FLEX-OBEDIZED MODULE

TH PhilTour – Philippine Culture and Tourism Geography

MODULE 1: Introduction to the Hospitality & Tourism Industry

Tourism - is one of the world's fastest growing industries as well as the major source of foreign

exchange earnings and employment for many developing countries. World tourism demand continues to
exceed expectations, showing resilience against extraneous factors.

The concept of tourism refers to the broad framework that identifies tourism’s essential characteristics and
distinguishes tourism from similar, often related but different phenomena. The two terms ‘travel’ and
‘tourism’ can be used in isolation or together to describe three concepts:

 The movement of the people

 A sector of the economy or an industry
 A broad system of interacting relationships of people, their needs to travel outside their communities
and services that attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products.

Tourists - are people who “travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more

than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place visited.”

Before people can experience tourism they usually need at least:

1. disposable income, i.e. money to spend on non-essentials

2. leisure time
3. tourism infrastructure, such as transport and accommodation.
4. Other factors such as health and motivation to travel are also important.

Tourism Industry - is based on many different components and interrelated parts.

e.g. transport, accommodation, attractions, activities, marketing and government regulation.

TOURISM IN THE PHILIPPINES
Tourism plays an important role in the Philippine economy. The country boasts of rich
natural beauty in its many
spectacular beaches, sunny
weather and rich bio-
diversity. More than that, the
Philippines’ unique and complex
culture, as exemplified by its
people, cuisine and lifestyle,
attracts many people to visit the
country.

Tourism is an important sector

for Philippine economy.
In 2019, the travel and tourism
industry contributed 12.7% to the
country's GDP.

ross Domestic Product (GDP)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can be determined in three ways, all of which should,
theoretically, give the same result:

1. Production (or Output or Value Added) Approach

o Sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total.
2. Income Approach
o Works on the principle that the incomes of the productive factors ("producers",
colloquially) must be equal to the value of their product.
o Determines GDP by finding the sum of all producers' incomes.
3. Expenditure Approach
o Operates on the principle that all of the product must be bought by somebody,
so the value of the total product must be equal to people's total expenditures in
buying things.
Philippines

 Geography
o An archipelagic country composed of 7,641 islands.
o Divided into 81 provinces in 17 regions.
 Tourism Attractions
o Rich biodiversity, beaches, heritage towns and monuments, mountains,
rainforests, islands, and diving spots.
o Popular tourist destinations include Cebu, Boracay, Palawan, and Siargao.
 Cultural Heritage
o Rich historical and cultural heritage with festivals and indigenous traditions.
 Tourism Industry Challenges
o Despite large potentials, the tourist industry has lagged behind Southeast Asian
neighbors like Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia due to
political and social problems.

Philippines has garnered numerous titles related to tourism, namely;


the traditional capital of the world's festivities,

the capital of the western Pacific,
 
the center of Hispanic Asia,

the Pearl of the Orient Seas,

Center of the Coral Triangle, and

the capital of fun.
 The country is also a biodiversity hotspot, having the world's highest endemism rate
for bird species, and one of the highest for mammals and flora.
 It is also the largest bastion for Roman Catholicism in all of Asia.

The country is also home to one of the New7Wonders of Nature, the Puerto Princesa
Subterranean River National Park, and one of the New7Wonders Cities, the Heritage City
of Vigan.
It is also home to six UNESCO world heritage sites scattered in nine different locations,
three UNESCO biosphere reserves, three UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, four UNESCO
memory of the world documentary heritage, one UNESCO creative city, two UNESCO world
heritage cities, seven Ramsar wetland sites, and eight ASEAN Heritage Parks. More than 90% of
Filipinos can understand and speak English, as many are multilingual.
UNESCO- United Nation, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
OVERVIEW

Tourism makes an important part to the economy of the country. The growth of the
economy had been into a major change since the end of the People Power Revolution up until
the present time because of the growth of tourism.
In 2000, Philippines' tourist arrivals totaled 2.2 million.
In 2003, it totaled 2,838,000, a growth of almost 29%, and was expected to grow as much as 3.4
million in 2007.
In the first quarter of 2007, the tourist arrival in Philippines grew as much as 20% in same
period last year.
In 2011, the Department of Tourism recorded 3.9 million tourists visiting the country, 11.2
percent higher than the 3.5 million registered in 2010.
In 2012, Philippines recorded 4.27 million tourist arrivals, after the Department of
Tourism launched a widely publicized tourism marketing campaign entitled "It's More Fun In
the Philippines".
The 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum ranked the
Philippines 79th out of 136 countries overall.

HISTORY
Tourism in the Philippines traces its origins to ancient times:
 The first people migrated through land bridges.
 Subsequent migrations occurred from the Malayan archipelago in the south and Taiwan in the north.

Development over time:

 Numerous ethno-linguistic groups emerged.
 These groups evolved into various forms of social organization, such as monarchies, plutocracies,
hunter-gatherers, and city-states.

Trade as part of tourism:

 Arabs, Indians, Japanese, Chinese, Malays, and other ethnic groups from mainland Southeast Asia,
Taiwan, and Ryukyu traded goods with the natives.

Spanish colonization:
 An influx of Spanish people migrated to the Philippines.
 The migration was relatively small compared to Spanish migrations in South America due to the
greater distance from Spain.

Flourishing tourism industry (late 19th to early 20th century):

 Influx of immigrants from Europe and the United States.
 The Philippines was listed as one of the best countries to visit in Asia, alongside Hong Kong and
Japan.
 Earned the nickname "Pearl of the Orient Seas".
Decline during and after World War II:
 The economy was devastated.
 The landscape was filled with destroyed heritage towns.

Second wave of tourist influx (1950s):

 The industry flourished again briefly but declined drastically during the corrupt era.

Post-People Power Revolution:

 Continued decline due to the domino effect of the revolution and ineffective leadership.
The industry managed to recover slightly in 1991 and 1992 with 1.2 million tourists visiting the Philippines.
 Waned again after a decade due to continued government corruption.

 The tourism industry flourished again for the third time in the early 2010s.
 This resurgence was under the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" slogan, widely regarded
as an international success.
 The campaign gained international media attention.
 The country saw an influx of tourists from all over the world.
 Social media and the creative tagline helped boost tourism.
 In 2015, the tourism industry reached its peak with 5,360,682 foreign tourists recorded.
 The industry continued to grow in 2017.
  However, the growth rate from Western tourists drastically decreased due to:

 An ongoing drug war.

 The declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
 Despite this, growth continued due to an influx of:

 Asian tourists.
 Russian tourists.

CULTURE
The Philippines is an archipelagic country located in
Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city.
The Philippine archipelago comprises 7,107 islands
in the western Pacific Ocean.
The Philippines contains a myriad of different
amalgamated cultures and influences.
The superficial face of modern Filipino culture has
many more influences from the Western world than other nearby Asian cultures.

 Most of these influences are a product of previous colonization and are derived mainly
from the cultures of Spain and the United States.
 There is also a secondary influence from Latin American cultures that were under Spain
during the same period the Philippines was.

Despite the visual Western and Hispanic influences, the older Asian aspects of Filipino culture
are still not lost.

this Western-Eastern juxtaposition is most seen in the Philippines, and it

continues to fascinate many guests to the country.

CUISINE
 Philippine cuisine consists of the foods, preparation methods and eating customs found
in the Philippines. The style of cooking and the foods associated with it have evolved over
several centuries from its Austronesian origins to a mixed cuisine with many Hispanic, Chinese,
American, and other Asian influences adapted to indigenous
ingredients and the local palate.

Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted
fish and rice, to the elaborate paellas and created for fiestas.

Popular dishes include;

 lechón (whole roasted pig),

 longganisa (Philippine sausage),
 tapa (cured beef),
 torta (omelette),
 adobo (chicken and/or pork braised in garlic, vinegar,
oil and soy sauce, or cooked until dry),
 kaldereta (meat in tomato sauce stew),
 mechado (larded beef in soy and tomato sauce),
 pochero (beef in bananas and tomato sauce),
 afritada (chicken or pork simmered in a tomato sauce with vegetables),
 kare-kare (oxtail and vegetables cooked in peanut sauce),
 crispy pata (deep-fried pig's leg),
 hamonado (pork sweetened in pineapple sauce),
 sinigang (meat or seafood in sour broth),
 pancit (noodles),
 lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls).
FAMOUS TOURIST SPOTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 Intramuros, a walled city in Manila, was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century. Originally,
Manila’s boundaries were the city walls. But due to the growing size of the city, newer buildings
were built outside these walls. As of today, Intramuros contains museums, churches and an old
fort.

 Somewhere in the archipelago, there is at least one fiesta being celebrated 365 days a year
(By the third week of January head off to Kalibo for the Asia's version of the Mardi Gras). Manila,
Cebu and Boracay are the ground zero for parties - pool parties, yacht parties, rave and fashion
events.

 Makati City is the modern face of Manila, in complete contrast to Intramuros. Major malls,
business centers, hotels are situated in Makati City. Lined with modern high-rise buildings, the
Makati skyline is the best in the country.
Aklan is one of the most visited provinces in the Philippines not only because of its beaches but also
of its popular yearly colorful event which is the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo.

 Boracay Island is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The island boasts a
4-kilometer stretch of white sand beach, considered to be the best beach in Asia and one of the
top ten beaches in the world.

 Chocolate Hills are

limestone hills that turn
brown during the summer.
Chocolate Hills are found in
the island province of
Bohol, which is also the
home of one of the smallest
primates in the world—the
Philippine tarsier.

 The Hanging Coffins of Sagada and the

Banaue Rice Terraces (about two thousand years
ago, mountains in Northern Luzon were carved by
indigenous people to form what is now the Banaue
Rice Terraces. The rice terraces cover 4,000 square
miles (10,000
km2) of
mountainside.
The Banaue
Rice Terraces is a UNESCO World Heritage site) are worth a
visit in the Northern Philippines. The rice terraces were
carved out of mountains thousands of years ago and by far
the most extensive of its kind in the world with
sophisticated irrigation and engineering that was
unthinkable during the time it was built
 Taal Volcano in Batangas, one of the smallest active
 volcanoes in the world, sits on a lake and is just an hour away from Manila. The fresh cool air off
the Tagaytay Ridge provides a spectacular view of the lake and the volcano. Visitors should
confirm whether hiking to the crater is safe or not before attempting to do so.

 North of Manila, take the rough road and go to Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales, the volcano
which caused a massive eruption in 1991. Now you can marvel at the volcano up close and swim
inside its crater. The last eruption was one of the biggest during the last century and lowered
the global temperature by at least a degree.

 The Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, also located in the Northern Philippines, is a group of
more than 400 islets with coral reefs surrounding the islets. These islands are famous for their
beaches and the coral reefs, which can be explored by snorkeling.
 The province of Palawan is one of the most beautiful islands in the South China Sea.
Palawan has natural gas fields on the northeastern part of the island but the beautiful beaches
around the island remain pristine. The island is home to the spectacular Tubbataha Reef and the
breathtaking Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, both UNESCO World Heritage
sites.

 The gateway to the natural wonders in the Central Visayas, Cebu is a top tourist destination in
the Philippines. The country's oldest street and city are found in this bustling metropolis where
the urban sprawl is ever growing. Many tourists, who wish to
stay away from the metro's hustle and bustle, are drawn to
Cebu's hidden secrets: amazing dive sites, island resorts, white-
sand islets, waterfalls, lakes, springs, mountain trails and
countless wonders, all of which are a short bus ride away.
 Surfing in the Philippines is comparable to the best in the world – with the world-famous cloud
9s off the island of Siargao in Surigao del Norte, facing the Philippine Trench in the Western
Pacific as well as the surfing destinations of La Union and Zambales (facing the South China Sea).

 The Philippines is one of the top three best diving destinations in the world. The archipelago is
one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, with the greatest number of species
concentrated in one area. The best dive sites in the Philippines are located in Anilao, Boracay,
Malapascua, Apo Island, Balicasag, Pamilacan, Tubbataha, Palawan, and Puerto Galera. Subic
Bay, home of a former American naval base, is also known for World War II wreck dives.