Making It Fun in the Philippines

It's amazing how "intelligent" Jover Laurio can really be. I didn't want to immediately write this common sense post as an indirect reply to her blog post where she compared Boracay to Chinatown . The stupidity is so amazing and here's a bit of stupidity that she posted: Ginawa mo na siyang Chinatown. 300 hotels and resorts were given notice to vacate, pero yung mga Chinese nagsusulputan. Pag sa Chinese ang luwag niyo no? Mula sa pag-agaw teritoryo natin hanggang sa mga Chinese drug lord. May nahuli na ba? (Translation) The place is turned into Chinatown. There are 300 hotels and resorts that were given notice to vacate but the Chinese were uncooperative.  So you are lenient with the Chinese? From the Chinese seizing territory to Chinese drug lords. Have you caught any? This makes me laugh for this reason. One, is Jover really even sure that the 300 hotels and resorts were illegal Chinese as she claims? Such an accusation could lead her to getting...

It's no secret that there are plenty of rude Chinese tourist incidents and it's become viral. The problem has to do with China's urban poor (many of them are squatters in their own country) who suddenly enjoy the economic boom that they experienced thus making many of those idiots travel abroad while they don't have any proper education or seeking to escape their harsh government. Now, it's no secret that I've read of an incident a few years back where a Chinese tourist was caught defecating at a trash can in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (which sadly is a metaphor of what the Aquinos are) or how many of them just don't know how to behave in public. I may be Chinese by ethnicity but I don't approve of their doing. Neither does their rather tyrannical government approve of what these people are doing. Some Filipinos have earned their right to criticize unruly Chinese tourists because they follow simple guidelines but many Filipinos haven'...

It's been a day after Boracay was opened and six months since its closure. I remembered how some of President Duterte's invalid critics were always criticizing the move to close and rehabilitate Boracay saying that potential revenue would be lost. Others were raising false alarms that Boracay would be sold to China which is also not true. Now it's time to witness the rehabilitation of Boracay. While I'm no solid Duterte supporter myself (he should consider not shooting his mouth off such as his dirty jokes and bad words) and you don't need to be a Duterte supporter to actually agree with the right he does. It's possible to dislike President Duterte while agreeing with whatever right he does such as the no public smoking policy or curfew laws for minors. This post is not to address people who dislike President Duterte but those who want to discredit him for the right he does. I may not like Noynoy Aquino but I can still agree that his important 29 economic ame...

I believe that part of the reasons why there's some deficit in the government income is because President Duterte is spending some of the money to clean up such huge messes. You can't have a major clean-up without spending tons of money to do it, right? Much revenue had to be compromised in order to clean up Boracay -- yet it's badly needed if you want more long-term revenue from said island than instantaneous revenue that was turning the island into a cesspool. Now it's time to launch yet another imagined scenario of what could have happened to Boracay under the rule of President Roxas and Vice President Trillanes . It was revealed in an expose by Rigoberto Tiglao concerning Boracay that Mar Roxas backed Boracay elites. If he won as president (and in extension Antonio Trillanes IV as vice president). Here's what it said that should really make you facedesk to the max: However, sources in the resort island claimed that Mar Roxas—whom President Benigno Aquino 3...

This image came from ironeXplores It's been several months since Boracay was closed for rehabilitation. It was a planned six month rehabilitation project which the island will have a soft opening by October 26, 2018. So what was going on after some time? The island is now starting to recover its natural pristine beauty. I'm amazed at how this long overdue project (which should have been done during Noynoy Aquino's administration but was presumably shut down out of spite for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ) was finally done. The results are not instantaneous but it's amazing how much was done by doing the long overdue project. I may not be a fan of the current House Speaker but at least I'm in favor of some of her projects -- which should have been carried by Noynoy during the last term. Now this is one thing I'd like to stress -- tourism is part of good economics but not too much tourism. It's like having the goose who lays the golden eggs and why you shouldn...

I remembered how I wrote a blog entry concerning that you can't expect progress if people don't know how the simple guidelines . One of these many can't follow simple guideline problems that's prevalent in the Philippines is related to what Filipinos would call as "isnabero taxi drivers" or snobbish taxi drivers. There's the guideline that taxis shouldn't be snobbish with their passengers. They can only refuse for valid reasons such as it's time for them to eat or that they are running out of gas and that they need to gas. However, there's the problem that more often than not that you meet taxi drivers who are very snobbish and choosy towards their customers. So what's my memories about snobbish taxi drivers? Nothing is more stupid than what I hear from other taxi drivers. Some wouldn't let someone ride a taxi unless it's some important person or a foreigner. When it's a foreigner then they let them ride and take a super ...

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 his...

One of my favorite channels on Youtube called "Strictly Dumpling" by American-Chinese video blogger known as Mike Chen. You can try watching all his videos from different countries while if you're Filipino -- then try watching his videos on the Philippines and see how food tourism plays a part in the tourism industry. Whoever says tourism is just all exploitative and negative (like that sore loser Peke Aeta ) has got to be wrong. Tourism plays a part in the economy as long as there's some good preservation measures like land rehabilitation and setting reasonable limitations to the rights of foreigners like not allowing them to throw their garbage or clean your mess up like everybody does whether you are a Filipino or not.  So how could food tourism work for the Philippine economy? It's really hard to dissociate tourism from food, isn't it? Why not remember the videos of the late Anthony Bourdain? Promoting delicious Filipino food is part of the Phili...

It's the summer months and you know what that means -- it's time for tourism in the Philippines to bloom again. I thought of the slogans we've had such as those above though I'd probably remove "more" from David Guerrero's slogan. Now it's time to consider why good tourism matters and what we can do to maintain it. What would attract people more in the long run? Would it be a good experience or a catchy slogan ? True, catchy slogans do matter -- you have to tell people your product is good. The problem comes in when you use all the good marketing to market an otherwise failed product . Do you remember the Mar Roxas campaign? They did all the marketing with celebrities, had a lot of political ads left unaired in ABiaS-CBN (but I could be wrong) but we have to consider how Roxas lost the campaign. The same could be the situation of the Philippines if you don't do anything. Part of maintaining good tourism is to have good airports. I'm glad to h...

This is one of the latest tweets of ABiaS-CBN reporter Karen Davila. Fortunately, it's written in English so non-Filipino speakers can at least understand it without the need for me (or anyone) to translate it for them. I wrote about why shutting down Boracay for the moment (and maybe six months isn't enough) would be a good long-term decision . Her latest tweet is a microcosm of one thing -- the prevalence of short-term thinking and hardly having other alternatives. Why is it short-term thinking? She refuses to see the long-term of what could happen if Boracay isn't rehabilitated then how much revenues will be lost in the future. Heck, Boracay may have to be nuked if that's the case. Spending for necessary compliance is part of business. It sickens me to think how people care more about money than the environment. I understand money is needed but if you don't spend money on proper waste disposal (and innovate to find new ways of proper waste disposal) then consi...

I'm already hearing Boracay-natics whine about, "Kapag isara ang Boracay, paano ang tourism?" which means "If we close down Boracay, what about tourism?" or stuff like that. Well here's a bit of a businessman's view to at least ask, "If we're not innovating to save the environment then what's the use of innovating if all you destroy is what innovation could have saved?" In short, business shouldn't only be focused on earning money and innovating to keep it running in the short run. In fact, what's the use of having money if the whole island is drop dead polluted? You can surely still earn money but later -- the tourist sport would be good as dead that it may have to be nuked. That's something I wish wouldn't happen. Innovative thinking should be long term and sustainable -- not short-term and just thinking about getting easy money.  Here's what GMA-News has to say about President Duterte's decision to clo...

It's no secret that Boracay's condition is worsening  (which makes it no longer feasible for one's next vacation spot) and many people in the Philippines have lost their right to be "shocked" at what's happening. It reminded me of my super disappointing trip to Boracay last 2012 -- not only was the trip expensive but the whole place was so full of garbage. I saw people throw garbage left and right. Some people just leave their garbage. Worse, people who are supposed to clean up garbage don't even do their job. This had me thinking of the big difference between Singapore and the Philippines. Some may go ahead and complain about "unjust policies" but here's what -- Singapore's strict discipline made the city a clean place to be. The fines may be somewhat excessive (considering it's a first world country and the fines may be considered little for its citizens) but guess what -- you can see how Singapore's cleanliness laws work lik...

It's obvious that the Anti-Duterte group (and I don't want to lump them together with people who are critical of President Duterte while staying logical by approving of the good he does and criticizes him of some of his actions) are making up nonsense again. Some say that shutting down Boracay for now is going to weaken the economy (HUH?!) or that President Duterte will "sell Boracay to China" (HUH?!) need to see what has happened to the once wonderful island and tourist spot known as Boracay. Nothing could help me but still feel disgusted to what happened to the island. I remembered how I heard of Boracay was a nice place to be -- but I went there last 2012 and found out how it's not the best place to be. I simply couldn't help but feel disgusted and even regret why I even went there. It was so filthy! President Duterte is right -- it's a pool of feces or sh*t . I'd like to say nakakadiri which means disgusting. If I'm using my income to pa...

The PNoy Pride Administration may already be coming to an end but the damage done is hard to repair. The tagline "It's more fun in the Philippines" was launched by David Guerrero based on the Switzerland campaign, "It's more fun in Switzerland." It's time to talk about tourism yet again and every incident that happened. There may be so much damage done to the Philippines by that slogan such as it had promoted a culture of impunity  to Filipinos. Good thing there are Filipinos who don't want to keep standing for that piece of SH*T that Guerrero advertised some time after the botched Rolando Mendoza incident . In other words, WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HE THINKING?! In advertising, there's overselling and underselling. While the value of a product must be boasted about such as, "This tastes really good." to say, "This is the best tasting product in the world." can result to a horrible backfire. The whole slogan "It's...

As election day is coming, I'm thinking of how much money was spent on DILG Secretary Mar Roxas to get people to vote him for president. Face the facts that  he's done almost every trick in the book but he's just a huge joke candidate . Roxas fans are either just deluded or can't accept that they're endorsing a bad product. The bottom line is no matter how much you try to repackage a bad product that it's still a bad product nonetheless. Now Years ago, we've had the legacy of David Guerrero when he endorsed, " It's More Fun in the Philippines. " as the country's slogan. The whole slogan ends up as a bad joke because just almost anything that's not good becomes "More Fun in the Philippines" as a result. Even more, the whole slogan was launched a few months after the botched Manila Hostage Crisis. When I see that poster, I really say, "Who are they trying to kid with that poster?" Sure you can lure a few peopl...

I'm so amazed no thanks to the incompetence of the President Nobita Administration  - the Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA for short has further fallen apart no thanks to the Pwede Na Yan mentality . Just after the incidents involving taxi scammers, the laglag bala scam  and now you have reports of the ceilings falling apart. From stray bullet scams to collapsing ceilings to falling floors - these are not to be taken lightly because they kill one of the Philippines' most important industries namely tourism. The Philippines has the potential to be a real tourist dream but it can also die no thanks to the NAIA.

Is it really more fun in the Philippines? Unfortunately, one guy Luis Simeos had learned it the hard way with what happened. At your right is a picture of a selfie he took with that gang before he got robbed of his possessions. The picture and story were taken from Inquirer . I still couldn't forget the stupid comment of what somebody said to a certain Mr. Banh saying this trash and until now the statement continues to piss me off like there's no tomorrow, "It's pure harassment, swindling, robbery, holdup, to a foreign tourist who came from a 3rd world country. Do you think they will do that to a foreigner who came from a developed country. Is this a normal practice in Singapore that they don't explain 1st to the customer the way the warranty should be charged. I said harassment because they threatened the customer that they will not give $600 refund if he call the police. In UNITED KINGDOM, warranty is optional but they charged it 10% of the selling price go...

Until now, I can't still forget what some person really said like, "You'll never be cheated in the Philippines." to some Vietnamese who got conned in Singapore (but the situation is now solved). Now it's time to talk about one very hot issue called the "tanim bala scheme" going on. If this goes on, Philippine tourism can die down which in turn will also hurt the economy. Looking at the "tanim bala scheme", here's how it works according to ABS-CBN News  which I don't really trust and I take their news with a grain of salt...   This has to be an inside job due to how effective and efficient it's been going on. What happens is that they look at the potential victim perhaps those who they deem has a lot of money. 

When I think of David Guerrero's slogan which has a huge possibility of a boomerang effect on his face , I also thought of what he said way back in 2012.  While I have to commend that he decided to use social media for advertising (which is really effective) but I thought he's missing the point. The line below was taken from ABiaS-CBN : "I think the Philippines is too small on the minds of people outside [the country]," he said. "The biggest problem is not the negative perception of the country, it’s the zero perception of the country." I understand Guerrero was aware that Philippine tourism pales to its Southeast Asian members.  However has he really bothered to EXAMINE every factor that drags tourism down?  As said, writing a slogan must match the product .  Has he really purposely turned a blind eye on the situations that hamper Philippine tourism?

Well David Guerrero should simply wake up from Lala Land because one day, that slogan may backfire on his face . I should mention some few basic facts. I don't know what was really in David Guerrero's head when he made the slogan. Simply, I felt like he isn't using his brain especially when I read from ABiaS-CBN (dated 5/4/2012) that the biggest problem is not the negative perception but zero perception of the country. All I can say is the guy is terribly misguided and mistaken! No matter how many times you do a lot of promotion of a bad product as a good one, the truth will always come out. Has he really thought of the nation's problems first?! Let's think about the person who's a travel blogger who hasn't heard too much of the Philippines. So at first, he says, "Well I'll give it a try and see the truth for myself." Now let's see he arrives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport but he sees people just throw their garbage lef...