GUANGZHOU — Even as the Philippine tourism industry has yet to fully recover from the fallout of the August 2010 hostage incident in Rizal Park, a group of local travel agents on a tour here recently is promoting a series of trips to southern China.
In this chilly south China city also known as Canton, the travel operators and some media representatives were given samples of what to expect in such “familiarization” tours: an elevator ride up the 433.2-meter Canton tower, now said to be the tallest in Asia, a quick stroll through the Sun Yat Sen museum, a safari in the suburb of Chimelong, and a circus in the same cantonment incorporating the wild animals complete with human acrobats and trapeze artists.
Off the Holiday Inn Shifu downtown, a street turns into a flea market strip long before dark, the shops staying open until nearly midnight, the ambience resembling a better lighted Carriedo. Many souvenir shops continue to cash in on the Asian Games the city had just hosted, the bestsellers being the five mascots patterned after the five goats, city symbol based on a Taoist story.
“Filipinos still love to travel,” said travel agent Binky Cauan of Global Panorama Tours. “As the OFWs come home for Christmas, many on the other hand choose to spend the New Year abroad” — at least those who can afford it.
But she admitted that Thailand is by far the favorite destination for Filipino tourists. That’s because it’s cheap there, she said.
Frank Tan Jr. of Filman Travel Center based in Binondo, said Chinese tourists to Manila still outnumber Filipino tourists to China despite the Aug. 23 incident that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead after a botched attempt to rescue them along with others held hostage by a deranged policeman.
Tan also believes that the recent flap over the “Pilipinas kay Ganda” was blown out of proportion, though the Tourism department “should have soft tested it first.”
He said infrastructure is key to bringing in tourists, noting the large site for the Chimelong circus that could accommodate thousands. “Build and they will come,” Tan said.
Hernando Neri, president of the cable channel Living Asia that brought a team of four to the tour which began in the even colder city of Guilin, was somewhat disappointed with the bureaucratic red tape his team had to go through before being allowed to shoot with high definition video cameras.
“Red tape never really left,” said Living Asia writer-narrator Rosel Cello, the voice behind the MRT station stops. The cable channel had to deposit P4,000 at the airport here before being allowed to bring in their cameras, the sum to be reclaimed before returning to the Philippines. And once brought in, a permit is also required before being allowed to shoot in places perceived to be “sensitive” by the Chinese government.
Though the target of the tours is Filipinos in general, the main clients remain the Chinese Filipinos aiming to reconnect with the homeland. During times Chinoys choose to bring their families, Ally Lim of Panda Travel Service, host of the trip along with China Southern Airlines, has one advice: make sure the guide is different if you have more than one family.