Tourism’s double-edged sword

Recent news about Cebu’s tourism has exposed the challenges that local communities face in managing the influx of tourists. A report by Claudine Flores in Sun.Star Cebu featured a clarification from Sugbo News, stating that there is no ban on day trips or walk-in customers at tourism sites in Oslob and other parts of southern Cebu.

According to the report, the Cebu Provincial Government has adopted an online booking system to “enhance visitor experience, safety, and sustainability.” A provincial ordinance is also in the works to establish guidelines and policies in this direction.

Between the lines of this news is the fact that Cebu still draws tourists, perhaps too many. It has reached a point where control is necessary. It’s about time, and while we’re at it, we might as well talk about tourism’s double-edged sword and work toward more sustainable tourism policies and practices.

I have been to southern Cebu and Siquijor in recent months. I saw what tourism has done to local communities, both positive and negative. One thing I could say is that places like Oslob and Siquijor need a real plan for sustainable tourism. The challenge is balancing regulation, local livelihoods, and long-term sustainability.

While tourism brings in much-needed revenue to local communities and, in some areas, even serves as their economic lifeline --generating taxes, jobs, and infrastructure development-- if poorly managed, it can also lead to economic exploitation, environmental degradation, and overreliance on a single industry.

I have observed that in tourism-heavy areas, both locals and foreigners end up paying overpriced goods and services, especially for food and lodging. What’s more disappointing is that the quality often doesn’t match the cost. Due to a lack of proper training and regulation, many hospitality workers remain unqualified, offering subpar service that fails to justify the price.

This is surprising, especially in Cebu, where several universities offer hospitality management courses --yet the skills and knowledge they teach seem absent in the local tourism sector at the ground level. A Filipino smile and hospitable disposition cannot make up for a lack of professionalism and good management. At some point, it becomes absurd. It’s like getting swindled in broad daylight, with a smile to boot.

Ecological mismanagement is another challenge in areas flocked by tourists. Unchecked development and waste management issues, for example, threaten once-clean and pristine shores.

But the biggest challenge of all is that tourism creates the illusion of economic progress. It’s true that tourism is helping tour guides, tricycle drivers, resort workers, and vendors, but the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerable local economies become when they rely solely on tourism. In fact, there’s a theory that tourism doesn’t just reshape local economies. It kills the real, organic economy by replacing it with one that panders to tourists’ whims and pleasures. This comes at the expense of local and indigenous cuisine, traditions, and ways of life that were once authentic and unmolested before tourism took over.

In many of the tourist areas I’ve visited recently, I get the sense that the local flavor is disappearing. What was once an honest, homegrown experience is now staged for tourists. Native flavors are diluted, and cultural practices are often reduced to mere entertainment for paying guests. Authenticity is sacrificed for marketability. The genuine character of the community is slowly being eroded by tourism.

I hope the planned provincial ordinance will take these factors into consideration in advancing sustainable tourism policies and practices in Cebu. Once again, Cebu can lead the way in this regard.