as peasant
NGOs, rallied the locals to oppose any further development in their midst.
The problem was not abated by the early insensitivity of government tourism
agencies. Without any social preparation for the communities, this initial
study immediately caught the imagination of locals whose strong attachment
to land and sea as well as their community heightened their resolve not to
allow any further development without their knowledge and participation in
decisionmaking. The rallies and mass actions that followed might have re-
sulted in sharpening local awareness of and concern for their community in
the midst of spatial appropriations and the increasing commoditization of
place by outsiders. Whereas Mactan has seen the essence of placeless power
and powerless places, Panglao demonstrates a different scenario altogether
because of this period of active opposition by locals.
A decade after this period of turmoil in the development of Panglao,
locals now see development through tourism as inevitable. With local resi-
dents in Panglao finding potential for economic benefit for the community
down to the individual level, a conspicuous alteration of earlier evaluations
of tourism may have emerged. The KAP survey has shown that those who live
near the resorts have benefited the most from tourism. Yet, as the FGD ses-
sions show, even farmers and fisherfolk would still like to play a role amid this
type of development. There is, however, still much cautiousness with regard
to demonstration effects, as expressed in the key informant interviews in
both Mactan and Panglao.
This study also shows that the arena of conflict over tourism has now
shifted from the community level to that of family and individuals. With land
titling now an inevitable event, many families are undergoing internal stress
as members assert their right to land. Hitherto absentee family members,
long settled elsewhere, now want to be involved in the apportionment of
benefits from the sale of lands to resort investors and real estate brokers. The
conflict between the local executives in Panglao, moreover, expose the stakes
involved when personal interests in tourism development clash with politi-
cal aspirations. Such power struggles in the light of future tourism develop-
ment plans are inevitable as members of the local elite compete to maximize
their participation and reap tremendous benefits. One cannot also discount
the potential for enrichment of ones political coffers (or more bluntly, cor-
ruption) as government initiates infrastructure projects aimed at improving
ancillary facilities to entice more tourist arrivals.
In Mactan, the arena of conflict, now more than two decades old, revolves
around accessibility for locals. Powerless fisherfolk and other locals, whose claims
to place and space have been superseded by rapid economic development
and increasing urbanization, have forced the conflict onto the legal front,
pitting wealthy private entrepreneurs (and important city taxpayers, if one
may add) against the local government. This is a conflict that, in the words of
one key informant, requires the political will of the chief executive.
Judging from past and current government action, no immediate solu-
tion is in sight insofar as the seawalls are concerned. Mactans incorporation
into the global economy (with two export processing zones, the international
airport, and international-class tourist resorts now in place) means that the
power to decide the future trajectory of the islands development is now out
of the local actors, the local government unit included, as it now resides in
the global players who have a stake in its future. As a hub of international
transportation, commodity production and tourism, the time when locals
would have had a say in its future has long receded into the horizon. It would
not be surprising if the illegal structures that control human circulation
within the resort enclave will remain in place.
The mobilizations of locals that occurred in Panglao will not happen
anymore in Mactan, where even the Catholic church has not been active. For
as long as economic growth is ensured by these global players, locals have no
recourse but to play along in whatever way they can. For the local government
unit, Lapu-Lapu city, such growth translates into much needed revenues that
allow more infrastructure to be built, making the city truly world-class.
The experience of Mactan should serve as an eye opener to local com-
munities now facing international tourism development in Panglao. The
presence of active peoples organizations and the Catholic church may help
ensure local participation and institutionalize local power as the island creeps
toward the orbit of globalization. This may arrest the social inclusion and
exclusion that followed economic development in Mactan.
What are the historical forces that have contributed to the dynamics of local
response to tourism development?
The local response to tourism today, as gleaned from the KAP survey as well
as the FGD sessions, is clearly positive for the large majority of both the Mactan
and Panglao respondents and participants. Tourists are seen as helpful, with
individual cases cited to show the benefits derived from friendships with
them. There is, however, some apprehension over whether resorts care for
the communities around them. This concern is largely a result of the accessi-
bility problems in Mactan and Panglao mentioned earlier.
Because tourist resorts began in Mactan during martial law, no adverse
local response to tourism ever appeared. Neither national nor local govern-
ments seemed to have had any hand in the early development of the resorts
on the island. The major force that ushered in the establishment of resorts in
Mactan might have been the urban-based Cebuano elite who began buying
small parcels of beachfront properties that were successively developed into
resorts. Whether such acquisitions were products of land grabbing or re-
sulted in the proliferation of squatter communities has not been clearly elic-
ited from the respondents to this study. An earlier study, however, did report
the emergence of squatters when another group of squatters sold their prop-
erty to the owners of an adjacent five-star hotel (Bersales and Nolasco 1996).
Since resorts are privately developed, privately owned, and stand on titled
land, the local response to their presence in Mactan has been muted at best.
This is not the case in Panglao, where an early history of resistance tempers
locals positive evaluations of tourists and the benefits they derive from tourism.
As gleaned from the key informant interviews, the development of tourism in
Panglao was attended by conflict and struggle in the early 90s owing to the
active involvement of the church and resorts there. While craft-type resorts
had existed in Alona prior to this period, government decision (an outsider
initiative) to accelerate development of the proposed Panglao Tourism Es-
tate caused the coalescing of community aspirations with the moral position of
the church against tourism. This made locals acutely aware of their place in the
economic progress of Panglao, a picture that did not emerge from the relevant
data on Mactan. The anxiety expressed by Panglao FGD participants, for ex-
ample, on their future in the face of vague information regarding an international
airport project on the island demonstrates their keen interest in their future.
Given the fairly recent role of government in planning Panglaos tour-
isma role absent in the history of Mactanthe uncertainty surrounding
the tourism estate plan is not very reassuring to the farmers who will be
affected by such a plan. Perhaps this is a mere problem of communicating
correct information down to the local leaders and the communities. Alterna-
tively, it can be a result of too many government agencies working at
crosspurposes, as alluded to by Blijleven and Van Naerssen (2001) in their
study of tourism in Central Visayas.
How has tourism development reconfigured social relations in the community?
With the advent of tourism, locals have managed to adjust themselves to the
situation by providing services to tourists. This is best expressed in the emer-
gence of the hupo-hupo tourist guides in Mactan, who provide Japanese tour-
ists with a network of other services for a fee. Spatial appropriation in Mactan
(as in Panglao) has reduced the majority of non-landowning locals to per-
forming menial jobs and vending for tourists and resorts in the absence of
farms and boat landing sites. Because localities in Mactan have been incorpo-
rated into the urban (and global) sphere of the economy, ones location in
the tourism enterprise now determines once position in the community.
The dynamics of tourism is such that the social structure of local communi-
ties now includes tourists who form part of the everyday lives of locals, both in
Mactan and Panglao.
Panglao, which is still undergoing a transition from rural to urban life via
tourism, presents a slightly different scene altogether, one which may have
been about Mactan once before it was subsumed into the urban and global
scheme of things. Kinship ties and the essence of community still pervade
the environment of Panglao. Despite the increasing financial value of land as
a result of tourism, these ties are beginning to loosen. Proof of this is the
emergence of intrafamilial strife resulting from speculations on land prices,
which has put a strain on family relations. Multiple claimants to properties
sold many times over expose the schemes that real estate brokers in Tagbilaran
and their local counterparts have resorted to for financial gain.
The strain across two generations, young and old, is reflected in the
demonstration effects of tourists on the youth. Farmers and fishers fear they
are declining in number as more and more young people are lured to the
resorts to find jobs, no matter how temporary or menial these may be. Others
lament the change in attire among the young, as was observed by both Panglao
Mactan key informants. Drug addiction and prostitution among the young,
more pronounced in Mactan than in Panglao, is a major concern of commu-
nity members. Another emerging issue is the changing attitude of locals
toward the enhanced economic status of their neighbors or friends who have
married foreign tourists.
Finally, this study has sought to investigate how rapid and accelerated
change brought about by the appropriation of space has reconfigured local
power and social relations in two resort communities. It has compared the
emergence and growth of tourism amid local communities in two islands of
varying levels of tourist development. In Mactan, tourism has become one of
three factors that have placed the island within the orbit of the global economy
(the others being commodity production for export and international trans-
portation). The appropriation of space there has resulted in the erosion of
local power as the islands economy is now tied to global forces. Local com-
munities in the study site now depend almost entirely on tourism as a source
of revenue, thus muting local power and subsuming it to state and global
interests. In a sense, there is no more contest over space in Mactan.
Panglao, on the other hand, can learn from the experience of Mactan as
it embarks on the road to development. A past characterized by an active
struggle for the institutionalization of local decisionmaking and participa-
tion in tourism development and the craft- or small-scale type of resorts (in
Alona) have resulted in a contest over space, as local power is now expressed
in the communities heightened sensitivity to development in their midst.
Recommendations
Based on this study, the following issues need to be addressed:
1. Accessibility problems in the form of fencing and access roads in
Panglao and concrete jetties in Mactan need to be earnestly resolved
by the local government units with the support of national line agen-
cies. This requires coordinated and concerted efforts as well as po-
litical will on the part of local executives and the vigilance of local
residents.
2. The problem of the so-called double-selling resulting in multiple
claimants to real property in Panglao requires serious attention by
appropriate government unitsspecifically those concerned with
land titling and surveyingfrom the barangay up to the national
levels. This needs coordination and the setting up of a multisectoral
body composed of all stakeholders to regulate the sale of land.
3. A proper information dissemination system across all the govern-
ment agencies coordinating tourism development, both in Mactan
and in Panglao, should be put in place to avoid further confusion at
the ground level on tourism-related projects.
4. Finally, government agencies and local government units should
seek avenues for coordinating activities to avoid implementing tour-
ism programs or issuing policies at cross purposes.
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Chapter 8
Maintaining Competitive Advantage in
Tourism Organizations: Emerging Patterns
of Employment and Challenges for HRD
Susan L. Solis
Introduction
In recent years, organizations in the Philippine tourism industry have expe-
rienced many challenges due to factors like globalization and the Asian eco-
nomic crisis. To survive, companies must build a competitive advantage by
relying on their employees to implement improved service delivery processes.
Tourism establishments, being service-oriented, depend highly on employee
performance.
A company achieves competitive advantage when it gains a superior mar-
ketplace position relative to its competition. One way to achieve it is to create
a better-quality product or service than what is offered by ones competitor.
Research shows that a firms human resource management (HRM) practices
can have a strong impact on competitive advantage (Kleiman 1997).
Due to the labor-intensive nature of services in the accommodation sec-
tor, human resources is a key issue. The tourism industry is above all a people
industry and the guests impression of the service in an accommodation
establishment is to a large extent governed by the attitude and efficiency of
its staff. Employees who are enthusiastic and involved, proud of their com-
pany and who have internalized its goals and values, are the core of excellent
operations.
Among hoteliers, there is wide recognition that survival in the interna-
tional hotel industry depends upon developing well qualified, thoroughly
trained staff focused on providing quality service to the customer (Go and
Pine 1995).
Effective HRM is critical to the success of tourism organizations, which
cannot compete globally with second-rate workers. Companies formulating
and implementing business plans must consider human resource issues.
There is therefore an urgent need to address issues arising from changes
in work and employment, such as those facing the tourism industry, brought
about by globalization and the Asian economic crisis. Factors such as global-
ization and the Asian economic crisis have brought about changes in work
and employment in Philippine tourism organizations. Since a competitive
advantage is more readily achieved in organizations that can assess and adapt
to their changing environment, this study explores the scope and intensity of
such changes and attempts to address the emerging challenges.
Objectives of the study
The study attempted to 1) identify the emerging patterns of employment
relationships that have resulted from such factors as globalization and the
Asian economic crisis in selected hotels; 2) assess the impact of the new
patterns of employment on HRD strategies and interventions as hiring, train-
ing and development, performance management 3) determine the impact
of the new patterns of employment on worker competence and employee
perception of work-related issues; and 4) recommend measures related to the
impact of the new employment patterns on HRD strategies and interventions.
Significance of the study
The effective utilization of human resources is essential in tourism establish-
ments as competitive success depends on the organizations capacity to de-
liver high-quality, value-added service, which in turn is dependent on its
people. Through an assessment of human resource-related issues brought
about by emerging patterns of employment and work relations, new chal-
lenges can be addressed.
By taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of HRD strategies
and interventions adopted due to the utilization of new patterns of employ-
ment, management would be in a better position to devise an HRD program
that shall help maintain its competitive advantage amid changes in the work
organization.
The information generated in this study should guide workers and their
organizations in seeking better work terms and conditions and the improv-
ing their quality of work life.
Policymakers in government shall also benefit from the study as they
enact and enforce work-related laws aimed to protect workers and ensure
continued sustenance of service organizations in response to changes brought
about by the new employment patterns.
Recent developments such as globalization and changes in the world economy
have resulted in drastic changes in employment patterns and labor utiliza-
tion. Stiffer competition for scarce demand in the market has forced many
businesses to adopt mechanisms that would achieve efficiency and competi-
tiveness to ensure continued operations.
Globalization
Globalization has taken on a variety of conceptual meanings, including one
that is macroeconomic in origin and another which focuses on the firm or
Chapter 8: Solis 277
microeconomic agents. The first view focuses on the globalization of markets
for commodities and factors, deemed most visible in the globalization of
financial markets with magnitudes in flows of capital across borders. The
second view posits firms behave differently, rather than traditionally, with
respect to suppliers and markets. As production processes differ, relations
among firms evolve differently, and trade takes on varying configurations
(Alburo 1997).
The main manifestations of globalization in the world economy lie in the
rapid growth in world trade, foreign direct investment, and cross-border fi-
nancial flows over the past decade. The lowering of tariff and nontariff barri-
ers to international trade, the encouragement of direct foreign investment,
and the deregulation of financial markets are major economic liberalization
measures that have driven globalization. Globalization has meant an increase
in competition that is felt not just by multinational players but also by domes-
tic ones, threatened by new players from abroad. Firms have had to increase
their operational effectiveness by doing things better, cheaper and faster,
and also to increase their organizational capability consisting of technical
systems, people skills and cultural values. Moreover, the need to pay atten-
tion to the development of their human capital as a source of competitive
advantage was underscored (Evans et al. 2002).
Worldwide, many firms and even entire industries in different countries are
adapting their employment practices to the new terms of international compe-
tition. In many countries around the world, a new approach to employment
relations has emerged. The employment practices that have been adopted,
however, vary considerably across countries, firms, industries, and regions.
Globalization and the hotel industry
Go et al. (1999) says organizations in the hospitality and tourism industry
have experienced a great deal of turmoil as the competitive forces within the
industry have shifted under the weight of globalization. Structural and cycli-
cal changes in the local, national, and international business environments
have challenged the survival of organizations. Globalization is said to have
prompted consolidation, brought about by an increase in market dominance
of transnational companies, as well as the growing popularity of mergers and
strategic alliances.
Within the hotel industry, globalization is commonly perceived to have a
standardizing effect as products and institutional services originally offered
domestically appear on the worldwide market. Globalization of the industry
has increased competitive pressures by bringing more entrants to the domes-
tic market, increasing consumer expectations and expanding their options.
Hence, domestic hotel performance is greatly affected by high and consis-
tent service levels and brand names of hotels operating worldwide (Go and
Pine 1995).
Knowles et al. (2001) support this notion and advance the idea that
globalizations effect on hotels and the accommodation sector is mainly evident
in the resulting increased competitive pressure, which in turn creates a new
way of thinking about human resources. This situation makes it more difficult
to distinguish hotels from one other, as stiff competition has spawned a gener-
ally high standard for basic products and services. Increasingly, what distin-
guishes one provider from another is personal service and attention to detail.
The nature of service hotels offer underscores the role of human re-
sources in ensuring the success of their operations. To hotel guests, their
choice of a hotel does not simply mean picking a room with bed and bath but
also with food and beverage and entertainment. The experiential nature of
the services delivered involves all the physical senses, henceforth encom-
passing style and quality.
Given the competitive pressure brought about by globalization, hotels
must rely on their human resources to deliver personal servicewith style and
quality . Hence, organizations should place more emphasis on the important
role played by their human resources in building a competitive advantage. A
workforce that is skilled, well motivated, and works as a team is a major key to
delivering quality service and giving hotels an edge over their competitors in
a globalized world (Go and Pine 1995).
Economic crises and their impact on tourism
The Asian financial crisis, which struck countries in the East and Southeast
Asian region beginning the second half of 1997, created a surge in unem-
ployment due to firm closures and layoffs in most industries in Asia. An
International Labour Organization study reported a loss of over 20 million
jobs in countries within the region. This was further aggravated by the impact
of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America, ad-
versely affecting major industries worldwide, leading to a worsening of the
unemployment situation.
The tourism industry was one of the first to feel the effects of the eco-
nomic crisis. As priorities shifted, tourism activity declined drastically, leav-
ing the demand for transportation and travel and tourist accommodation
services to a low level. A survey conducted by the World Tourism Organiza-
tion in 1999 revealed that many countries within Asia were hard hit by the
Asian crisis as intraregional tourism went down by 10 percent in 1998, and
total arrivals by 5.6 percent.
There were a few exceptions such as Thailand, which was able to in-
crease its tourist arrivals as it took advantage of cheaper prices resulting from
the currency depreciation and its proximity to large adjacent markets seek-
ing lower travel cost opportunities.
Overall, the study concluded that the Asian crisis impacted the hotel
sector in Asia in two ways: 1) it increased the cost of debt servicing because
much of the new hotel investment was borrowed in $US currency; and 2) it
squeezed the regional markets capacity to pay for the many upmarket hotels
developed. As a result, the performance of hotels deteriorated with a signifi-
cant collapse in yield (i.e., average earnings per available room) and gross
operating profits as hotel operators scrambled for whatever business they
could get. Thailand, which was not spared from the adverse effects of the
economic crisis, experienced this same predicament.
Deep staff reductions and greater reliance on casual contract staff was a
major cost reduction strategy resorted to by accommodation operators and
owners in the hotel sector. Other strategies employed included extensive
cost cutting, closure of unprofitable establishments, mergers and acquisi-
tions (WTO 1999).
As the tourism industry was still trying to recover from the effects of the
Asian financialcrisis, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the
United States dealt another blow to the industry. Tourism was one of the
major industries all over the world that was adversely affected by the after-
math of the attacks, as people from all over the world, concerned about their
safety, avoided traveling. Tourism activity suffered an all- time low alongside
most sectors within the industry (i.e., airlines, hotels and tourist accommoda-
tions, travel agencies, etc.). The resulting inactivity led to massive layoffs and
retrenchments, causing thousands of workers to lose their jobs.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC 2002), from
2001 to 2002, travel and tourism demand declined by 7.4 percent worldwide
and 10.9 in Southeast Asia. This translated to a loss of 10.45 million and 1.23
million jobs worldwide and in Southeast Asia, respectively
The Philippine scenario
In the Philippines, global competition has altered the economic landscape
on which employer-employee and labor protection are based (Macaraya
1999).The lowering and eventual removal of tariff and free trade have made
competition even stiffer, which resulted in an increased pressure to reduce
costs and restructure enterprises. Many businesses unable to compete had to
close down while those that continued operations had to resort to labor-
related measures, one of which was flexible employment arrangements
(Amante 2000; Fernando 1999; Jabar 1998; Noriel 1999; Ofreneo 1999; Szal
1999).
A landmark survey on industrial relations in the workplace (DOLE 1999)
revealed the prevalent use of such arrangements as a means to cope with the
impact of globalization in most industries in the Philippines. Other mea-
sures that establishments employed included improvement of product and
service quality, acquisition of appropriate technology, investments in human
resources development (HRD), streamlining of work practice, and diversifi-
cation.
For the hotel and restaurant industry, the same survey showed that a
substantial number of respondent establishments (44 percent) admit to the
utilization of flexible employment arrangements among other mechanisms
to cope with globalization.
Owing to the Asian economic crisis, unemployment worsened as more
firms resorted to closures, layoffs, and retrenchments (Ofreneo 1999). Al-
though international media reports in 1997 claimed that the Philippines
was one of the least affected among ASEAN countries compared to Indone-
sia, South Korea, and Thailand, repercussions on the Philippine labor mar-
ket were nevertheless significant.
Data gathered by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
revealed that the number of establishments reporting closures and retrench-
ments trebled from 1997 to 1998. Displaced workers, on the other hand,
doubled within the same period. Respondent companies cited factors relat-
ing to the economic crisis. These included lack of market, redundancy, high
cost of production, peso depreciation, lack of capital, reorganization and
financial losses.
Flexible work arrangements became commonplace in many Philippine
businesses in the late 1990s. A survey conducted by the DOLE showed that
the percentage of workers employed under flexible labor contracts (part-
time, contractual, and casual) reached almost 21 percent of the total workforce
in 1997 as against 14 percent in 1994.
As companies continue to feel the effect of the Asian financial crisis and
reel from the currency turmoil that is expected to drag the economy to a
lower growth path even beyond the new millennium, more workers are ex-
pected to lose their jobs or be subjected to various coping mechanisms that
are undertaken by establishments to survive.
The Philippine tourism industry was adversely affected by the impact of
the Asian financial crisis. Although air visitor arrivals was maintained at the 2
million mark in the period 1997-1999, there was a noticeable shift in the type
of visitors. A drop in arrivals for holiday, business and convention purposes,
those more likely to stay in tourist accommodation establishments, was re-
corded at 15 percent, 5.8 percent, and 5.9 percent respectively. A 28.6 per-
cent increase in arrivals with the purpose of visiting friends and relatives
offset the decline in the aforementioned categories. However, this category
of arrivals comprised mostly of balikbayan (returnees) and Filipino overseas
contract workers who are more likely to stay with families or friends, hence
with no perceived significant impact on demand for tourist accommodation
establishments and related tourist services.
In 1998 occupancy rate among accommodation establishments declined
by 17.66 percent from the previous year. This can be attributed to the in-
crease in rooms for sale arising from additional hotels in operation, coupled
by a slowdown in visitor arrivals to the country. Occupancy rose by 4 percent in
1998 from the previous years level. This, however, did not bring a corre-
sponding rise in the demand for rooms.
As in the rest of the world, travel and tourism demand in the Philippines
was further aggravated by the 9/11 attacks. The WTTC estimated a decrease
in travel and tourism demand by 8.9 percent for the years 2001 and 2002.
This led to the loss of an equivalent of over 205,000 jobs in 2001 and an
estimated 108,000 jobs in 2002, for a total of over 300,000 jobs in the same
period covered.
Government initiatives
As a response to the impacts of the crisis, the Philippine government under-
took specific measures to assist both employers and workers to protect jobs
and prevent company layoffs and closures. One initiative was the signing of
an accord that would help promote industrial peace and stability. On Febru-
ary 6, 1998, representatives of labor and employer groups (i.e., Labor Advi-
sory and Consultative Council, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines
and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines) signed a Social Ac-
cord for Industrial Harmony and Stability, with DOLE and the Department of
Trade and Industry as witnesses. The accord committed the employers to
exercise utmost restraint in the layoff, termination or rotation of their em-
ployees which should be used only as a last resort. Labor, on the other hand,
was obliged to exercise utmost restraint in declaring or going on strikes,
slowdown of work and other forms of concerted work stoppages which should
be availed of only as last resort (DOLE 1997).
In effect, the accord required both employers and labor to work together
for mutual adjustments, and the sharing of sacrifices, for the common objec-
tive of sustaining the viability of the business and at the same time protecting
the jobs of workers amid trying times.
In 1997 the DOLE issued a policy guideline allowing contingent em-
ployment arising out of contracting and subcontracting arrangements
(DOLE Department Order No. 10 1997). Prior to the issuance of these guide-
lines, labor-only contracting was expressly prohibited, as specified in Article
106 of the amended Labor Code. The new policy guidelines provided re-
strictions in the use of contingent employment by specifying clauses consis-
tent with the promotion of employment, protection of workers welfare, en-
hancement of industrial peace, and the right of workers to self-organization
and collective bargaining. The policy in effect recognizes flexibility for the
purpose of increasing flexibility and streamlining operations essential for
every business to grow in an atmosphere of free competition. It expressly
condemns any form of flexibility that is intended to circumvent or evade
workers rights.
In May of 2001, the DOLE issued another policy guideline revoking
Department Order No. 10. The order also reiterated the prohibition of la-
bor-only contracting. Government was evidently against the prohibition of
contingent employment, which it firmly believed violated workers rights
(DOLE Department Order No. 3 series of 2001).
However, in February 2002, another guideline governing contracting
and subcontracting arrangements was issued. Department Order No. 18-02
series of 2002 again expressly allowed for such employment arrangements
but which now were subject to regulations for the promotion of employment
and the observance of the rights of workers to just and humane conditions of
work, security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining. Again
the prohibition of labor-only contracting was reiterated.
Flexibility arrangements in industry and services
Firms resort to flexible work arrangements to achieve a perfect match be-
tween labor demand and changing labor supply and/or between changing
individual needs and work supply (Gust 1999). Such arrangements refer to
flexibility in the deployment of human resources, in working practices and
wages; the ability to reduce or increase employment or wage levels with ease;
the ability to increase mobility; the ability to make more elastic use of skills
and to introduce nonconventional working arrangements (Kanawaty 1989).
Palafox (1990) identifies two types of flexible work arrangements, inter-
nal and external flexibility. Internal flexibility measures are utilized by com-
panies to flexibly utilize labor, which it employs within its plant, and with
which the employer has an employment relationship with the workers. Ex-
amples are overtime, forced leaves, and scheduled vacations. External labor
flexibility measures, on the other hand, are utilized by companies outside of
the firm and which usually involve other employers as agents or subcontractors.
Aside from scheduling of work time (e.g., overtime, forced leaves, sched-
uled vacations), one type of internal flexibility measure is a high-level
flexibilization. Workers are encouraged to develop new skills and expose
themselves to various types of work so that they can become multi-skilled and
hence capable of doing a variety of tasks in a flexible environment. This
strategy involves instilling among workers the idea that they are strategic
partners facing the common enemy: competition in a global market.
External flexibility, on the other hand, is achieved primarily through
labor turnover, (i.e., establishments hire or retrench workers depending on
the business volume). Practices to enhance numerical flexibility may include
temporary layoffs, greater reliance on causal or contractual labor, increasing
the ratio of part-time to full-time workers, resorting more to probationary
workers and contracting out employment. This permits establishments to
adjust their direct labor inputs more easily, which involve numerical adjust-
ments. Greater external flexibility potentially has an added advantage for the
firm, which is the avoidance of many wage and nonwage labor costs associated
with employing regular workers.
External flexibility practices, as identified by Edgren (1990), include
the following:
a) Reducing the core of permanent workers while increasing the
proportion of temporary and casual employment
b) Increasing the use of women, apprentices, and migrants
c) Subcontracting the production of components previously manu-
factured within the company
d) Subcontracting services like transport, packaging, maintenance,
security, etc.
e) Increasing the number of shifts per day or the use of overtime
f) Reducing pay systems based on price rates and bonuses
g) Introducing internal training systems which facilitate redeploy-
ment of workers within the enterprise
h) Reducing influences from external trade union organization by
either eliminating unions or establishing a controllable union
In essence, external flexibility practices permit establishments to adjust
their direct labor inputs more easily. This type of measure is also called low-
level flexibilization, or the ability of employers to reduce the labor cost, in-
crease labor productivity, and strengthen management control over the work
process and workers.
The Philippine Labor Code distinguishes the various forms of flexible
employment arrangements from regular employment. An employment is
deemed regular where the employee is engaged to perform activities that
are usually necessary and desirable in the usual business or trade of the
employer. Regular employees enjoy security of tenure, and as such their
services cannot be terminated by employers unless for a just cause, as man-
dated by the Labor Code or when authorized by existing laws. They are also
protected by labor standards and are entitled to the right to collective bar-
gaining and benefits and services prescribed by law.
Beyond the regular employer-employee relationships, other forms of
employment which fall under the classification of flexible arrangements are
1) casual; 2) temporary or substitute; 3) contractual; 4) agency (subcontract-
ing, job contracting); 5) project employees (i.e., not part of a work pool; hired
on a per project basis); and 6) apprentices and student trainees.
Workers hired under these forms of employment arrangement do not
enjoy security of tenure as they may be dismissed at any time. While such
employments are covered by specific provisions of the Labor Code, they are
not covered by social benefits such as membership in the Social Security
System, Medicare, and Pag-ibig Funds, nor are the workers entitled to other
benefits and services prescribed by law that regular employees enjoy.
A DOLE 2000 survey shows that the average wages, salaries and allow-
ances of nonregular rank and file workers in hotels and restaurants as well as
in all other industries are definitely much lower than those of regular em-
ployees. The 2000 DOLE report showed a difference of 3,600 pesos in monthly
earnings between regular and nonregular rank-and-file workers in the hotel
and restaurant sector.
In a review of previous studies conducted on flexible labor arrangements,
Esguerra (1997) points out that flexible labor arrangements have been ex-
plained as a cost reduction mechanism in response to protective labor stan-
dards that increase labor costs or that prevent firms from varying their labor
inputs in response to changes in economic circumstances. This mechanism
of employing flexible workers henceforth enables employers to circumvent
the effects of protective labor standards without necessarily reducing em-
ployment. This is the case when labor standards are strictly enforced. Hence,
when labor standard enforcement is weak, as has been observed in develop-
ing countries, firms may not need to resort to various forms of nonregular
employment if their main objective is to circumvent labor laws.
Esguerra further explains that the practice of employing nonregular
workers in effect segments the workforce between the highly valued core
workers, who are trained and enticed to stay with generous compensation
packages, and others who get little training and no inducements to stay. The
negative effects may show in terms of lower worker morale as workers know
they can be replaced anytime.
Ofreneo and Barriatos (1991) advance the idea that in the Philippines,
establishments employ external labor flexibility measures for several rea-
sons. First, it permits the realization of cost differentials through lower wages
and other overhead costs compared to the hiring of regular and unionized
workers. Second, it is also more convenient and practical as the tedious and
time consuming exercise of advertising, screening, selecting and training
additional workers, especially if the demand for such workers is immediate,
is avoided. A third reason is that it provides for flexibility in length of service,
meaning once the need for additional workers is over, the employers can
easily terminate the workers.
The authors further contend that labor flexibility, as has been found in
the Philippines, has serious implications on employment security in the
informal sector. Labor flexibility as practiced in the Philippines largely leads
to a reduction in the regular workforce and therefore, of the number of
workers with regular tenure. In essence, it erodes the bargaining power and
overall employment security of regular workers. Other problems that labor
flexibility practices bring to the fore are possible enmities between regular
and casual workers and management problems of having to attend to com-
plaints of flexible workers.
Scope and methodology
The survey undertaken for this paper was limited to the accommodation
sector, because hotels, relative to other sectors in the Philippine tourism
industry, have more developed and organized human resource departments.
The range of frontline functions (rooms, food and beverage, concierge, travel
facilitation, etc.) within the setting is expected to provide for the time being
a suitable proxy for the tourism industry as a whole. Ultimately, this particular
study can serve as a pilot survey that will help fine tune the research method-
ologies and instruments for application to the other tourism sectors in the
future.
One major constraint encountered in obtaining data was resistance from
target establishments in participating in the study. Notwithstanding the legal
provisions on the prohibition and/or restrictions on various employment
arrangements, the issue of employment practices is a sensitive one. Due to
the difficulty in convincing target establishments to participate, only 11 es-
tablishments were included in the study. They were chosen based on their
willingness to participate in the study, not random sampling.
The majority of the respondent establishments claim they do not keep
records on statistics on employment for long periods of time. As only figures
for recent years were made available, a number of items in the questionnaires
were left unanswered and therefore excluded in the analysis.
Survey instruments
A survey of the emerging patterns of employment and the consequent HRD
strategies and interventions adopted by management was undertaken in se-
lected hotels and tourism accommodation establishments in Metro Manila.
Data gathering was done primarily with the use of structured questionnaires,
which were designed to elicit information that would address the issues on
adequacy of worker protection, and the implications of HRD strategies like
hiring, training, and performance management, including their conse-
quences, on service delivery.
Three types of survey questionnaires were developed:
a) Questionnaire for HRD managers. This is designed to solicit informa-
tion on employment arrangements, the reasons for their adoption,
and the various conditions that accompany the arrangement such as
compensation and benefits, training, and performance management
(Refer to Appendix A).
b) Questionnaire for managers/supervisors of the three operational departments,
Front Office, Food and Beverage, and Housekeeping. This will compare
regular versus nonregular employees in terms of their levels of com-
petence based on the occupational standards for the positions in-
volved. The occupational standards were derived from those devel-
oped by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
c) Questionnaire for employees. This is intended to compare the percep-
tions of regular versus nonregular employees on seven work ele-
ments: clarity of purpose, morale, fairness, recognition, teamwork,
participation and communication. Each element is comprised of
four statements for a total of 28 statements rated by the employees on
a five-point scale.
Follow-up interviews were also conducted to supplement the data gath-
ered through the survey questionnaires, and validate the information and
obtain more in-depth responses.
Presentation and analysis of data
Profile of respondents
The respondents to the study consisted of employees from various depart-
ments involved in operations. Management as well as workers, both regular
and temporary, were represented in the sample selected.
A total of 212 respondents from 11 establishments participated in the
study: 45 managers/supervisors from the Front Office, Food and Beverage,
and Housekeeping departments; and 158 employees and nine human re-
source department managers. Also among the respondents were those occu-
pying the posts of Front Office Manager and Front Office Head Cashier
(Front Office), Executive Housekeeper and Housekeeping Supervisor
(Housekeeping Department), and Food and Beverage Manager and Cap-
tain Waiter (F & B Department), all of whom were in the position to rate their
staffs performance based on a checklist of competencies.
Respondents who were either regular or contingent employees had the
following positions: Front Desk Clerk/Guest Services Agent and Concierge
(Front Office), Room Attendant (Housekeeping) and F & B Attendant (Food
and Beverage Department). Both regular and nonregular employees filled
out the questionnaire for employees. Table 1 shows the profile of the estab-
lishments that participated in the survey.
Employment arrangements and reasons for adoption
The most prevalent flexible employment arrangement utilized by the re-
spondent establishments are the use of casuals, contractuals, agency hires,
extras, seasonal hires, and apprentices. These are primarily used for posi-
tions as food and beverage attendants, banquet waiters, room and public area
attendants and bellmen (Table 2).
A number of establishments also utilize apprentices, a form of employment
that requires more than three months of practical on-the-job training supple-
mented by related theoretical instruction. The majority of the establishments
also rely on student-trainees (practicum), who are assigned to positions in
the Front Office, Food and Beverage, Housekeeping, and all the other offices.
Table 1. Profile of establishments
Classification Years in Ownership Number Total
Operation of Rooms Number
of
Employees
(2002)
1 Standard less than 2 years Chinese-Filipino 150
2 Standard 27 years Chinese-Filipino 89
3 Standard 8 years and Chinese-Filipino 110
6 months
4 Filipino 64
5 First Class 60% Filipino 150 170
40% foreign
6 Standard 35 years Filipino 73 159
7 Standard less than 2 years Filipino 64 98
8 less than 2 years Filipino plus 151 99
25% foreign
9 First Class 2 years Singaporean 138 75
10 Standard 8 years Filipino 93
11 De Luxe 8 years 9 and Taiwanese 284 388
months
Most of the respondents reported that flexible employment arrange-
ments were resorted to for projects of limited duration and as an alternative
to hiring regular workers. Other reasons given were that they were used as a
stopgap measure to cover for unusual workload and to cut on labor costs.
Hiring policies
The following table shows the practices with respect to screening regular
and nonregular employees.
Compensation (rate of pay and benefits)
Nonregular employees received either the same or lower rate of pay than
regular employees (Table 4). In terms of benefits and employee services, the
regular employees received more items than the nonregular employees (Table
5) did. Even when establishments opted to give the nonregular staff a share
of the service charge, it was found smaller than what the regular workers
received.
Table 2 . Summary of flexible employment arrangements and positions assigned
Establishment Flexible Employment Position
Arrangement Assigned
01 Casual Front Office Agent (FO)
Extra Public Area Attendant (HK)
Room Attendant (HK)
Public Area Attendant (HK)
Room Attendant (HK)
03 Casual Room Attendant (HK)
Agency F & B Attendant (F & B)
Contractual Kitchen Helper (F & B)
Extra Steward (F & B)
House Detectives (Security)
Room Attendant (HK)
Room Attendant (HK)
Banquet Waiters (F & B)
04 Casual Front Office Agent (FO)F & B
Attendants (F & B)
Room Attendant (HK)
05 Agency HK Attendant (HK)
Contractual Security Officers (Security)
Carpenters (Engineering)
Electrical Technician
(Engineering)
06 Casual Waiter (F & B)
Contractual Food Attendant (F & B)
Extras Steward (F & B)
Seasonal Painter (Engineering)
Apprentice Banquet Waiters (F & B)
Food Checker (F & B)
Waiter (F & B)
Room Attendant (HK)
07 Casual/Agency HK Attendant (HK)
Extras Front Office Agent (FO)
Seasonal Bellman (FO)
F& B Attendant (F & B)
Kitchen Helper (F & B)
Banquet Waiters (F & B)
F & B Attendant ( F & B)
HK Attendant (HK)
08 Casual/Agency Housekeeper (HK)
Technician (Engineering)
Clerk/ Messenger
Public Area Attendant (HK)
Security Officer (Security)
09 Agency Room Attendant (HK)
Janitor
Security Guard
10 Casual Room Attendant (HK)
Front Office Agent (FO)
Table 2 (contd)
Establishment Flexible Employment Position
Arrangement Assigned
11 Casual Agency Room Attendant (HK)
Contractual Collection Attendant
Extra Accounting Clerk
Apprentices House Officer/Security
Seasonal Food Attendant (F & B)
Houseman/ Powder Girl (HK)
Painter (Engineering)
Waiter (F & B)
Houseman (HK)
Room Attendant (HK)
Kitchen Helper (F & B)
Houseman/Powder Girl
Waiter (F & B)
Legend:
a. Casualhired directly by the company for a five-month term
b. Agencyhired through an agency/contractor for a period of five months
c. Contractualemployment fixed for a specific project or undertaking termination of
which has been determined at the time of engagement
d. Extrahired daily, or as needed
Employee training
Both regular and nonregular employees appeared to have been be given
training in general programs such as those on guest service, safety and secu-
rity, and telephone etiquette (Table 6). The same is true for on-the-job
trainings and job rotation programs.
Performance monitoring
Regular employees are evaluated either annually or semiannually by the
direct supervisor or department head. For nonregular employees, some es-
tablishments no longer evaluated their performance. Others conducted the
evaluation at the end of the five-month period of temporary employment.
Worker competence
In terms of manager ratings of the job skills of regular compared to nonregular
employees, significant differences were noted for some specific skills and
knowledge standards for front office agents, food and beverage attendants, as
well as room attendants (Tables 8, 9, and 10).
However, there were virtually no significant differences between the
perceptions of regular employees and those of the nonregular ones of the
seven work elements: 1) clarity of purpose, 2) morale, 3) fairness, 4) recogni-
tion, 5) teamwork, 6) participation, and 7) communication.
Table 3. Minimum qualification requirements, recruitment methods, and
screening measures
Frequency of responses
Regular Nonregular
Employees Employees
Minimum Qualification Requirement
High school graduate 2 6
Vocational technical graduate 4 5
College level 1 3
College graduate 9 4
Skills-certified 3 3
Recruitment Method
Agency 1 5
Advertisement/Want ads 7 2
Internal promotion 8 2
Personal referrals 8 5
Walk-ins 8 5
Screening Measure
Employment interview 9 7
Employment test 7 5
Background investigation 8 4
Physical/medical check-up 9 5
Curriculum vitae 9 7
N = 9 (multiple responses)
On the three operational departments included in the studyFront
Office, Food and Beverage and Housekeepinga statistically significant dif-
ference (Mann-Whitney U = 180, p=.014) between regular and nonregular
employees was found in only one specific item (Individual effort is rewarded
appropriately). This was among F&B respondents.
Analysis
The type of nonregular employment arrangement often resorted toby the
participating establishments are those that provided for numerical flexibil-
ity. Employing casuals, contractuals, agency hires, extras, and apprentices
permits establishments to adjust their labor inputs easily, depending on the
requirements for a given period. The nature of tourisms peak and low sea-
Table 4. Rate of Pay: regular versus nonregular employees
Nonregular Frequency of Responses
Lower rate of pay than regulars 5
Same rate of pay as regulars 4
N = 9
Table 5. Benefits of regular versus nonregular employees
FREQUENCY OF RESPONSES
Benefit Regular Employee Nonregular
Employee
SSS/GSIS 9 7
First aid/emergency 8 6
services
Company medical and 6 1
dental services (regular
consultations)
13
th
month pay 9 7
Retirement plan 5
Pension plan 1
Company financial 6 1
assistance
Credit union 1
Legal advice 3 2
Counseling services 8 6
Duty meal 9 7
Uniforms 7 5
Service charge 8 2 (less than regular)
Use of safety equipment 6 5
Life insurance 3
Company outing 1 1
sons carries with it seasonal requirements that call for adjustment in man-
power size. During times of financial difficulty, when hotels feel the impend-
ing need to cut costs, this measure becomes a suitable coping mechanism for
establishments.
How labor flexibility is implemented suggests efforts on the part of man-
agement to simulate the conditions surrounding the employment of regular
workers. This can be gleaned on several counts: screening practices, provi-
Table 6. Types of training of regular versus nonregular employees
Type of Training Regular Nonregular
General orientation 9 9
Guest service 9 8
Values and attitudes 8 6
Team building 7 4
Safety and security 8 6
Telephone etiquette 9 8
On-the-job training 6 7
Job rotation 5 4
Facilitation/coaching skills 1
Table 7. Performance evaluation of regular versus nonregular employees
Regular Employees Nonregular Employees
Frequency of Evaluation
Monthly 5
Quarterly 4 1
Five/six months 4
Annually
None 4
Rater
Supervisor 5 3
Department Head 2 1
N = 9
sion of training, and benefits and services schemes. With respect to screen-
ing of potential nonregular employees, hotel establishments take measures
to ensure they hire only individuals deemed suitable for employment, not-
withstanding their anticipated limited stay with the company. These mea-
sures include employment interviews and tests, physical-medical check-ups,
and screening through the use of curriculum vitae. These are the same
screening procedures observed for prospective regular employees.
In terms of rate of pay, more than half of the respondent establishments
admitted they gave a lower rate to the nonregular workers compared to the
regular ones. As far as benefits and services were concerned, the majority of
the respondents provided the same entitlementsspecifically SSS, first-aid
emergency services, counseling services, duty meal, and 13th month payto
Table 8. Comparison between regular and nonregular employees on
occupational standards for the position of front office agent
ItemNo. Occupational Standard Mann- P-Value
Whitney U
Skill
2 Receiving/registering FITs/returning guests 11.000 .026*
6 Responding to guests request for extension of stay 18.500 .051*
7 Responding to guests request for additional
room facilities 16.500 .033*
8 Responding to guests request for room transfer 18.000 .051*
10 Handling messages, incoming or outgoing faxes 17.000 .041*
15 Handling procedures in checking out guests 11.500 .012*
17 Accepting manner of settlement 11.500 .035*
18 Applying procedures after accepting payment 12.500 .046*
20 Remitting cash sales and foreign currency 8.500 .019*
21 Preparing guest arrival report 17.000 .029*
Knowledge
28 Bed sizes and types according to accommodations 15.000 .026*
30 Room features 14.500 .020*
32 Rooming terminology 16.000 .033*
34 General information 16.000 .033*
35 Word Processing 17.000 .041*
36 Different types of front office equipment 13.500 .015*
38 Computer/Desktop 17.500 .041*
41 Registration procedures for:
Walk-in and pick-up guests
Returning guests
Group and FIT arrangement 15.000 .026*
45 Selling/rooming dialogue 7.500 .002*
46 Upselling techniques 18.500 .036*
47 Upgrading versus discounting 17.000 .029*
48 Communicating in English 16.000 .023*
58 Emergency procedures 18.500 .036*
59 Fire prevention and control 19.500 .045*
* Significant difference between regular and nonregular employees
both regular and nonregular employees. Uniforms and safety equipment
were also among those mentioned by a number of respondents as being
enjoyed by both groups of employees.
Two establishments said their nonregular employees got a share of the
service charge, albeit it was smaller than what the regular workers received.
Table 9. Comparison between regular and nonregular on occupational
skills standards for the position of food and beverage attendant
Item No. Occupational Standard Mann- P-Value
Whitney U
Skill
9 Presenting menu 15.000 .046*
14 Assembling order on the tray 13.000 .014*
16 Asking for additional orders and guest
service 17.500 .022*
28 Handling guest complaints 12.000 .006*
Knowledge
38 Menu specification 17.000 .022*
43 Wine liquor specification 13.500 .027*
44 Different types of equipment and table
appointment and wares 19.500 .035*
52 Preservice operation 18.500 .028 *
53 Postservice operation 20.500 .043 *
56 Methods and procedures 20.500 .043*
57 Composition 19.500 .036 *
60 Selection and sequence 15.000 .013 *
61 Procedures/methods of assembling foods on
the tray 12.000 .021 *
86 Handling complaints 10.500 .003 *
Attitude
96 Attention to detail 20.500 .043 *
* significant difference between regular and nonregular employees
Only one establishment reported providing company financial assistance
and medical/dental services. Needless to say, regular employees usually re-
ceived more in terms of total compensation than what the nonregular em-
ployees got. In terms of training provided, the respondent establishments
said they provided almost the same types of programs to nonregular and regu-
lar employees. As far as team building programs were concerned, only four of
the respondent establishments claimed they covered both types of employees.
While it was apparent that the respondent establishments wanted both
their regular and nonregular employees to develop the necessary knowl-
edge, skills, and attitudes through training, significant differences in some
aspects of worker competence were noted through the survey. One explana-
tion for this could be that while nonregular workers were also allowed to
participate in the training programs, the transient nature of their employ-
ment prevented them from fully benefiting from such activities.
Table 10. Comparison between regular and nonregular employees on
occupational standards for the position of room attendant
tem No. Occupational Standard Mann- P-Value
Whitney U
Skill
1 Securing key 14.500 .002*
2 Checking room status 27.000 .036*
6 Removing soiled dishes, old newspapers
and amenities 25.000 .025*
7 Stripping bed 21.500 .025*
8 Making bed 26.000 .049*
9 Vacuuming carpets and edges 15.000 .003*
10 Dusting furniture, fixtures, walls and baseboards 27.500 .036*
11 Checking and charge mini-bar consumption 18.500 .030*
12 Checking appliances 27.500 .036*
13 Checking room amenities and supplies 27.500 .036*
18 Cleaning light diffusers 33.000 .049*
21 Cleaning wash basin 36.000 .041*
23 Cleaning toilet bowl 35.000 .035*
Knowledge
41 Storage and handling of chemicals 26.000 .007*
43 First aid treatment 28.500 .021*
47 Bed-setting 33.000 .026*
48 Curtains/draperies installation 35.000 .035*
*Significant difference between regular and nonregular employees
In a comparison of Front Office agents, significant differences in the
perceived competence between regulars and nonregular workers were noted
in 47 percent of the occupational standards (or 29 out of 65). This is a serious
concern, as the front office agent is usually the first point of contact between
employees and guests.
Also interesting was the clustering of the items where significant differ-
ences were observed. Such differences were noted mainly in the standards
for handling of guests (44 percent; 4 out of 9 standards), checking out of
guests (66 percent; 4 out of 6 standards), and product knowledge (80 per-
cent; 8 out of 10 standards). Other standards where differences were found
fell under the classification of checking in of guests, preparing and main-
taining records and reports, and knowledge of hotel operational procedures,
communication and safety practices.
For food and beverage as well as room attendants, significant differences
in the perceived competence in favor of regular versus nonregular employ-
ees were observed in 14.14 percent (14 out of 99 standards) and 17.52 per-
cent (17 out of 97 standards) of the occupational standards, respectively. The
smaller percentage of standards where a significant difference was noted
may be explained by the fact that standards for food and beverage and room
attendants are not as complex as that of the front office agent.
As was observed among front office agents, a clustering of significantly
differentiated standards between regular and nonregular room attendants
was also observed. In particular, differences were noted in the standards for
cleaning guest rooms (75 percent; 6 out of 8 standards) and bathrooms (50
percent; 3 out of 6 standards). Other standards where differences were found
revolved around preparing to clean, checking of rooms, product knowledge,
and safety practices.
These findings highlight the need for closer performance monitoring
among nonregular employees. While performance evaluations applied to
the regular employees in all the respondent establishments, it not the same
for nonregular employees. Only a handful of respondent establishments
reported undertaking the process for their nonregular staff. Half of the re-
spondent establishments reported they did not evaluate their employees at
all. Needless to say, stricter monitoring and performance evaluations are in
order to ensure attainment of the standards.
There were hardly any significant differences in the perceptions among
regular and nonregular employees of work-related elements such as clarity
of purpose, morale, fairness, recognition, teamwork, participation, and com-
munication. One possible explanation for this could be, as mentioned ear-
lier, management efforts to provide both types of employees with the same
working conditions. However, regular employees were found to receive more
than nonregular employees did in terms of rates of pay and some benefits.
Otherwise, all employees could participate in the same company activities,
including training and development as well as recreational and health-re-
lated ones.
Nonregular workers appear to acknowledge that some companies must
resort to temporary employment in the face of an economic downturn. They
believe it is a better alternative to not having any job at all.
Based on the conditions that have brought about the utilization of labor
flexibility and those that usually accompany this type of employment arrange-
ment, the following diagram seeks to illustrate the results of the study. Figure
1 shows an apparent gap between the conditions surrounding flexible em-
ployment arrangements and those that are seen to propel workers to per-
form well. Contingent employees are those who have no security of tenure, as
their employment with the establishment is only for a predetermined period
of time. The transient nature of their engagement with the establishment
has implications on the compensation (monetary and nonmonetary) and
training that they receive while in the firm. Their compensation is usually
below that of a regular employee although the work performed is essentially
the same. Also, they are not entitled to financial assistance and other long-
term benefits such as retirement and pension.
While nonregular employees could take advantage of company training
so they can upgrade their knowledge and skills, the transient nature of their
employment prevents them from optimizing such an opportunity and thus
fail to perform at par with the regular employees. This is particularly true for
highly complex tasks such as those performed by guest services agents in
front offices.
With regard to training, nonregular employees may be asked to partici-
pate in development activities that will help them upgrade their knowledge
and skills. However, the transient nature of their employment may prevent
from learning to the fullest extent possible the essential elements that will
enable them to perform as well as the regular employees. This is particularly
true for highly complex tasks such as those performed by the guest services
agents in hotel front offices. These are opposite the conditions that are seen
to bring about quality worker performance: equitable compensation, security
of tenure and well-trained staff. These are challenges that could make it
difficult for contingent employees to deliver quality service.
The impact of globalization heightens the need for quality service, espe-
cially in organizations like hotels, where there is a high degree of interaction
between frontline employees and customers. Such an interaction, known as
the service encounter, has a direct impact on customer level of satisfaction,
which in the long run will determine whether an establishment will continue
to compete successfully with its competitors.
The foregoing conditions pose a challenge to ensuring that even contin-
gent employees deliver quality service. Admittedly, there are some tradeoffs
between quality work performance and cost reduction through the adoption
of flexible labor arrangements. The economic viability of establishments
employing such measures is threatened once guests turn to competitors that
can provide better services. This is one of the negative repercussions of un-
dertaking flexible labor measures.
In service organizations, as in tourist accommodation establishments,
the employment of labor flexibility measures, if not managed properly, may
have negative repercussions on service delivery. Hence, if no policy changes
are effected, the economic viability of establishments employing labor flex-
ibility measures is also threatened as guests turn to competitors who can
provide better services.
Policy options and alternatives
Historically, turnover (i.e., the rate by which employees are hired and sepa-
rated from organizations) has been viewed by hospitality organizations in two
different ways: 1) as an issue of concern, since it entails costs to the company;
and 2) as something that is not necessarily undesirable, given the benefits
that can be derived from it (Rutherford 1995).
As an issue of concern, companies incur costs arising from recruitment
and training. There are also nonquantifiable costs are diminished image
and possibly customer loyalties to previous employees in the process of turn-
over. (The phrase there are also is necessary to distinguish the nonquantifiable costs
from the quantifiable ones mentioned in preceding statements.) This view under-
scores the need to control turnover. Still another of the first views implica-
tions revolves around employee wellbeing in terms of security of tenure as
well as commitment and motivation to perform well.
Under the second view, performance and longevity have an inverse U-
shaped relationship. This means performance increases over the short to
intermediate term but decreases over the longer term (i.e., the longer the
employees stay, the less likely they are to increase their performance), mak-
ing turover a desirable proposition. Proponents of the second view, however,
believe that through constant replacement of workers, an establishment can
more freely assign relatively new and presumably still young and energetic
hires to front-of the-house positions (i.e., positions which entail face-to-face
interactions with guests). This is particularly valuable for service organiza-
tions that are understandably conscious of maintaining a positive image
which is essentially projected through their front-of-the-house service em-
ployees.
In some companies, like McDonalds and Jollibee in the Philippines, it
has become a standard HR policy to encourage employee turnover to make
sure they get only young, enthusiastic, and competent contingent workers
(Palafox 2002).
Policy options
The policy options and alternatives offered in this paper take into account
the unique characteristics of service organizations. These are 1) the season-
ality of business volume and 2) the simultaneity of production and consump-
tion of the service, which necessitates interaction between the service em-
ployee and the guest. One or a combination of policy options and alterna-
tives may attain the dual objectives of pursuing quality service and safeguard-
ing employee welfare.
Policy option 1: strengthening of protection of contingent workers
Strengthen efforts to protect workers on contingent employment. Among
others, DOLE must monitor strict implementation of the law. Moreover, work-
ers need to be educated about their rights and privileges so they will not fall
prey to exploitation.
A number of provisions included in the Labor Code are specifically in-
tended for the protection of contingent workers rights. These provisions
have been supplemented by policy guidelines issued by DOLE in more re-
cent years. However, their implementation has been weak as many establish-
ments are still able to circumvent existing laws. The prevalent practice of
labor-only contracting, though prohibited, is proof of this..
Policy option 2: industry initiatives and regulations
a. Maintenance of a pool of workers for semiskilled positions, who pass
certification training and can easily be hired to meet the requirements
of tourist accommodation establishments.
This requires intensive training in occupational skills standards leading
to certification of workers for a particular position and which would enable
them to render services that meet industry standards. This mechanism serves
to ensure that those who pass trade skills training programs receive the de-
sired skills and knowledge competencies required by the industry. A central-
ized government agency responsible for the certification training and de-
ployment of these personnel is needed if this alternative is to be pursued.
b. Assignment of contingent workers only to back-of-the-house posts.
It has been noted that many flexible workers are assigned to front of the
house posts. Even student-trainees and practicumers are fielded to very sen-
sitive front-of-the-house positions including assignments at the front desk.
The danger in this arrangement is that the quality experience of guests in
every service encounter may be difficult to achieve. The arrangement de-
pends on workers who are not secure in their jobs or may not be prepared in
terms of knowledge and skills to perform the tasks required. Given the em-
ployment conditions affecting contingent workers and their implications on
their level of performance, it is best to bar them from having to interact
directly with the customers.
Assigning them to back-of-the-house postsperhaps in areas such as the
HRD or Comptrollers Divisionwill enable them to be more closely super-
vised and free them having to commit mistakes in the presence of guests.
Policy option 3: emphasis on internal flexibility instead of the use of external
flexibility measures
The prevalent practice when resorting to flexible employment arrangements
is to adjust the labor inputs. This involves external flexibility where numeri-
cal adjustments in manpower results in a high degree of employee turnover.
The use of internal flexibility is seen as a means by which employees can
maintain the regular employment relationship with the organization. This is
because the measures employed are within the boundaries of the firm. This
can be implemented in two ways: 1) use of work pools and 2) multiskilling of
workers, a high level of internal flexibility.
Use of work pools by employing workers on a regular but no-work-no-pay basis
The seasonal nature of business activity in tourism organizations makes it
difficult to maintain a full complement of manpower throughout the year.
Hence, firms may opt to maintain work pools instead. Workers hired in this
category may be regularized after the appropriate probationary period but
will be engaged on a no-work-no-pay scheme. In other words, they shall be
called upon to perform duties for the company only when there is a need for
their services. This strategy allows for internal flexibility and is within the
parameters set by law.
In terms of benefits and services, companies must provide at least the
minimum amounts or levels mandated by law. Company benefits not required
by law shall be at the firms option. Several tiers of benefits and wages can be
established, which will mean newer hires will have less benefits than their
more senior counterparts. Under this scheme, a company may have to spend
more for benefits and services than it would if it hired workers on casual or
contractual basis. However, it can keep these additional costs at a minimum
level. At the same time, employees in the work pools get to enjoy certain
privileges that in the first place are due them.
There are disadvantages, however, to this kind of arrangement. Employ-
ees hired on this basis may not be able to maximize potential earnings com-
pared to those hired on a regular basis. Though they can take on part-time
work in other establishments on no-work days, they are obliged to return to
work the moment they are called, lest they be charged with insubordination.
Repeated violations of this policy may even lead to termination.
This alternative may not offer a perfect solution to the predicament that
workers face. Yet, it allows them to enjoy regular employment.
Multiskilling of workers (high-level internal flexibilization)
Allowing workers to develop multiple skills enables them to assume other
responsibilities aside from those required by their current posts. It primarily
involves equipping a core group of employees with the ability to render
quality service for a variety of tasks. Hence workers may have to move from one
department to another as the need arises.
This strategy also involves continuous training, provision of working con-
ditions that would instill worker loyalty and commitment, and instilling in
the workers the notion that they are strategic partners of the organization.
Areas for future research
One area for future research that is worth exploring is the role of unions in
safeguarding contingent workers rights. With more companies resorting to flex-
ible work arrangements, it is possible that trade unions and labor organiza-
tions were weakened, since regular employment served as its organizational
base. Corollary to this, the relevance of the collective bargaining system un-
der the emerging conditions in the workplace becomes an issue. Studies that
focus on the union and its role in bridging the gap between labor flexibility and
recognition of contingent workers rights may be vital to policymaking in the
future.
Other possible areas for research are the other sectors not covered by
this study. As stated earlier, this study was limited to the accommodations
sector of the tourism industry. Looking into the other sectors of tourism (e.g.,
transportation, travel agencies, airlines and convention) in future studies
can provide a more complete picture of the extent of problems and chal-
lenges confronting the whole tourism industry.
Conclusion
Globalization and changes in the world economy have threatened the eco-
nomic viability of establishments worldwide. Labor flexibility, as one of the
measures commonly utilized by many establishments to cope with the impact
of globalization, is seen as being characterized by conditions inconsistent
with the elements that would account for quality worker performance.
The need to bridge the gap between conditions surrounding labor flex-
ibility and conditions that ensure quality worker performance must be ad-
dressed if firms, particularly service establishments like hotels, are to gain
competitive advantage and thus ensure their economic viability.
Ensuring a companys survival and sustainability should, however, go hand
in hand with protecting employee welfare. This should be the guiding prin-
ciple of any establishment in devising strategies intended to address its needs
amid the difficulties posed by globalization and other economic challenges.
When the workers welfare is upheld, chances of achieving a competitive
advantage through quality work performance increase. Only then can the
economic viability of an establishment be ensured.
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RESOURCE PERSON
Juan Amor F. Palafox. Dean, U.P. School of Labor and Industrial Relations
(2002).
About the Authors
Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay is an Assistant Professor at the UP Asian Institute of
Tourism and former director of the Division of Tourism Research and Extension
Services. He is presently a senior consultant at the Asia Pacific Projects, Inc. He
obtained his Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Resources from Michigan
State University, and his Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Travel Industry
Management, 1992 from University of Hawaii. He was consultant to agencies like
Asia Pacific Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), TESDA and DOT.
Maria Cherry Lyn S. Rodolfo is an economist and instructor at the School of
Economics, University of Asia and the Pacific. She obtained her masters degree in
Industrial Economics from the Center for Research and Communication and her
bachelor degree in Management from Ateneo de Manila University. She has done
research on various issues among which are air transport, tourism, retail trade and
trends in the services sector. She has served as consultant for the Center for Research
and Communication, Growing Business Incorporated, and Cebu Pacific Air.
Reil G. Cruz is a former Dean of the UP Asian Institute of Tourism. He finished his
Master in International Studies and his bachelor degree in Tourism from the
University of the Philippines. He has done research on Principles of Travel and
Tourism, Tourism Strategies and Tourism Promotion and a member of the Asia
Pacific Tourism As sociation.
Juline R. Dulnuan is an assistant professor and former director of the Division of
Research, Training and Extension Services at the University of the Philippines Asian
Institute of Tourism. She obtained her masters degree in Women and Development
and Masters of Specialization in Tourism Management from the University of the
Philippines. She authored various papers and publications most of which are on
women in indigenous communities and community-based tourism. She is a member
of the technical committee of the Philippine Tourism Industry Board Foundation
Inc. and the technical working group of the Philippine Senate Committee on
Tourism.
Florence C. Evacitas is an instructor at the University of the Philippines in the
Visayas Cebu College. She finished her masters degree in Environmental Studies
from the University of the Philippines Los Baos and her bachelor degree in Biology
from the University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College.
Jose Eleazar R. Bersales is the chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
at the University of San Carlos. He has a masters degree in Philippine studies from
the University of the Philippines. He has done research on development anthropology;
anthropology of tourism; gender, sexuality and reproductive health; social history;
archaeology.
Susan S. Solis obtained her Diploma in Industrial Relations and Master of Arts in
Business Administration from the University of the Philippines. She is the college
secretary of the UP Asian Institute of Tourism and formerly a training manager for
Hotel Sofitel Grand Boulevard Manila. She has done research on human resource
strategies, tourism development, employee training and development and a member
of the Association of Trainers in Tourism and Allied Industries.

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