Baltrum - What does the Philippines need ... to be a world class destination?

What does the Philippines need ... to be a world class destination?

(the saudis are in the desert but they have the 7 star hotel and a ski resort complete with snow and they even have man made palm islands) I mean, couldn't any Pinoy think of something to put up to make the Philippines a place where foreigners consider us different in a nice way? Edit: ooops sorry my bad .. Emiratis not Saudis. TY battgirl =)

Public Comments

What the Philippines needsa...is a straight government and straight cops...............
Boracay Island is one of the world's best vacation spots.
I guess this would come down to what you define as 'world class'. Dubai is one of the richest countries in the world and host some of the richest clients so there is a need for such luxurious extravagances. There are many development countries that do not even have decent 4 star hotels (that are being touted as 5 stars) so don't be too hard on the Philipines. Overall, Asia is the country renowned for the best hospitality hotels - not western countries. Dubai is the perfect example of this. And I know of many 'foreigners' that enjoy Asian countries for what they are - not just coming in for shops that are build by foreign investors that have totally lost the ethnic culture and touch of the destination.
Things are getting better, I think. For example, Iloilo has a nice new airport, and NAIA is nicer than it used to be. But the Philippines needs to ADVERTISE more! How many people know about Baguio or Banaue, or the Chocolate Hills, or Palawan? I didn't even know about those places until I visited. Also, the Philippines should increase the temporary visa period from 21 days to 50 days. Right now, if you want to stay longer than 21 days, you must apply for a visa from the embassy of the Philippines. It can be inconvenient for tourists who want to extend their stays. Mabuhay, brad!
Bitter, Saudis have something that the Pinoys do not, an endless supply of money to invest in luxury properties. They can bankroll them for 10,000 years if they don't make a profit just so that they can have the luxury resort in the desert. That sort of money, unfortunately, does not exist in the P.I. Don't get me wrong, a lot can be done to improve the Philippines as a tourist destination, but to compete with the Saudi Arabia is a losing battle.
police who understand that Philippines is worth dying for , and who will work to enforce some of the laws . Also need drivers who know and obey the driving laws . That , for a start
Maybe the local government should start a project that could help clean places that were popular tourist spots before but are now very dirty (like Pasig River, which used to have a picturesque view and Santa Cruz Island, which is now affected by illegal reef mining). Or give squatters a proper home so that they don't make houses out of trash and somehow manage to put up unlicensed stores all around the place. They could also popularize tourist destinations here and introduce the country's history to everywhere. It's just an opinion of mine, as how every Filipino wants to improve this country.
Maybe this 7-star complex? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlMLHjWxcbQwX7OvUztRMyrsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080104212214AA9hH8C First of all, stability of peace should be there because that is the foremost thing that scares tourist away despite the beauty of our natural wonders. My Arab friends travel around SouthEast Asia but some have deliberately avoided Philippines after a friend had packed his bags after spending one night in a Palawan resort and hearing a gun shot. It may be an isolated case but the idea of running into danger scares most of our potential tourists. Once we have established that our country is not dangerous, we have practically much to offer. Shopping and nature trips =) EDIT: BGy, the Saudi's don't have the 7star hotel and indoor ski, it's the Emiratis, don't get confused =)
Signal that we have reached a point where tourist will come in throngs to our country ? When you arrive in our airports and when you exit nobody check your baggage tags ... this will signal you that trust abound in our airports , so no need to check baggage tags . I have been to Malaysia , Singapore , Brunei , Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) , Kota Kinabalu including domestic trip inside Malaysia like Johor Bahru and MIri , Hongkong and not one airport personnel bothered me with regards to the baggage I carry out and the baggage tags . Here in the Philippines , even domestic and International Airports everywhere here , check baggage tags before you exit the gates ,which causes long lines and of course the Private Security guards at the NAIA that seemed to be our relatives who ask for Christmas gifts or welcome gifts in US$or Any Foreign Currency . In the airports alone , we could not measure up , and they just step into Philippine soil . Improved airports services and facilities , then we are on our way.
It is not the Saudis, it is the Emiratis. Saudi Arabia has very limited tourism. Look at other SE Asian countries that are world class destinations and imitate them, ex. Thailand, HK, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. 1) More international promotion by TV and other ads. Thailand sends people abroad to promote the country- they put ads on CNN and in Newsweek and do it all the time. Filipinos do not do it enough. Also, Filipinos often tell foreigners how bad their country is. Thais never do. 2) More cheap travel package deals- more direct cheap flights to bring people in. They have ones from Korea and Japan. Please start similar ones from China, Russia, Australia, Europe and the US, etc. Now, flights are kind of expensive and there are not enough package tours. 3) Improve services and the way customers are treated. Some clerks are not polite and get angry at customers who complain about very bad, slow and "mistaken" service. 4) Promote more honesty in the way tourists are treated by clerks, taxi drivers, hotel operators, etc. If they are overcharged and cheated, they will go back home and tell everyone that they were treated badly. 5) Institute a three month on arrival visa as in Malaysia and Singapore for people from richer countries. 6) Present Philippine culture, languages and music to foreigners with pride and teach them about it. Do more cultural ethnic shows for tourists, teach them some Philippine music and let them taste Philippine foods. If they travel 10,000 km to see an exotic land, they sometimes do not want to listen to US hip hop/ oldies from the 1950ies on the radio all the time. They are in the RP. So, lets eat Pinoy food, and listen to Pinoy music and learn about Philippine culture, legends, history etc. They have movies for tourists in Singapore like that and teach tourists Singaporean culture. It works. 7)Better sanitation and garbage disposal in the city and better education about how to keep the city clean because you see, you now live in the world community and people come and visit you all the time. They want to go back and tell their folks that the country they have visited has been great, friendly, clean, etc. Of course you can argue that it is your country and you can do what you want but think about it- would not you like a Singaporean ad Taiwanese, a Hong Kong person to admire you because you are so orderly and clean and take care of your cities? This way they will come back with millions on investment. If you can keep the city clean, that means you are OK. Remember your guest will be your host tomorrow as we are all interconnected in today's world. One day you or your children will go and work abroad and you probably want them to be greeted by those who had been to the Philippines before and who have a good impression of the country. You would not want them to hear bad things because it does hurt. 8) Maybe you can teach in school that "Hi Joe" is a bit obsolete as most white people you see now are not US military. Also, with a huge number of Brits and Australians and Germans, it is no longer advisable to greet them with the joyous' Amerikano! Amerikano!
From the point of view of a Brit married to a Filipina, here's my perspective: 1. More international direct flights to Manila. There are no direct or non-stop flights from the UK. Germany has a flight that stops near Hong Kong. Aircraft are capable of flying this route non-stop now, and there is obviously a market for it as you can see loads of the same people on both flights when you change planes in Dubai, Bahrain, HK, etc. Oh, and sort out NAIA as it's not the most welcoming of airports, and changing terminals there is a nightmare. 2. More advertising. Recently there was a taxicab advertising promotion on hundreds of cabs. I didn't see a single one. TV advertising would be better. Promote the wonderful things the Philippines has to offer so that the tourist attractions become "must sees". And promote the shopping - you have huge malls with great products at cheap prices, yet nobody ever mentions them! 3. Cut down on the bureaucracy. I don't want to fill things in in triplicate just to order a milkshake! (Ok, exaggeration but you get the idea). 4. Encourage foreign governments to lift travel bans that cover a wide area. For example, it is not recommended for foreigners to visit Mindanao in its entirety, but only really small parts are affected by troubles. Others have mentioned corruption, dirt, and slums. This is common of several Asian countries I have been to. Obviously it would be nice to clear all this up but let's get real - it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.
Sidewalks that are safe to walk on
Good question, I visited Dubai back in 1989 before the big economic uprising. There was nothing in Dubai during that time with the exception of small shopping centers that smelled like sweaty unwashed arm pits. Today, Dubai is a huge International tourist attraction. World class destination. The Philippines, There should be someone in the country who can think big like that.
Pi is a beautiful country...but... Really needs a big clean up - government reform to address the homeless and the poverty in pi, in which women walk among traffic with their children asking foreigners for money. Not exactly an image u want to present to the world. Massive need for the government to crack down on corruption in all its forms such as over-pricing etc. Need to crack down on street sellers. Street sellers are useful except when ur eating and they are standing there next to u for 20 minutes or following you to buy something. More tourist police as they have in Angeles and other tourist spots is what is needed. Honest, good english speaking police officers and tourist officials are another. Need to encourage officials at all levels that tourists are not dollar signs to be exploited and ripped off - but that more tourists will make the philippines richer and bring even more tourists. This includes taxi drivers who like to drive without the meter running and then overcharge unsuspecting tourists later... Huge need to tell ordinary filipinos that white people are not massive dollar signs running around to be exploited and that those same people that come to pi to spend money are the same people that also have jobs back home to which they have to go to work. Very bad perception in pi of 'poreigners' that are very rich and that money grows from trees.... Massive overhall of infrastructure - reduce the number of taxis in manila and the number of trikes and improve transportation such as increased railway network going from manila to outlying areas as legaspi to south and Angeles etc to the North. Get rid of all them god dam cars, jeepneys, taxis and trikes on the road. Massive need to cut down on pollution which makes Manila and other major cities very dirty. More education of filipino's on how to promote and to be proud of their country for what it is and for what its about. The people of the philippines are very beautiful people - very friendly and can be very kind, but they dont have much sense about what their country has to offer and how they themselves can make a change and be very active in changing the image of the philippines. Alot of filipino's can talk a good deal of english so that is a plus in communication. I have been there now 8 times and it is a great country - but needs alot of change to be implemented - change that will also come with social, political and economic reforms. There is a great need for philippines to ween themselves of diesel fuel etc.