Despite the rising issue of sovereignty claims over Spratly Islands, the Department of Tourism (DoT) chief, Alberto Lim, remained focused on the goal of drawing in more Chinese nationals to visit the country.
Citing the closer ties and proximity of the Philippines to China more than any country in Asia, Lim, said in a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer on June 19, that he asked the help of Shao Owei, head of China National Tourism Administration, to promote the Philippines to Chinese nationals.
As part of its efforts to promote the Philippines to China, Lim visited the former a number of times befoe heading to North America for a road show. Lim also invited Jin Jiang, CEO of the largest hotel group in China, last October in Shanghai, to invest and build a 3-star hotel to the country, considering the Chinese tourists’ preference for average priced hotels.
With the expected first-time Chinese travelers of 100 million by 2020, Owei expressed his support to Lim; while stressing access as the solution to achieving the targeted increase set by the DoT.
On the other hand, Lim expressed confidence that tourist arrival from China will grow in numbers within six years as he mentioned China’s flourishing economy, the Philippines’ open skies policy, and a more relaxed visa policies and measures to assure and enhance the safety of tourists in the country.
According to Lim, there are 187, 000 Chinese nationals coming from the mainland not counting those from Hong Kong or Macau or Taiwan. Although the Chinese market grew in tourist contributions this year, the Chinese statistics in the Philippines still suggests improvement as compared to 740,000 Koreans and 600,000 Japanese nationals who have come to the country.
Regardless of efforts made by some officials to steer clear from the on-going debates regarding the islets that are abundant in natural resources, the low number of Chinese arrivals in the country is perceived by some to be associated with the rising tension between South East Asian countries, like the Philippines, and China on claims of these islets known as Spratlys in the Philippines, and Nansha in China.
Stressing that China is a ‘benign giant,’ and is not being assertive, Su Hao, a scholar at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, said in a separate report from on 22, that other countries should opt for peace and stability rather than conflict.
Recalling his visit to Beijing months ago, Secretary Lim likewise expressed the goal to strengthen ties with China, saying that the “Aquino administration is working hard to improve infrastructure, facilities, and services in preparation for the arrival of more Chinese tourists,” because the government considers China as a “very important market for Philippine tourism.”
Some people say that the only way to win an argument is to avoid it. While such strategies, like “being productive instead of being destructive” works on certain occasions, avoiding arguments altogether and bottling up opinions may cause a fissure that could lead to a disastrous outburst of emotions once triggered. In dealing with misunderstandings and conflicts, it is best to have a sound communication so both parties can meet half-way and arrive at a decision that is mutually beneficial to one another.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(Las Vegas June 23-29, 2011 Sec A pg.6)