Department of Tourism Region III

RD Ronnie Tiotuico
Excerpted from a handbook produced by CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL /
CENTRAL LUZON ACTION PLAN
Adapt to the unexpected, Create the desirable, Avoid the undesirable.

Workshop Outline

About RA 9593 and Local Tourism Officers / Councils

Visitor arrivals
Visitor friendly test
Questions about your place. What do you offer?
What tourism / eco-tourism is all about
What tourism planning is all about? Why is it important?
Play this video Community based Tourism
Worksheet (SWOT)
About branding
NTDP / SCAD Plan
Play this video Kulinarya Pampanga
The eight (8) phases of tourism planning
What DOT can do for you

National Policy of Tourism

The State declares tourism as an indispensable element
of the national economy and an industry of national
interest and importance, which must be harnessed as an
engine of socio - economic growth and cultural affirmation
to generate investment, foreign exchange and
employment, and to continue to mold an enhanced sense
of national pride for all Filipinos.
- Section 2, Tourism Act of 2009 (RA 9593)

DOT Mandate
The Department of Tourism shall be the primary planning,
programming, coordinating, implementing and regulatory
government agency in the development and promotion of the
tourism industry, both domestic and international, in coordination
with attached agencies and other government instrumentalities. It
shall instill in the Filipino the industrys fundamental importance in
the generation of employment, investment and foreign exchange.

Shared responsibilities between

national and local governments
Coordination between National and Local Governments. In view of the
urgent need to develop a national strategy for tourism development while
giving due regard to the principle of local autonomy, the Department of
Tourism, the DILG and LGUs shall integrate and coordinate local and national
plans for tourism development.
Local Tourism Development Planning. LGUs, in consultation with
stakeholders, are encouraged to utilize their powers under the Local
Government Code of 1991, to ensure the preparation and implementation of a
tourism development plan, the enforcement of standards and the collection of
statistical data for tourism purposes.

Functions of Local Tourism Officers

-

Preparation of local development plans

Enforcement of tourism standards, laws, rules and
regulations
Reports on status of tourism plans and programs, tourist
arrivals and inventory of tourism enterprises, employment,
occupancy rates, inventory of tourism products and
resources
Investment opportunities / investment code
Coordinate with DOT in development and promotion of local
tourism

Functions of Local Tourism Councils

-

Assist in the regulation and supervision of tourism-related establishments;

Assist in the matter of licensing of tourism establishments to ensure safe an
enjoyable stay of travelers;
Enforce sanitary standards in public restrooms and tourist transport services;
Initiate programs for tourism development
Focus on environmental protection
Classify and evaluate tourism destinations, sites and activities
Guide LGUs in the development and implementation of tourism programs
(source: RA 9593 and DILG MC 95-162)

DOTs ultimate goal is to attract not only more

tourists, but also better tourists that stay longer and
spend more generating more value for our
country.
MORE tourists and MORE value for the Country

How did we perform last year?

What are the numbers?

Visitor Arrivals by Country in Region III (201214)

Country

2012

2013

2014

Total

2.0 M

2.4 M

3.1 M

USA

39,131

45,806

95,737

Korea

30,465

44,324

55,692

Japan

30,829

28,026

29,074

Singapore

8,156

34,329

31,200

China

7,088

151,034

390,431

Malaysia

7,811

21,173

15,048

Visitor Arrivals by Province in Region III

2014
Province

2014

Subic / Zambales

1.1 M

Clark / Angeles City

.622 M

Bataan

119,951

Aurora

108,951

Bulacan

109,509

Nueva Ecija

35,773

Tarlac

47,814

Issues and Challenges

Lets take this simple test

NOTE: The following 10 questions provide approximation to determine the level of

friendliness of a certain tourist-oriented place. Provide 10 points for each favorable
answer. A passing score is 60. Anything less may probably spell trouble.

Are the central access points to your community equipped with visitor information
centers or do they provide instructions to easily accessible information?

Should a place be the primary access point, does it provide a full range of visitor
information services (e.g. accommodation, tourist booth, visuals on-site, etc.)?

Do visitor facilitators hotels, restaurants, jeepneys, calesas, cabs, buses receive

any formal training and does a system exist to monitor the quality of visitor
facilitator services?

Do hotels/lodges offer in-house television access channels for visitors with

information on events, attractions, restaurants, and things to do?

Is a single organization or agency responsible for visitor business and are public
funds provided for its activities?

Does that organization or agency have a marketing profile of visitors, and is

this profile used for marketing activities?

Does the places hospitality industry accommodate foreign visitors needs

(language, directions, special interests, dos and donts)?

Does a range of accommodation exist to meet actual or expected visitor needs

(by price range, size of facilities, access to site)?

Is access to sites, attractions and amenities (events, recreational, central

location) easily available at reasonable cost and frequency?

Does the place welcome visitors and accommodate their needs (commercial
hours, credit cards, language, signage, traffic, parking, public services)?

Questions
1. Do you have attractions that will entice people to stop and
visit?
2. Do you have hospitality services and facilities available?
3. What experiences are visitors having in the community?
4. What promotion methods are used? How well do they work?
5. What are the current markets?

6. What is the competition for your community?

7. How is tourism related to the community lifestyle and
goals?
8. What roles do community organizations play in
tourism development?
9. What are trends that affect the tourism industry?
10. What are the community strengths and weaknesses,
problems and opportunities in serving visitors?

Lets now go back to

basics

Tourism is all about people who are travelling to and staying in places away from
their home. Tourism can involve travel for business, for pleasure, to visit friends and
relatives or for other reasons such as shopping or personal business.
All overnight trips are considered tourism. And, anyone travelling out-of-town and 40
kilometers or more one way from home on a same-day trip is a tourist. There are
exceptions travel to work, for education, for military purposes, migration, and
routine trips (those made at least once a month) are not tourists.

Ecotourism Society
A purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and natural history of
the environment taking care not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem while
producing economic opportunities that make the conservation of natural resources
beneficial to local people.

Pacific Asia Travel Association

A form of tourism inspired primarily by the natural history of an area,
including its indigenous cultures. The ecotourist visits relatively
underdeveloped areas in the spirit of appreciation, participation and
sensitivity. Non-consumptive use of wildlife and natural resources
and contributes to the visited area through labor or financial means
aimed at directly benefiting the conservation issues in general and to
the specific needs of the locals.

Natural area
Undisturbed
Wildlife (plants and animals)
Cultural biodiversity
Educational to tourists
Conservation of nature
Benefits to local community

Rich natural attractions and conducive to travel

Unique features and education to visitors
Rich in flora and fauna, endemic/endangered species
Not frequented by commercial tourists
Native traditions of local people remain untouched
Rich in biodiversity
Beneficial to local host population

In 1950, only 25 million international tourists worldwide. In 1997, nearly 25 times larger at
613 million international arrivals. In 2010, 935 million arrivals. Forecast: 2020 at 1.5 billion
arrivals.
Direct receipts stood at US$448 billion
WTO predicts by 2010, arrivals will increase to 1.018 billion or 71% more tourists than in
1996.
Direct receipts to rise to US$1.55 trillion by 2010

 Domestic generally outnumber intl tourists

More than 3 billion people travel around their own country every

year
Economic activity generated by domestic and intl tourism in 1998
is predicted to be US$4.4 trillion, providing employment to 230
million people worldwide

Increasing wealth and leisure time

Decreasing travel cost

Airline industry expansion

Fewer travel restrictions

Countries pursuing tourism as means to create

jobs, diversify their economies and earn foreign
currency

Tourism as a source of private profit and

economic development

Booking thru social media / internet

Younger, better educated and better informed

Individualized trips, a wide range of activities and more authentic experiences

Nature such as beaches, coral reefs, rain forests and wildlife

Focus on unspoiled and less developed areas

Tourists now have higher sense of environmental and social responsibility

 Survey in the Philippines showed that 70% of tourists were willing

to spend US$50 more per trip to conserve the areas they visited
Tourists are choosing not to visit areas that have been degraded

Lets do some planning

Issues and Concerns

What are the important tourism development issues in your

community?
Would it be infrastructure?
Would it be human resources development?
Would it be attraction or tourism product improvement?
Is there a need for more marketing and promotion activities?
What should be done first?
How much will it cost to spend on what element of tourism
development?

Basic Elements of Tourism Development

Planning

Tourist attractions / inventory and mapping

(natural, cultural, historical)
Tourist facilities and Services (Infrastructure,
accommodation establishments, facility survey,
supply data)
Market / visitors (visitor survey, visitor profile, etc.)
Critical points: Safety / security, transportation,
good infrastructure and quality services
ALL THESE CONSTITUTE YOUR PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT

Play this video Community-based

Tourism

Lets do a little
marketing

Basic Concepts in Marketing

Positioning is how a destination is perceived (seen) by

potential and actual visitors in terms of the experiences
(and associated benefits) that it provides relative to
competing destination.
Brand is not only a trademark (logo or icon), but a main
experience and image that reflects the destinations
positioning. In short, it is a PROMISE to potential
tourists. The brand is represented in the form of an
image logo.

Workshop #1: What is a

BRAND?
A brand is a name and symbol or design that
identifies and differentiates your destination or
product. It is your promise to your customers and
tells them what they can expect.
Elements of a successful destination:
Quality of experience with appeal
Outstanding customer service
Quality experience that is easy to plan and buy
Offering good value
Meeting and exceeding customer expectations
Products and Amenities that meet contemporary
standards
Infrastructure and services

Play this video - Branding

What is your
BRAND?
Do a workshop in
this

How to become a successful tourist

destination

You need to be on the map (physical and mental)

You need to inspire tourists to come and visit / return
Initial assessment (criteria):
Hard (important)
Soft (critical)
- to be safe / politically stable
- to be known
- to have good infra
- to be perceived for something
- to be accessible (transportation) - to be loved
- to offer quality service
- to offer a unique experience

How do you assess your destination?

Lets do a little
planning

 Developing a theme for product ID and

development for tour operators or a

community
Guide for future actions
Solve future problems
Predict future scenarios

 Systematic or a logical sequence of

steps
An opportunity to evaluate alternatives
Community-based
and
supports
community economic development
Iterative and dynamic
Integrated and comprehensive

Effect of the law on Local Govt Code

Focus on shared responsibilities between national and
local governments; integration of national and local
plans for tourism development.
Technical assistance, training and other capacity
building measures to LGUs
for preparation of
development plans; Data gathering, enforcement
laws and regulations;
Priority assistance to LGUs with successful tourism
development plans;
LGUs to provide inventory of tourism resources for use
in national tourism development plan; and
LGUs to report on the status of their tourism plans and
programs

Lets do a little workshop

Understanding your visitors at

present
Key visitor characteristics
(families, couples, young or older,
one-day trips or overnight visits)
Why are they coming?
When are they coming?
What do visitors do while in your
place?
How long do they stay?

Potential new markets

Who might be your new visitors?

Understand what your

community has to offer
Name of experience /
product / activity
Operating season
Key features and
experience
Is the market ready?

What private tourism

businesses offer in your
community
Name of experience /
product / activity
Operating season
Key features and
experience

Inventory of
accommodations
Name of facility
Number of rooms
Facilities / services

Lets do a little SWOT

analysis

Why are we
underperforming?

Acces
s

Destinati
ons &
Products

Promoti
ons

Lets do a little exercise on this one.

Workshop #2 : Strengths, Weaknesses,

Threats and Opportunities
Attractions & Activities
Natural Areas
Festivals and Events
Specialty Shopping / Dining
Destination Accommodation
Other Experiences
Amenities and Services
Other Infra, marketing, tourism industry
assns, community resources

Central Luzon Tourism Cluster

Clark International
Airport

Destination and
Product
Development
Mixed used resorts in
Clark, Zambales,
Subic
Improvement to 16
heritage sites (Php
140 Million)
Linking communities
to tourism supply
chain

Development
Impact
2010: 72,000 jobs
2016: 75,000
additional jobs

Tourism Development
Areas:
TDA 1: Subic Clark
Tarlac Corridor
TDA 2: Nueva Ecija
TDA 2: Pampanga
TDA 4: Bulacan
TDA 5: Zambales
TDA 6: Bataan
TDA 7: Aurora
Theme:
Entertainment/amusem
ent, sports, beach
resort, events, MICE,
ecotourism, wellness,
medical and retirement
tourism

Play this video Kulinarya

Pampanga

Overview: Steps in Planning

Process
Form a planning committee
The Situation Analysis
Who are your visitors?
Who might be your future
visitors
Establish a Vision / Goals /
Objectives
Develop the Action Plan
Implementation /
Monitoring / Evaluation

Phase I Mission Statement and Goal Setting

Phase II Resource Inventory and Analysis
Phase III Market Analysis
Phase IV Product Market
Matching/Theme/Concept
Phase V Overall Development Plan
Phase VI Tour Product Development
Phase VII Market Strategy
Phase VIII Implementation Strategy

what is important and deeply cared about

the opportunity to serve a need
the values to be protected
what business are you in
overall purpose for community existence
Mission means expectations/values; Goals means aims
or purposes; Objectives means quantified targets; and
strategies means types of action
Example: Mission (Be healthy); Goal (Lose Weight);
Objective (Lose 10 lbs by Oct. 5); Strategy (Diet and
exercise)

Play this video How to write your Mission

Statement

Play this video How to write your business

plan

Setting a Strategic GOAL

and VISION/MISSION
SETTING A GOAL?
A GOAL NORMALLY STATES
THE DESIRED IMPACT ONE
WANTS TO ACHIEVE.
A FASTER GROWING
MORE SUSTAINABLE AND
INCLUSIVE PHILIPPINE
TOURISM SECTOR
ATTRACTING AROUND 10
MILLION INTERNATIONAL
ARRIVALS BY 2016.

70

SETTING A
VISION/MISSION?
IS A SHORT STATEMENT
ABOUT WHAT WE WANT
TO BECOME.
TO BECOME ONE OF
THE MOST PREFERRED
DESTINATIONS IN
ASIA.

 Mission:
To provide socially and environmentally responsible tourism at a profit

Goal:
Implement sustainable economic development

Objectives:

Increase visitor spending

Identify areas of unique value for conservation
Attract more tourists
Decrease leakages
Expand the tourism season

Lets do mission / goal

setting

State you Mission:

State your Goal:
State your Objectives:

All resources are inventoried on the ff:

criteria:
1. attractiveness
2. ability to draw visitors
3. accessibility and availability of services
4. integrity
5. contribution to environmental and cultural protection.

Ecotourism Products can be grouped according to:

natural or environmental
community
heritage or historic
cultural
outdoor recreation
tourism services
special events
information/interpretive services

Product

Location

Type of Product

Description

There are two sources of market demand that can contribute to determining an
ecotourism product.
primary research, including questionnaires and interviews with the

travel trade; and

secondary or desk research including the analysis of written data or

both the local markets as well as the international tourism markets.

Primary research generates data, directly from the travel trade or

consumers that is used to shape the ecotourism product. It is gathered
by:

informal observation of the ecotourism market

surveys or interviews with members of the travel trade (wholesalers,

tour operators and local suppliers such as hotels and resorts, guides,
adventure tour operators, NGOs, etc.)

questionnaires distributed to visitors in your

region/province/community that potentially represents the ecotourism
market

Secondary or desk research is provided by the literature and survey results that
have been prepared by others. At the regional, provincial or community level, it may
include:

visitor exit surveys

surveys of the adventure market since there is very little available data on the
ecotourism market

adventure travel surveys in other provinces or regions

market research from consumer magazines that provide nature-based tourism

national/regional planning agencies, travel associations, city/municipal or

provincial tourism offices

Product/Resource

Market

Depending on your location, the competition

may be in an adjacent province or region, or
another ASEAN country. It is important to
appreciate that similar ecotourism operators in
an adjacent area may be a collaborator or
contributor to your overall package.

Name of Competitor? _______________

Its Product Component: _____________
Its Competitive Features and Special Appeal?
_________________________
Market Origin? _____________________
Price Structure? ___________________
Marketing Approach? _______________

Note: This phase is very important and is

essential to preparing a professional,
marketable ecotourism product. This
workshop provides an introduction to this
process. Final product development requires
additional training and understanding to be
provided in a regional product development
workshop.

 Preparation of Daily Itinerary

Securing all services and suppliers
Establish Price Structure
Developing a partnership with tour operators and

wholesalers

Date:
Time:
Places to Visit/Activities:
Special Events:
Services/Facilities to be offered:
Total Net Cost:

Date and time

Places to Visit

Remarks

Items

Description

Quantity

Total

It responds to the definition of tourism / eco-tourism

It responds to the development strategy
It meets Important tourism / eco-tourism criteria

Suggested Components of a Marketing Budget:

ADVERTISING e.g. brochures, newsletter, newspaper

SALES e.g. trade shows, fam trips, exhibits and displays, AVPs, web
MARKETING e.g. data analysis, surveys, questionnaires
OTHER (social media, etc.)

Consider these.

Outofthebox marketing (5 days in

Africa)
Social media / blog
Volunteerism (giving back to community)
Green tourism
Networking / Interaction
Videos on www.youtube.com
Search engine optimization (SEO)

Project/Program

Timetable

In-charge

Budget

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

There are variety of agencies, associations,
organizations and companies responsible for the
implementation of a Development Strategy. A matrix that
outlines the specific responsibility assure response to
the opportunity as well as Action.

Sample video Marketing Puerto Princesa

Lets do the plan.

Play this video How to develop your

Action Plan

Objective
Action Steps
Who will lead the effort? / Who are your partners?
What resources are needed? Where will they come from?
Major Constraints and Issues
Timetable
Measurement / Review

NTDP Action Plan for CL

Identify and designate Tourism Enterprise Zones (for incentives)

Attract more investments
Enforce mandatory accreditation of tourism enterprises (primary and secondary),
enforce tourism standards / rules and regulations
Safeguard natural / cultural heritage sites
Safeguard vulnerable groups (indigenous, children, women)
PPP-based marketing strategy (new tourism brand, domestic tourism campaign,
roadshows, etc.)
Expansion of airport / route development
Establishment of tourist information centers
Formulate local tourism development / destination marketing / regulation
Safety and security (TOP COP seminars)
New tourism packages (attractive and competitive)
Discover / develop new market competitive products
Inventory of tourism assets / attractions / products (database)
Tourism road projects (DOT and DPWH convergence)

Workshop # 9: Action
Plan
Action Steps

Who?

Resources
Needed

Major
Constraints

Timetable

How much

Monitoring

Proposed Outline of Action Plan

Legal Basis
Plan Purpose
What It Is
Context
Plan Framework
Core Strategy
Action Plan
Policy Recommendations
Institutional Arrangement

What DOT can do for you

Manpower development program for industry personnel

Capacity building for LGUs (effective customer service)
Data gathering / visitor survey / visitor profile
Preparation of local tourism development plan
Preparation of local investment code (BOI)
Classification / accreditation of tourism facilities
Convergence program (DPWH / DILG / DSWD / DTI)
Production of IEC collaterals / maps
Web / online marketing (visitmyphilippines.com / Facebook)
Assistance to festivals and special events
Designation of tourism enterprise zones (TIEZA)

My Contact Information:
tourismregion3@gmail.com
Website:
www.visitmyphilippines.com
Facebook.com/ronnie.tiotuico