Philippine Star (Business & Leisure, Ray Butch Gamboa)

I missed the launch of the Canadian Tourism & Hospitality Institute (CTHI) last Dec. 2 at the Philippine International Convention Center. Apologies to the organizers, but December’s slate is really packed full, short of crazy in fact, so like most other events I have missed, I had to rely on the video of the crew we sent over.

The idea of having a tourism college right here really struck a chord, coming as it does in the heels of more serious efforts towards attracting more tourists to visit the country. In fairness to the previous administration, Secretary Ace Durano had planted good seeds towards this end. Before him, Dick Gordon also had his brilliant ideas translated into an effective campaign like the WOW Philippines concept. But the bottom line is, the equation is grossly lopsided. We have so much more to offer as a tourist destination than the numbers indicate. Why is that?

Our beaches are more pristine than say, Thailand, but their amenities, their infrastructure as a whole, far outweigh us. Comparing their resort-hotels with ours, we certainly tail them, but comparing our natural resources with any of our neighbors in the region, “wala silang panama sa atin!” (They don’t have anything to match us!) We win in this score, hands down. Consider for instance how their James Bond resort (so called because one Bond movie was famously shot there and they capitalized on this) is a well-advertised attraction. Though admittedly clean of any debris and well-maintained, the beach is a relatively short stretch of rough black sand, rocky in many areas, and the water is brownish (don’t ask me why). Juxtaposed against our white sand beaches with clear azure waters where you can see your toes clearly, and where you can literally swim with bright-colored tropical fishes, where is the contest?

The answer clearly lies in successful marketing, upgrading our infrastructure, and upgrading our tourism skills to match the expected influx.

As far as the marketing goes, I understand the National Government does not have the budget to go into CNN, etc. to show off the Philippine wonders. Yet, when you travel abroad, there’s nothing much to watch in your hotel room but CNN, and your senses get flooded with how Malaysia has been modernized, how Thailand is temptingly exotic, how Cambodia and Vietnam have capitalized on their colorful history to lure in the tourists. The Philippines is never visible. “Hindi kasali” (Not in the game.).

As for infrastructure, well I guess we’re slowly getting there, plodding and not rushing, but getting there. How I wish we can fast forward the efforts though.

That leaves us with our pool of talents to support our tourism bid, and this is where this latest venture of CTHI comes in. The Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute is the first international franchise of the Canadian Tourism College which has been successfully operating in British Columbia, Canada for over 30 years and has built a solid reputation of providing a pool of world-class trained and educated tourism staff to top hotels, resorts and restaurants across the globe. They claim that their batting average for gainful employment of their graduates is within a high 90 percent.

If you’re wondering why they chose the Philippines as their first franchisee, blame it on the persuasive efforts of Samie Lim, Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Franchise Association who has made it his life’s advocacy to educate more and more Filipinos on the merits of franchising. Samie is also the VP for Tourism of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry and has been in the forefront of serious and concerted efforts to push Philippine tourism.

Samie is the president of the Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute. He says that for the last five years, they have been promoting the 7As in tourism – Arrive at the destination, Access these destinations, Accomodation that is world-class, Attractions that are also world-class, and Activities that can be promoted in these destinations. The soft infrastructure needed to achieve these includes keen marketing abilities or Advertising, and Academic and industry linkages, which form the 7As. Though we have had many hotels built in the last five years, we have not been able to keep up with the manpower development. The exodus of talents has left us sorely lacking in this field, and CTHI is set to offer a wide range of short courses and certificate programs to our young people. They will offer core skills that are relevant to the actual jobs. More importantly, they will offer the same curriculum offered in Canada, at a fraction of the cost. This means that one does not have to travel to Canada which entail transportation and living expenses to get these certificate courses. This also means that more Asians will want to study here because it is a lot, lot cheaper, and more Filipino students will be able to access this level of education.