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THE BLOODY hostage drama in Manila last Monday is sending ripples of apprehension and sadness to mostly Visayas provinces that keep their economies vibrant through tourism, prompting officials to plan for sharp reductions in tourist arrivals and communities to organize public displays of grief.
In Western Visayas, tourism officials are projecting a sharp fall in the number of tourists from Hong Kong or China to one of the region?s top destinations, Boracay.
In Bacolod City, Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Maraņon Jr. announced he would ensure the province?s preparedness for hostage situations like the one that ended in tragedy in Manila.
Flags in the province and Bacolod flew at half-staff in a gesture of mourning. Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the city was offering a minute of silent prayer for the dead.
In Davao City, local leaders and those of the Filipino-Chinese community gathered at a city park to offer prayers and candles for those who died in the hostage drama.
Boracay trips cancelled
Edwin Trompeta, Department of Tourism regional director for Western Visayas, said his office has received reports of cancelations of bookings in Boracay following the Manila bloodbath.
He said he was worried over the total ban on travel to the Philippines issued by Hong Kong authorities because other countries might follow suit.
?It was a very tragic event,? said Trompeta.
China and Hong Kong are among the top tourism markets of Western Visayas. At least 60,000 tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong visit the region, particularly Boracay, every year.
Last year alone, more than 27,000 tourists from China and 6,591 tourists from Hong Kong came to Boracay.
Big market
Rowena Lu Montecillo, officer in charge of the DOT in Central Visayas, said Hong Kong is a big tourism market for the region. From January to June this year, she said, at least 13,646 Hong Kong tourists came to the region, an increase of 13.43 percent from last year?s figures.
At least 22,235 tourists from mainland China came to Central Visayas in the same period. Montecillo said the figure was an increase of 22.85 percent over last year?s.
Loubelle Cann, head of the Boracay Foundation Inc., a group of businessmen in Boracay, confirmed Trompeta?s information on canceled bookings in the island resort.
Cann, in a phone interview, said the cancelations would hurt Boracay tourism ?because Chinese tourists usually travel in groups from 20 to 30 guests.?
The extent of the damage, she said, would be known in the coming months as tourism nears its peak season in Boracay.
Montecillo said while there have been no reports of canceled tourist bookings in Central Visayas, authorities are preparing for repercussions.
Bad timing
Alice Queblatin, past president of Cebu Association of Tour Operators and managing director of Southwinds Travel and Tour, said the bloodbath came at the most inappropriate time and hurt the region?s biggest tourism market?Chinese.
?Cebu and Bohol depend on them (Chinese tourists),? said Queblatin. She said August is peak month for Chinese arrivals in Central Visayas because it is school holiday in Hong Kong.
Marco Protacio, area general manager for Visayas-Mindanao of hotel chain Waterfront, said the bloodbath was certain to ?bring about fear, uncertainty and doubt about the Philippines? among foreign tourists.
Jay Aldeguer, operator of the Islands Banca Cruises and Island Souvenirs, said the bloodbath was another dent on the international image of the Philippines.
?The hostage situation exposed the vulnerability of our security and police capability,? said Aldeguer.
Cann said authorities should pull all the stops in repairing the damage done on the tourism industry.
Recovery period
But Trompeta said it would take from six months to a year for the Philippine tourism industry to recover because of the deaths of foreign tourists in the hostage tragedy.
?We have to more than double our efforts to counter the negative image brought by the incident,? Trompeta said.
Protacio, however, expressed optimism that the country would recover from the effects of the bloodbath.
?We have always been a resilient nation,? he said.
Tourism officials and businessmen in Cebu held Mass and went on a 24-hour vigil on Tuesday to express their grief.
Maraņon said he, too, expected repercussions on the tourism industry. The governor said he would meet with Senior Supt. Manuel Felix, the province?s police chief, to ensure the province?s preparedness for situations like that in Manila.
?We hope nothing like that happens here but we must be prepared,? said the governor.
Angry calls
He said the provincial government was planning to send a delegation to Japan to invite Japanese tourists to visit Negros Occidental.
?But who will come here if that is the situation?? said Maraņon.
Radio stations in Cebu were flooded with calls from listeners reacting with anger to the bloodbath in Manila. Most blamed police for the bloodshed.
Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, brother-in-law of ex-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said the way Manila police handled the hostage drama gave birth to a new meaning of SWAT, the police Special Weapons and Tactics team?Sorry Wala Akong Training (Sorry, but I wasn?t trained). Cris Evert Lato, Nestor Burgos, Carla Gomez, Dennis Jay Santos and Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas
