The Philippines: SE Asia's "Springboard"

Alright, I was browsing through some Singaporean budget hotel site, and I saw this section called "neighbouring countries". That intrigued me, as the hotel gave its own descriptions of the neighbouring countries within its perimeter such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. As expected, I saw our country at the bottom of the list, with only a few good things to say. If you wanna see the webpage itself, click here.

You will notice that it has talked about nothing else but our "beaches" and environmental mishaps, and the hellhole in the south called Mindanao.

There is nothing shocking about this at all. Everything written there about our country is pretty much true as our country really does lack attractiveness and authenticity. However, these set of words struck me the most: "...but most travelers only use it as a base for further travel." So that's all we are. A springboard or "transit-land" to other better and more interesting destinations than this copycat archipelago of cultural blah.

In my experience so far in the hospitality industry, it is already hard to suggest good tourist destinations around the country and especially within cities. Although there are many leisure travelers, they would only stay in our country for about a day or two then move to another country holding better interests and facilities. Sure, we have some good tourist destinations, but what makes a tourist STAY and enjoy?

This makes me wonder what was it that made our country so attractive back in the good ol' days. "Paris of the East", Manila was called... when it was still ruled by Americans. When Philippine stupidity kicked in, everything fell apart, from cities to rainforests. Everything from environmental to political issues fell apart in the last few decades. Also, Philippine hospitality is not something we should take pride in. Nearly all third-world countries have this trait because of a colonial past, etc. It is merely a cultural psyche that we have become accustomed to.

Alright, alright, maybe I'm being a bit too negative. Let's list down all the positive things about our tourism shall we?

1. We're practically in the 'hub' of Southeast Asia.

2. Much of our natural wonders are yet to be explored.

3. ...uhh... Latin flair culture?

Yeah, even I couldn't think many positives. That is why that 'hub' thing about our country makes us a good spot for airport transfers. A springboard. We're like that boring town in an RPG wherein no major plots occur, and you can only sleep and shop in it. That's how I think it feels. *yawn*

The environmental mishaps and warlords all over the country scare away tourists. It shows how much we've degraded ourselves as human beings. I mean, who would want to visit an archipelago with possible hostilities and bland attractions?

Only time will tell.