Philippines - Tacloban - Demand for ecotourism ‘increasing’

BABATNGON, Leyte -- Local tourism stakeholders and environment advocates were told to brace for global ecotourism trends to include traveler’s preference, travelling habits, future market, and nature conservation.

Department of Tourism planning and promotions director Cynthia Lazo said that with tourism accounting US$4 trillion activity worldwide and employing 211 million workers, there is a need for stakeholders to step up drive to advance and sustain ecotourism activities in the region.

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With Eastern Visayas hosting many ecotourism sites, there is a big chance for the region to capture the growing global market for ecotourism, the official said during Monday’s opening of the two-day first regional ecotourism conference held at Rafael’s Farm, this town.

“Travel has become more activity-based rather than destination-based. Travelers are more interested of activities than destinations in going to an area. Custom-made tours should be delivered in a unique and personalized manner,” Lazo said.

“The people can afford to travel more frequently with low cost airfares. This changes the people’s travel habit and patterns,” she added.

Lazo said more senior citizens and women are travelling, and this will push for development of women-friendly destinations, rise of family-friendly destinations, setting up of retirement villas, coming up with short holiday break activities, and developing of cultural sites attracted to elderly travelers.

In a presentation, the official said China has overtaken Japan as the leading Asian market to Europe with 11 million arrivals in 2008. The growth was driven by rediscovery of Chinese culture and history.

The tourism department is counting on 77 million “baby boomers” retiring in the next few years.

“We have to try to sustain our promotion to get a share of that big market,” said Lazo.

In 2009, she said that international tourism receipts have reached US$852 billion. In 2010, travel and tourism is projected to account for 9.2 percent or $5,751 billion of world gross domestic product. This, she added, provides a total of 235 million jobs.

“In four out of five countries (or over 150), tourism is one of five top export earners. In 60 countries, tourism is the number one export,” she said.

Lazo said there has been an increasing demand for ecotourism. A 2005 analysis found that more than two thirds of US and Australian travelers, and 90 percent of British tourists, consider active protection of the environment, including support of local communities, to be part of a hotel’s responsibility.

Ecotourism captures $77 billion of the global market and experiencing double-digit gains that are likely to accelerate as concern about global warming rises.

Among the ecotourism attractions are wild fauna, wild flora, geological features, hydrological features, natural landscape, natural seascape, archeological features, picturesque villages, local communities, local customs and traditions, traditional art and hand crafts, local gastronomy.

(Leyte Samar Daily Express)

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