Bangkok’s big bang

Every year, I usually leave Manila to avoid the chaos, the firecracker smoke and pollution caused by the New Year’s Eve celebrations. This year I decided to go to Bangkok — only to find out that at this time, Bangkok is just as chaotic with a real "big bang" with the series of bombings that hit Bangkok and Nonthaburi right on New Year’s Eve. Though two major New Year’s Eve countdowns were canceled, a lot of tourists didn’t really care too much, though security was tightened at the Mandarin Oriental where I was staying. The government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is blaming the bombings on Thaksin Shinawatra, saying these are desperate efforts to create political instability and discredit the new government. Of course, Thaksin denied any involvement thru a hand-written letter faxed from Beijing where he is right now. The blasts killed three people and injured 36 others, including nine foreigners. But the government seems to be taking things under control, and they’ve put up road blocks and put in stricter security measures especially in areas frequented by tourists.

More than 12 million tourists visit Thailand every year, and the tourism industry is obviously a major contributor to Thailand’s economy with $15 billion in revenues and more than 14 million tourists expected for 2007. A number of countries including the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada have issued travel advisories, but hotels were still fully booked with tourists mostly coming from Europe and Russia, and shoppers still flocked to department stores. The bombings may have caused some concern but tourists have remained largely undeterred, going on with their usual activities.

In fact, the New Year’s Eve celebrations were livelier than ever. Ricky Carandang of ABS-CBN was also at the Mandarin with his wife supposedly on vacation, but he told me he had to work and do a scoop for ANC on the Bangkok bombings. Surprisingly, I saw Sacha Baron Cohen – the star of that satirical movie "Borat" – who was dancing the night away with his girlfriend Isla Fisher (of "Wedding Crashers" fame.) I saw "Borat" at a special screening arranged by Max Soliven’s nephew shortly before Max left for Japan last November, with our friends Pepe Rodriguez and Arthur Lopez. I didn’t particularly like the movie. But in a short conversation I had with Borat, I told him I enjoyed watching the movie — of course, I lied. Anyway, he was so surprised the movie was shown at all in the Philippines, where he thought it was banned.

While the movie may have poked fun at Kazakhstan, the Kazakhs are using it to their advantage, putting the country in the map and attracting tourists with Borat-themed packages like "Kazakhstan vs. Boratistan" and "Jagshemash! See the real Kazakhstan."

When it comes to tourism, the Philippines certainly has a lot more to offer than Kazakhstan or even Thailand, and we don’t need a satirical movie to promote the country. All we need is to give the perception that we are a stable nation so that foreign investors will come in.

Our friend Noel Oñate, who is the chairman of Asian Spirit, told me the other day that they’re looking at 2007 as a banner year for tourism especially in Boracay. Asian Spirit just bought a new British Aerospace (BaE) 146-400 jet, which can get to Boracay in just a little over 25 minutes. According to Noel, the four-engine, 80-seater aircraft is reputedly the most quiet in the world, and is exclusively used by the British Royal family. I’m sure the British Ambassador, Peter Beckingham, is happy with this purchase.

Boracay is the country’s top tourist destination, but the Philippines has other world class destinations that can equal, if not surpass Thailand’s. There were also positive developments at the close of 2006 that point to a stronger and more stable economy in 2007. The advance payment in full of the country’s $220-million debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) clearly shows that the country is moving forward. Local stocks registered the fastest growth rate in more than a decade with net foreign buying jumping at an impressive 191 percent, the peso continues to be strong, hitting its strongest performance at P48.91 to the dollar the other day. A lot of Filipinos feel optimistic about 2007, and even officials of the CBCP say this will be a better year because seven is a "perfect" year biblically speaking. Foreign investors are looking at the Philippines in a more positive light, and new investments would certainly propel the country’s tourism industry.

Of course, the last thing we need is to shoot ourselves in the foot – which we always do when things are going well – but hopefully this year will be an exception. We really have more to offer tourists than Thailand and other Asian destinations, and all we need is to just strengthen the perception that this country is politically stable so we will get foreign investments in tourism oriented infrastructure. But most of all, we must honor international commitments and contracts. Sounds easy? Not really. But we’ve got to start somewhere if we want to catch up with our neighbors like Thailand.

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