2.Developing and Marketing Competitive Tourist Destinations and Products

2.Developing and Marketing Competitive Tourist Destinations and Products

The regional stakeholders noted that in order to facilitate the flow of tourism to the existing and emerging tourism development areas, priority should be given to the following subprograms:

»Designing and implementing a sustainable tourism transportation and destination infrastructure program to increase their capacity to handle growth in a sustainable way;

»Facilitating a concerted product development program offering a diverse range of products to the domestic and international markets giving special attention to the development of large mixed use tourism complexes in the vicinity of main international airports, and non-urban, community-based tourism programs in strategic locations;

»Designing and implementing a PPP-based mandatory tourism enterprise accreditation/certification system to raise the competitiveness of Philippine tourist facilities and services;

»Facilitating tourism investment, and simplifying business set-up and initial licensing and licensing renewal procedures;

»Safeguarding natural and cultural heritage sites, and vulnerable groups (women, children and indigenous groups) in the SCDs; and

»Designing and implementing a five-year PPP-based and funded marketing strategy and one-year rolling action plan targeting key growth markets focusing on marketing high quality products and experiences in the existing and emerging tourist development areas that are “must experience” in nature.

The related programs and projects to achieve this strategic outcome are set out below.

2.1Implement a Sustainable Tourism Destination Infrastructure Program

Description of Program

The design and implementation of a within cluster destination transportation and infrastructure development is essential in order to ensure that they have the necessary capacity to handle increased domestic and international tourism growth between 2011 and 2016. In this context, the program seeks to: (i) improve the air, sea and road connections between the main entry points in the SCDs and their TDAs; (ii) where necessary improve water, power, sanitation, and solid waste management, and basic public sector tourist support services in the TDAs of the SCDs; and improve last mile access, visitor and nearby community infrastructure at key tourist sites in the vicinity of the TDAs in each SCD. The program will be achieved through two subprograms:

»Designing and implementing a TDA utilities and tourist support services infrastructure development subprogram within the SCDs; and

»Designing and implementing a tourist site access infrastructure subprogram.

Proposed Subprograms and Projects

2.1.1Designing and Implementing Services Infrastructure in Tourist Development

2.1.2Designing and Implementing Tourism Site Access and Visitor Infrastructure Improvements

2.2Develop Diversified Tourism Products that Engage Local Communities

2.2.1Developing Major Mixed-use Tourism Complexes in the Vicinity of the International Airports

• leisure, entertainment, theme attraction, shopping, MICE, education, medical, and sports tourism centers in Clark (1); and
• leisure, entertainment, beach resorts, wellness, sports, education, wintering/retirement tourism, cruise ship, and sports centers in Subic (1) and Zambales (1).

• Community participation in the planning and design of the interventions in each location;
• Outside private sector participation in the operations and marketing of the commercial elements of direct community-based tourism initiatives such as accommodations, tours, etc.;
• Linking local communities and tourism outlets in the region to supply them with handicraft, vegetables, fruits, meats, furnishings, decorations, and building materials;
• Providing credit, training and materials, and supplier contracts support to local communities;
• Providing training in hospitality, cooking, food and beverage service, in and local tour guiding;
• Providing improved community-based access, water, sanitation, lighting and solid waste management;
• Providing long-term mentoring support through appropriate NGOs; and
• Monitoring and evaluation of progress.

2.3Implement a PPP-based Mandatory Tourism Enterprise Accreditation System and Facilitate Tourism Investment and Lower Cost of Business

Description of the program

This program aims to design and implement a compulsory accreditation system for primary tourism activities in 3 years (by 2014) and keep a voluntary approach for secondary activities (addressed not only to tourists but also to the general public). Then, in the following years until the end of the NTDP time frame (2016), to consolidate, refine and add more value to the system.

Objectives

In the context described above the following objectives are targeted:

»Extensive use of international standards / references

»The Philippines context needs to be taken into account: differences between islands, regions; opportunity to highlight differentiating factors.

»Establish and grant a smooth and efficient accreditation and re-accreditation exercise

»Ensure the long-term sustainability of the accreditation system

»Take care of the internal and external image of the accreditation system: fairness, consistency and reliability, integrity, transparency

»The accreditation system should be thought as and become a tangible support to marketing and promotion of companies and destinations, instead of just being an administrative tool

»In line with this last objective, the accreditation scheme should constitute an useful and reliable tool for the end users (tourists and residents) to get information and make a choice based on some minimum price-quality relationship criteria

Proposed Subprograms and Projects

2.3.1Design and Implementation of a PPP-based Mandatory Tourism Enterprise Accreditation System