National Improvement NOT Sloganeering Will Improve Tourism and Investment For the Better in the Philippines!

This is a laughable claim unless improvement REALLY happens!

As I mentioned, sloganeering DOES NOT change the truth about the Philippines no matter how many times you try to invert it.  You cannot deny it that slogans are attractive but the truth is in fact, more heavy against the tagline.  There is a statement that advertising works but testimonials can affect your traffic dramatically.  I the tagline and the testimonial do not match, do expect a drastic reduction of visitors.  Testimonials will always matter more than taglines.

A lousy product no matter how much it is marketed for, it will always be a lousy product.  Sometimes something that's not very heard of at first will get noticed because of its quality.  Just think if somebody promoted, "It's More Fun in Bangladesh." a nation that's worse than the Philippines, just think a huge number of gullible tourists may first enter in THEN hardly anyone will return.  Deceit may work for now but remember, a stupid person may choose to be smart anytime.  No matter how dumb a person is but he can be smart enough to avoid false propaganda.

On the other hand, think about something that was not really marketed as the best.  I could think of an example of how Cebu became a tourism hub.  The campaign was "Let's Work to Make Cebu No. 1" NOT "Cebu is No. 1".  When Cebu's governance worked double time to improve Cebu from the problems of the 90s, investment skyrocketed.  Cebu has become a model that the rest of the Philippines should follow.  Sad to say but a lot of residents of Metro Manila (better called Imperial Manila) are sore losers who instead of seeking to improve like their rival, only seek to bring their rival down in a game of crabs.

Let us think about areas of national development that must be solved to improve tourism and investment in the Philippines:


Cleaning up the environment

One may ask why do some areas of the Philippines have more tourist than the others?  The answer can lie with the situation of cleanliness.  You cannot expect tourists to enjoy filth and dirt all over the place.  Just think... who wants to roam in the streets that are FULL of garbage... you might be stepping on human waste.  Not only that, it may bring in a lot of germs to tourists from developed countries.


Be serious with the peace and order situation

Just think does anybody want to go to Tondo, Manila when somebody testifies that it's NOT a fun place to be?  I don't think so.  Just think of how the Philippines needs a serious makeover with issues like gangs, squatters and the like.  Forget the "human rights" of criminals when people are in danger.  The Rolando Mendoza incident is an unforgettable strain of the Philippines/China relations because of neglect.


Dealing with traffic jams

As I love to say it, traffic is NOT always a sign of growing economy.  It is also a sign of neglect.  Traffic is always there... but it can be managed.  One may think of traffic can be very disruptive to businesses.


Flooding is NOT a time to have fun

It's disgusting to think how Failipinos in Manila treat the flood as a game.  For them, every flood is a time to swim and have fun.  Decent Pinoys just can't handle the truth. If floods are not dealt with, just think of how many major losses will happen.  Floods will destroy anything that could have been used for the progress of the Philippines.


Get rid of the culture of being untimely

Being timely pays off.  Being late may be fun and convenient but it irritates the other.  For a wheel to turn, isn't that it must GIVE AND TAKE?  When people are on time, it creates the feeling of dedication and commitment.  Being habitually late is a major source of irritation to foreigners who visit and invest in the Philippines.


Learn to follow guidelines for better progress

How can the non-progressive areas of the Philippines prosper IF people DO NOT follow rules?  Sad to say but Failipinos think breaking rules is fun... they aren't working to make "It's More Fun in the Philippines" a reality, they are preventing it from happening.  Some areas of the Philippines can hardly move forward because people DO NOT follow rules.  Following rules as a culture goes a long way... just think of how progressive Japan, China, Taiwan and Singapore are!


Lastly, GET RID of the sore loser culture

The 60/40 limitations which are still adhered to by the 1987 Constitution is a continuation of Marcos protectionist policies.  Not opening up the economy is an example of being a sore loser and it results to high rates of unemployment because of Pinoy Pride, a value that enlightened Pinoys reject.  A sore loser culture makes it unfriendly to investment and tourism.