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U.S.-Issued Travel Advisory Unlikely To Hinder Philippine Tourism
By
Benedict Dimapindan
February 28, 2005
The Philippines experienced an unprecedented surge in tourism
in 2004, but recent terrorist bombings and a subsequent travel
advisory issued by the U.S. government threatens to curb that
growth.
Last year, the Philippines attracted almost 2.4 million visitors,
surpassing its previous mark set in 1997 by nearly 200,000.
And early figures showed that the number of tourists continued
to rise sharply in 2005. Through the first 10 days of January,
the Philippine Department of Tourism cited a 10 percent increase
in the total number of tourist arrivals to Ninoy Aquino International
Airport in Manila – the premier international gateway into
the country – when compared with the same period last year.
The Philippine government has earmarked $3 billion for its tourism
programs over the next six years.
Despite the travel warning, Jay L. Gonzalez, an associate professor
and director of the Maria Elena Yuchengco Philippine Studies
program at the University of San Francisco, said that the advisory
should only impact tourism “slightly.”
Gonzalez added that it may dissuade prospective visits from “U.S.
or European tourists, but not smart tourists from the larger
Asian regional market” who are already familiar with the
domestic situation of the Philippines.
The warning released by the U.S. State Department was made in
the wake of the Feb. 14 terrorist blasts that ripped through
Makati, a city in Metro Manila, and the southern cities of Davao
and General Santos, killing 12 and injuring at least 150. The
security notice was issued on Feb. 18 and expires on July 18.
“The terrorist threat to Americans in the Philippines
remains high and the Embassy continues to receive reports of
ongoing activities by known terrorist groups. In view of a number
of security-related incidents and the possibility of future terrorist
attacks, and other violence or criminal activity, Americans traveling
to or residing in the Philippines are urged to exercise caution
and maintain heightened security awareness,” the State
Department announced in the statement.
According to Gonzalez, this is just a “normal reaction
by the State Department – an S.O.P., standard operating
procedure.”
However, some Philippine officials didn’t accept the advisory
so easily.
Philippine Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye responded by calling
the travel warning an “overkill.” He said that these
cautionary notices are often ignored and added, “The number
of tourist arrivals continues to soar.”
His critical response was broadly viewed as a surprising move,
considering the currently sound relationship between the Philippines
and the United States that has resulted from President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s outspoken support for President George
W. Bush in the War on Terror.
But according to Gonzalez, this very minor conflict over the
travel advisory isn’t significant enough to sour the rapport
between the two nations.
“It is just an advisory and had been issued before – it’s
nothing new,” Gonzalez said. “It will not hurt relations.”
So far, seven countries – Canada, France, Germany, New
Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States – have
warned their citizens about traveling to the Philippines, particularly
the southern region of Mindanao, since the Feb. 14 attacks.
In addition, the Abu Sayyaf – the Muslim separatist group
who assumed responsibility for the recent blasts and a recognized
foreign terrorist organization by the State Department – has
forged a violent, bloody history in the Philippines over the
last few years. The group also claimed to have perpetrated the
February 2004 bombing of Superferry 14 in Manila Bay that killed
more that 100 people. Since 2002, terrorist bombings in the Philippines
have led to nearly 150 deaths, including one U.S. soldier.
Contact Benedict Dimapindan at bend1@stanford.edu
