Buwan Ng Wika Is A Massive Business Opportunity

With August -- there's one thing that comes into my head and it's called "Buwan Ng Wika" which means "Month of the language" though I prefer to call it as "Buwan Ng Pilipino" or "Filipino Month". I could remember the school programs where folk dances from various regions of the Philippines, folk songs sang in different dialects and celebrating the wonders of the Filipino culture. The better part IMHO is when various Filipino foods are served with each foreign influence explained like telling us that palabok get its inspiration from Spanish and Chinese or how Filipinos managed to modernize some old-fashioned delicacies. But do you know that buwan ng wika or better yet "Filipino Month" can be a huge business opportunity?

You can start with Filipino food tourism as part of the month-long celebration. American-Chinese Vlogger Mike Chen had such a wonderful time enjoying Filipino food. There can be an explanation behind the history of the food or how they were modernized overtime. It may be the opportunity to explain how Filipinos learned to modify various influences of various foreign food for the Filipino taste. A good example is how sotanghon uses the Chinese-invented vermicelli while having the Spanish and Filipino taste. Halo-halo is a Filipino version of Japanese shaved ice. There's really going to be a lot of opportunity for Filipino food restaurants to run with customers and not just during the beach seasons (which I believe that August may be a good time to clean up the pristine beaches of the Philippines).

Various regions of the Philippines can present promo tours of their wondrous list of cultural locations as part of the trip. This would be used to educate both locals and Filipinos of the wondrous Filipino heritage. I could suggest that travel agencies and bus companies can coordinate for this month. Beaches may not be advisable if it's not summer -- unless a new proposal appears to transfer Buwan Ng Wika to the summer months because the Philippines is a beach country. My ideal trip is to set different sets of itinerary which would explain the heritage behind them. There would be many to choose from from these tours. Cultural shows are also a must-have and they shouldn't just be limited to schools. Cultural centers should present various folk dances of the Philippines and they should be part of the promo tours. At the same time, there should also be good security and the importance of preserving the delicate balance of nature since without nature -- there can be no more businesses without it!

Should I mention that this should also be an opportunity to promote Filipino businesses too through business fairs? That's why for the nth time I have been an advocate to repeal the Sariling Atin Only (ours alone) mentality. August should never celebrate protectionism month. Instead, it should also include Filipino economic liberalization as one of the themes. There should be business trade fairs for the whole month of August. This would be to start encouraging Filipino businessmen to start promoting their businesses and getting to know possible customers or foreign partners. Removing 60/40 would mean that there will be more Filipinos who will get a chance to get a foreign business partner or new customer. At the same time, this may also include foreigners who may want to franchise a Filipino-owned business which may help expand the Philippines reach in the international market.

With these three areas in mind -- it can already be the start of a new economic opportunity for the Philippines with the cards played right. After all, the Philippines is a country with potential and it's too good to waste. Don't let it be an opportunity cost. Instead, let it be an opportunity received for Filipinos to engage in a massive opportunity.