Maricon Basco-Ebron
Tourism Director & Attache at
Embassy of Republic of the Philippines |
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Attracting as many tourists as possible is important in tourism, but what is more important is improving travelers' convenience, says a Filipino tourism expert.
Maricon Basco-Ebron, tourism director and attache at the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, said that making each trip Koreans take a memorable experience for them is her goal, along with the fact that Korea is the Philippine's No. 1 country in terms of the number of visitors to the country.
Last year, 654,000 Koreans traveled to the Southeast Asian country, beating the U.S. and Japan.
``You see both good and negative points when traveling, and I try to address the negative issues. It's not just promotion but we should know what is important in the long term,'' Ebron told The Korea Times.
``Negative things give me more inspiration to work, to create a total good experience for every tourist. I want more Koreans to visit with a smile,'' she said.
Why Philippines
Partly owing to such devotion, Koreans have become the biggest market visiting the Philippines. Although the recent economic downturn has discouraged people from traveling, Koreans are still going away and will perhaps prefer shorter-haul destinations like the Philippines, the 50-year-old said.
``Proximity is the number one reason attracting Koreans to the Philippines. Korea is only three to four hours away and it's easy to travel,'' Ebron said, adding the oil crisis has raised airfares but the Philippines has not been that heavily affected unlike long-haul destinations.
``For families who send their children to study in the Philippines, it's so easy to visit them. When you invest in the Philippines under a retirement program, your family has easy access in and out of the country,'' she said.
She said another attractive factor of Philippine tourism is nature, saying Koreans are adventurous and want to discover all the islands in the Philippines.
``The Japanese are not adventurers, and they go to only established destinations. Koreans even go to islands that we are not promoting because of underdeveloped infrastructure. Sometimes you find Koreans in remote places like Mindenao,'' Ebron said.
Other various factors attract Koreans to the country, with the types of travelers also varying ― honeymooners, families, golfers, divers, corporate incentive tourists, and students learning English.
Balance Between Development, Preservation
The Philippines may have similarities with neighboring Southeast Asian countries in terms of offerings, such as beaches and resorts. What differentiates the country from others, however, is its effort to maintain traditional appearance, Ebron said.
She said compared to Bangkok or Bali, Manila has a smaller number of rooms and avoids overdevelopment. ``We don't have resorts that accommodate big groups. Palawan, which is very well known in Korea, does not have a big airport. We have limitations, and we like to maintain that. Sometimes over-development of destinations destroys the destinations. I would prefer to go slow and not have a large number of travelers.''
She compared Boracay with one of its counterparts, Bali. In Bali, high-rise luxury hotels are directly connected to the beaches, but Boracay still maintains villa-type, native bungalow-style accommodation on the beaches.
``Our destinations are not totally manicured. Ours are still rustic. Maybe it's because we have less people going to the places, and it makes us preserve the places. Tourism can somehow spoil the native cultures and that is what we do not like. We want to preserve the heritage,'' she said.
Advice for Korea's Tourism
As a tourism expert with 29 years experience, Ebron had advice for Korea's tourism industry.
Besides the language barrier, which she cited as the first obstacle to development of tourism business, Ebron pointed out ineffective promotion methods.
``I don't see selling of each region individually effective. Each destination, like Jeju, North Gyeongsang Province and Gyeongju, promotes itself. There should be a unified campaign, a unified selling point of Korea as one destination,'' she said.
Ebron also said there is so much that is not being highlighted, saying shopping is one of them. ``People from the Philippines come to Korea to shop, and shopping is a matter for anybody. I think tourists want to go to Dongdaemun and Namdaemun markets rather than the palaces,'' she said.
Ebron also stressed the importance of raising quality guides, recollecting her trips to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). She visited the tunnels there, which were dug by the North Korean military under the DMZ for warfare purposes, but during her three visits, she only heard about the history of the tunnels from a guide on one occasion ― the other two guides did not give her and other tourists any information about the tunnels.
``The guide was so informative, telling us how South Korea discovered all this. Korea should look into that ― train more guides who can speak the same way. Such guides arouse the interest of tourists, and it will attract tourists to the destination,'' she said.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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