KUALA LUMPUR – With a population of some 28 million, Malaysia had some 25 million tourist arrivals last year.
With a population of some 100 million, the Philippines had some 3.5 million tourist arrivals last year.
In 2010, 80,000 Malaysian tourists visited the Philippines.
In that same year, 486,790 Filipinos visited Malaysia.
Comparisons most odious. Fast facts enough to make one damn: It’s no fun in the Philippines. Or get challenged: Take some fun from Malaysia.
“Malaysia is very much willing to share its tourist market with the Philippines,” Philippine Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya told visiting mediamen from Pampanga and Manila at the newly renovated chancery here last Monday.
European-based, Malaysia’s tour boom could spill over to the Philippines via specific packages, like three-day Boracay holidays supplementing four-day Kuala Lumpur vacations.
Already, if I got the envoy right, talks have started on reciprocity in the tourism industry between the two countries: on one hand, Malaysia serves as the gateway of European tourism to the Philippines; on the other, the Philippines serves as conduit of American tourism to Malaysia.
Unarguably, a boon to both countries, resulting from there.
Malaysian entities have likewise expressed bullishness over the prospects of Philippine tourism. Most prominent in this field is AirAsia.
No less than Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s Group CEO, is reported to have personally offered President Aquino his firm’s marketing and strong branding to lure more tourists to the country.
Fernandes does walk his talk. His confidence in the potentials of Philippine tourism first manifested in AirAsia’s locating its Philippine operations at the Clark International Airport when the country’s very own airlines were virtually avoiding it like the plague.
His faith in the soundness of investing in Clark concretized in AirAsia’s setting its hub right there. Proven, indeed, with Philippines’ AirAsia taking off from the CIA to Davao, Puerto Princesa and Kalibo as initial domestic destinations, to Kuala Lumpur as first international route and soon to other Asian cities.
Ambassador Malaya underscored two opportunities that would have direct bearings in attracting Malaysian tourists to the Philippines.
The first is “halal tourism.”
Halal is an Islamic Arabic word meaning “permissible” and denoting or relating to meat prepared as prescribed by Islamic law.
A general concern of Muslim travellers to the Philippines is the dearth of halal food outlets. It goes without saying thus that to attract more tourists from Malaysia, where majority of the population is Muslim, there has to be more ditanggung halal and makanan Islam among Filipino restaurants.
The second is “Christian pilgrimage tourism.”
Predominantly Catholic, with its many centuries-old churches, the Philippines can be packaged as pilgrimage site for Malaysian Catholics as well as those from other Asian countries.
Prominently positioned here is Pampanga, thanks to AirAsia at Clark. The province’s magnificent edifices of faith – national cultural treasures Betis and Minalin churches, the equally grand legacy churches in Lubao, Sta. Rita, San Luis, Sasmoan, Guagua and Apalit, the cathedral in San Fernando and the pisamban maragul in Angeles – make immediate pilgrim destinations.
The Department of Tourism is reported to be targeting some 100,000 Malaysian arrivals for this year.
At the rate the AirAsia flights from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu are going, that target looks easily attainable.
Notwithstanding the stupidity of the Department of Transportation and Communications ordering a 30 percent reduction in flights out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport starting July, purportedly to ease runway congestion.
Clark is the answer, there. But totally blind to Clark, the DOTC clearly is.
