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WITH
moneyed and spoiled baby boomers influencing the market,
former tourism secretary Guillermina T. Gabor said
Filipinos should look into their houses whether these
could be transformed into a business and ride what she
says is a booming home-stay tourism industry.
“The key
word today is ‘experiential.’ The days of a 10-day,
10-city tour are over. Travel would be closer to home.
Hence, you must not overlook what’s on your doorstep,”
Gabor told a sparse audience in a forum on tourism last
week.
Gabor,
who pioneered the government handicrafts program in the
1970s, cited that home-stay tourism is increasingly
becoming a major trend as today’s travelers become older
and better educated.
“The
major market will increasingly seek eco-tourism and
cultural travel, as the population in Europe and North
reflects,” Gabor said.
This
market, according to Gabor, is composed of people who
turned 60 last year.
“They
are the moneyed group and most spoiled. These are the
people who want to be healthy and live long,” she
explained.
Hence,
Gabor added, this market segment would push for travels
that are on the slow lane.
They
would want only one destination where they would spend
three days and would want slow, home-cooked food.
“The
nature of the trips they would take is small in scope
and more on the off-the-beaten path,” she added.
Home
stay, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT), is
an alternative form of family-furnished accommodation
generally located in a house, providing guests
opportunities to experience family (and) community
lifestyle, as well as tourist attractions.
Gabor
said she is tapping this particular area in the industry
by launching by April next year Homestay Philippines
Inc. (HPI).
“We’re
looking at houses here where the owners no longer use or
live in,” Gabor said.
She
explained that the company targets 70 areas in the
country to sell its franchise. No figures were given.
Still, a
1992 National Homestay Program has cited an annual fee
of P750 is required for government accreditation aside
from undergoing training and other additional fees. A
full chapter on the mechanics of this program is cited
in Republic Act 7160.
Distinguishing features of HPI’s business, according to
Gabor, is giving “very specialized attention” to
visitors.
“They
would be given a taste of the environment of the
countryside and allowed participation in activities,
traditions and lifestyle of local people,” she added.
The
return-business is guaranteed because of the
personalized service, Gabor said.
She
cited that investment challenges in the transportation
business would affect positively or negatively the
home-stay tourism business.
Likewise, there is a critical shortage of hospitality
staff, as well as the level of expertise that impinge on
the maturity of this business, she explained.
DOT data
has cited that international arrivals to the Philippines
hit nearly 3 million last year, led by 572,133 Koreans
and trailed by 51,402 from Germany among top 12
countries.
Another
past tourism secretary, Narzalina Z. Lim, said the
country is not attracting many visitors because of a
shortage of at least 2,000 de luxe and first-class rooms
to serve foreign and local tourists.
Likewise, Lim said visitors are shunning the Philippines
as a destination not only because it is expensive but
because there are “not enough accommodations and not
enough destinations to go to.”
Despite
the political noise, the World Travel and Tourism
Council has estimated the country’s industry this year
to generate $16.3 billion of economic activity. The WTTC
also expects growth rate to hit 7 percent this year and
by 5.6 percent per annum, in real terms, between 2008
and 2017. |
