The seven elephants in the Tourism room

Cambridge dictionary gives the meaning of the idiom "an elephant in the room" as an obvious problem or a difficult situation that people do not want to talk about. A few days ago, I wrote about the seven enemies of Philippine tourism. Well, "enemies" may be too harsh a term. Let us then call them the seven elephants in the tourism room.

The first is mismanaged airports, which are topsy-turvy and overcrowded, with too many commercial establishments and too few spaces for tourists and local travellers to be comfortable in. Which leads you to ask: What is the primary purpose and who are the principal clients of airports, travellers or merchants who sell their wares? Also, the security guards, the staff assigned to check-in, security check, and boarding are provided by service providers. I do not have problems with service contractors.

The problem is when personnel lack competence, social graces, communication skills, and look too high-strung as if the travellers are all terrorists or suicide bombers. The airport managers should go down from their ivory towers each day and conduct on-the-spot inspections. Baggage handlers are reckless and inept.

Most airports require the travellers to walk very far distances from check-in lounge and departure areas of the aircraft. Their comfort rooms are not comfortable at all. They are too few and far in between. There is often a pandemonium in the choices and designations of carousels where to claim the baggage. The cargo handlers take too long to transfer the baggage from the aircraft to the carousels. Baggage handlers are very reckless. I have many broken bags and when you make complaints, it takes forever for them to act on your grievance.

There is no airport supervisor assigned to put order into the chaos in the baggage claims areas. Again, these are huge failures of and by airport management. The managers must be out relaxing over coffee or attending meetings while their airports are in perennial chaos.

The second are transport providers who are not subject to the control and supervision of either the Department of Tourism office or the Department of Transportation. They charge exorbitant fees to tourists without issuing official receipts. Some of them are untidy and they do not have communication skills to make tourists feel safe and comfortable. There are a few good ones, of course. But is the DOT doing something to enhance the levels of their services?

The third elephant, hotels with personnel who do not have service orientation, much less concern for customer satisfaction and delight. Many of them are charging very high but delivering mediocre services. The fourth, tour companies that do not have truth in their ads as to the accurate descriptions and locations of tourist destinations. Fifth, when travellers are victimized by pickpockets or scam artists. It also takes forever for security to take action. When the victims have a connecting flight, they would leave with unresolved complaints.

The sixth is perhaps as worse as the airport management, which is no other than the airline management and personnel. Sometimes, they can be very capricious and arbitrary in charging for mere change of flights, or change of seats. The government does not have clearly-communicated standards in the matter of charging excess baggage.

If the flights are delayed, the passengers have no recourse against the airline. But when passengers are delayed and they need to catch the next flight, they impose charges. Airlines are quite whimsical in their actions and decisions and the passengers just normally bear all these. Do you think, all these elephants in the room would endear the country to tourists?

Lastly, the seventh, are the people in the tourist destination communities. Most of them do not care for cleanliness and sanitation. Some of them also cheat the tourists on simple products and services. They are not properly oriented, much less trained for social graces and communication skills. Well, if DOT Secretary Madam Cristina Garcia Frasco, wants more tourists, she needs to slay each of these seven elephants. Otherwise, the Philippines will continue to lose to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia in terms of tourist arrivals.

We have a better destination, better places to see. But our brand has been tainted with too much self-inflicted damage. Something draconian should be done about these seven elephants.