There is no doubt that most tourism industries worldwide have been hit hard by the side-effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Philippines, one of Asia’s more popular destinations in previous years, is looking for ways to climb out of the Covid-19 crisis. By Henrylito D. Tacio

Davao, Philippines. 9 December 2020. Mention the Philippines and most foreigners think of white sand beaches, mountains and waterfalls, natural attractions, and ecologically-fragile ecosystems.  After all, the country has more than 6,000 beautiful islands, and as a result more than 8 million visitors holidayed there in 2019. But 2020 has seen a very different picture.

“The tourism sector has already felt the negative impact of the pandemic on its performance,” stated Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) on its website.  “In other (feeder) countries, travel restrictions and measures started as early as January, and impacted the Philippine tourist arrivals. Domestic tourists also limited their travel for fear of contracting COVID-19.” This has meant that international tourist receipts in Q1 2020 slumped to only some 35% compared to revenues from the same period in 2019.

“More than ever, we (need) the unity of the tourism industry to ensure that we will endure and overcome these trying times,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat during the Special ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Tourism Ministers Meeting earlier in the year. 

“These events have caused a major shift in the landscapes of the travel industry,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat. “Before, food, culture and immersions have been the main influence on a travellers choice.  Today, safety will be the paramount concern of most, if not all, of our visitors,” she added.

In a recent survey by PwC, 97% of tourist operators admitted that COVID-19 has significantly affected their business operations. Many hotels, restaurants, spas, and bars have been hit hard by the pandemic. 

Tourist destinations have to do something unusual to survive.  A study conducted by Dr. Belinda F. Espiritu, from the University of the Philippines-Cebu surveyed more than 10 ecotourism sites across the Philippines on the impact of a pandemic in terms of management and operations.

Dr. Espiritu’s research showed that most tourism sites – “except for the very few” – had no contingency plans for epidemic outbreaks. According to Dr. Espiritu, the lockdowns brought most tourism operations to a grinding halt during the community quarantine period, until some sites reopened to residents or local tourists. 

But a side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dr. Espiritu, is that “the quarantine succeeded in bringing out people’s resilience.” She noted specific instances in urban and rural agriculture such as “cultivation of ornamental plants for sale, entrepreneurship development, creativity in creating products to sell, and development of livelihood skills” as being good examples.

She also noted that many resorts and sustainable tourism businesses spent the quarantine period improving their facilities and devising specific COVD-19 responses. It just meant a new way of working. As one company put it: “We continue to place top priority on the health and well-being of our people.  Our offices are open but the majority of our people continue to work effectively from home.”

The government is also playing a role. The House of Representatives approved House Bill 6815 – a stimulus bill. This will see PHP1.3 trillion (US$20.5 billion) provided in the next four years to fund COVID19-testing, wage subsidies, and assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises.

Under the bill, PHP58 billion will be directed specifically to DOT-accredited tourism enterprises for the following programs: interest-free loans or loan guarantees for maintenance and operating expenses, credit facilities for upgrading, rehabilitation or modernizing current facilities.

The Philippine tourism department has launched a digital tourism campaign to promote its attractions and encourage foreign visitor arrivals once travel restrictions are lifted. Local officials in some areas have adopted digital contract tracing methodology, using cloud-based data encoding and capture, and GIS-based geospatial and link analysis. Tourism departments are promoting the adoption of strict health safety protocols by encouraging contactless and cashless transactions.

But the blows delivered by the pandemic could also bring new opportunities. According to a report by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), there are glimmers of hope.

The AIM looked at existing data on travel perceptions and did a marketing analysis to identify ways to revive travel demand and operations in the region.

“Our analysis suggest that existing business models may have become obsolete, thereby needing adjustments and re-assessments,” said the authors, led by Eylla Laire M. Gutierrez of the AIM–Andrew Tan Center for Tourism.

“While travel restrictions remain, ‘transition tourism’ is needed,” noted the report. “Considering travellers’ perceptions and sentiments is crucial at this period.” It contends that travellers are expected put health and safety as their priority when they engage in tourism activities, which points to a likelihood of an increase in the preference for natural areas and uncrowded destinations, digital travel, and customised experiences.

“We could see a shift from mass tourism to a more sustainable form of tourism,” notes Gutierrez’s report. “However, this shift does not occur without the collaborative rebooting of the local economy using local tourism. Stakeholders need to work together, along with tourists, to create a tightly knit industry that fosters thinking small.”