Tourist numbers ‘highly optimistic’

Colliers International said the government’s target of hitting 10 million tourists by 2016 is “highly optimistic” and that the country should instead aim for a more realistic figure of 7.8 million.

Colliers said that the Philippines continue to lag majority of its Asian neighbors due to bad publicity and lack of awareness of the country’s tourist draws.

Colliers collated foreign travelers’ comments on online posts via TripAdvisor.

The Philippines has so many tourist draws, that its attractiveness lies on natural formations, varied coastal features as well as its tropical climate.

Colliers said over the last five years, the country’s foreign tourists grew by an average of 7 percent, yet it was outperformed by Vietnam (+12 percent) and Cambodia (+11 percent). Likewise, tourism receipts performed modestly at an average of 9 percent annually from 2006 to 2010.

The country has remained at the bottom, together with Laos and Cambodia, and was beaten by Vietnam (+16 percent) since 2008. Despite being an ideal tourist leisure destination, the Philippines only ranked sixth among its ASEAN counterparts in terms of foreign arrivals.

Collier said based on the data collected between 2007 and 2011, there are five things that travelers consider about the Philippines.

The first consideration is flights, fares and terminals.

Data from this online forum shows that the majority of travelers see accessibility as the foremost consideration.

According to the forum, compared with other ASEAN countries, the Philippines is the least accessible country based on the users’ perception that unlike Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, traveling is primarily done by air; airfare cost is high relative to neighboring countries; traveling within the Philippines is likewise costly since the most convenient transport is by air, and the Philippines lacks international flights.

“We believe that the country’s market remains with leisure travelers. This situation is similar to South Korea and Japan, which has gained a significant tourist share despite its archipelagic nature and distance from other popular mainland Asian destinations. Thus, the government has to provide enough marketing tools to encourage foreign arrivals and eventually provide services to boost tourism receipts,” Colliers said.

Colliers said the second and third considerations are: attractions, islands, beaches and resorts.

Tourists are mainly lured by the ecotourism and leisure destinations in the country, the firm said.

Based on users’ sentiments, these types of developments generated the most interest in the forum. A large majority of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations are known for beaches, resorts, dive sites (Cebu, Camarines Sur, Boracay, Puerto Princesa, Batangas), and eco-adventure activities (Laguna, Pampanga, Davao and Cagayan de Oro City).

However, compared with other Asian tropical beach destinations such as Bali in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand, the Philippines is not as highly regarded, or at least not yet.

While Colliers commended the government initiatives in strengthening its campaign to broaden awareness in the global arena, it said that is still not sufficient.

“Besides aggressively advertising through the international media, the government also needs to develop a certain tourism brand or identity. For example, the country can position itself as the top beach destination in Asia given its numerous accolades, and this could be its competitive advantage,” it added.

The fourth consideration is hotels.

Currently, there are roughly over 300 published hotels in the metropolis. Based on users’ assessments, some of the well-reviewed hotels included luxury properties such as the Makati Shangri-La, The Peninsula Manila, Marriot Hotel Manila, Pan Pacific Intercontinental, Mandarin Oriental, Sofitel Philippine Plaza and Manila Hotel.

Developers have been banking on increasing tourist arrival levels to justify new hotel development. In Metro Manila alone, there will be roughly 40 new hotels from 2012 to 2016. This reflects a room stock increase of over 16,000 units, more than double than the total stock as of end 2011.

New hotel developments will range from budget to luxury hotels, and many will be gaming-oriented in conjunction with the upcoming Entertainment City project in Parañaque.

The fifth consideration is safety and security.

In the forum, the majority of the queries were geared towards safety in traveling particularly in Mindanao and its nearby islands. Terrorism in the region has always been associated with the extremist militant groups in the country. In these areas, foreign arrivals have been relatively low during the last decade.

“We see that there is a potential for growth for tourism in Mindanao mainly due to its rich cultural background and natural features,” Colliers said.

On top of key cities like Cagayan de Oro and Davao, which are already popular bases for foreign tourists, Colliers said  major developers may likewise start laying out long-term plans for commercial and leisure projects in other Mindanao cities. This should be complemented with government initiatives particularly in providing proper infrastructure such as roads and highways leading to potential tourist spots. Other points of interest are Iligan City; Siargao Islands; Bukidnon; Zamboanga City; Dipolog City; General Santos City; and Surigao del Sur.

But Colliers said in terms of tourist arrivals, “we think that the government’s target of 10 million by 2016 is highly optimistic.”

“Instead, we consider that 5.5 million as the baseline forecast and 7.8 million as the more realistic ceiling. Despite the recent improvements in tourist arrivals, occupancy rates may bottom out to 63 percent by 2014, based on the ceiling forecast and the significant number of hotel room stock that will be introduced in the next few years,” Colliers said.

But Colliers nevertheless noted that there are certain cases that will facilitate an increase in occupancy rates.

The number of foreign visitor arrivals improved more than 15 percent annually.

Increases in business and domestic travel were due to a generally robust economy.

Collier forecast a slowdown in hotel construction development if tourist arrivals weaken.

Remarkable demand is expected for gaming-hotel casinos, particularly in Pagcor Entertainment City, where the majority of upcoming deluxe hotels will be located.

Sourced: Cambodia News