AS A timely response to revenge tourism that has been happening worldwide—with almost all borders across the globe having opened anew to accept foreign visitors post-pandemic—the Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched its latest campaign slogan, “Love the Philippines,” showcasing the manifold endearing offerings of this island-nation.
This, however, has failed to bring cheers to the tourism industry per se, as it drew flak from critics, much more the bashers who poked fun at it on social media.
The controversy continues as it recently made headlines, following reports that the creators of the campaign video to promote the “Pearl of the Orient” as a holiday destination admitted its use of stock footage clips from other countries.
Amid all the issues confronting the entire industry, Dennis Plaza, owner of Juanderer Travels, is hopeful that these, in turn, will work wonders for a sectoral change that will win back the affection of both local and foreign tourists.
“When it comes to nature or attractions, the Philippines is really beautiful. But it’s not just applicable to the right market who have the money and willing to spend,” he told reporters in a recent online interview.
According to him, the country still has a lot more work to do in order for guests here and from anywhere else in the world to come and visit its majestic islands for the first time after getting stuck at their homes during lockdown periods at the height of the Covid-19 crisis to sample the manifold must-see places, culture, tradition, food and hospitality of the people.
With the many “lovable” things about the Philippines, he is certain that they will have more reasons to return again-and-again like in the previous years or decades.
Unexpected journey
A TRAVELER himself, Plaza could not imagine that his penchant for exploring different places would bring him to where he is at present—an entrepreneur who owns a destination management company (DMC).
His entity, Juanderer Travels, a brand name and registered as JTH Travel And Tours, traces back its roots from Davao City in 2013 when he started organizing the tours of their circle of friends, mostly going to Surigao.
“I realized that you can get discounts from suppliers, especially like hotels [wherein] you [get to] have a special rate. So why not do it as a business?” he recalled.
Two years after, Plaza moved to Manila and kept on organizing tours—this time opening up new destinations to North Luzon, including Baguio, Ilocos, Sagada and Sorsogon. Serious of his newfound opportunity, he registered the business Juanderer Travels in the Philippines.
Since his start-up was still at its infancy stage during the time, he could not resist to accept the chance to work in Phuket, Thailand in 2016. He got hired by an events and DMC there, where he handled its business development.
Working in an events and destination field, he established a strong network with suppliers like hotels and attraction centers. This led him to bring and register Juanderer Travels to Thailand in 2018.
The take off of his business based in Cainta, Rizal and Bangkok with a satellite office in Phuket, however, was halted by the pandemic in 2020 when mobility of the people was restricted due to rapid spread of Covid-19. Unlike other entities in their category, Juanderer Travels still operated and paid taxes despite the owner’s zero income declaration.
“I used the time of the pandemic for marketing and planning for our reopening. I did not stop posting on Facebook. I put up a web site,” said Plaza, who also serves as the firm’s current managing director (MD). “Thankfully, Thailand was the first country to reopen in late 2021.”
With its business resumption, the agency started expanding tours to Europe and other parts of Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. Its registration in Thailand also got renewed this year.
“Until today, the business is doing good. While I’m very eager to continue my business, I still work because I don’t know what will happen in the future,” shared the enterprising overseas Filipino worker, who has been living solo in Bangkok for many years now since he has no immediate family to support anymore.
Business as usual
GIVEN its dual locations, the travel agency brings tourists mostly from the Philippines to Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket in Thailand and the rest of the above cited destinations abroad. For the domestic market, its local tours include Baguio, Boracay, Cebu, Ilocos, Sagada and Siargao.
“Ninety percent of our clients are Filipinos. They really love to travel,” Plaza said of their clients, who are mostly first-time travelers. “They have a 90-percent chance to hurdle the immigration process.”
Overall tour averages two to three times a week for a group of seven people. He noted: “It’s like 15 to 20 groups in a month [across all our offered locations].”
Location-wise, Bangkok accounts for 70 percent of the “go-to” places of their guests, the Philippines at 20 percent, and the rest is anywhere in their other covered destinations here and abroad.
“Other nationalities like for solo backpackers, they want Siargao, Boracay or Cebu—the beaches and seas,” Plaza added.
Challenges
ENVISIONED to become a multi-national travel management leader in Thailand and the Philippines, Juanderer Travels seeks to cater also to other nationalities in their journey to global destinations through its proven and trusted services to its growing market.
“So the target and direction of the company is tourists from like Western [countries] and Americans going to Thailand,” he revealed.
With his desire to promote further his native country to foreign travelers, he conceded that “it’s hard to promote the Philippines” due to various challenges being faced by travel agencies like them.
Instead of backpackers or nomads, Plaza suggested the local tourism industry to focus more on enticing corporate clients for the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibits (MICE) sector. He described them as the “right market” who have the money and willingness to spend.
To encourage them to go here, he said that tourism infrastructures and facilities, which are lacking today, must be expanded and improved further. These include ample fleet of luxurious cars and other service vehicles, as well as cruise ships or yachts fit to the requirements of top executives who will spend a business and leisure trips anywhere in the country.
The travel agency owner also pointed out the slow process of application and low approval rate of visa and other travel documents in the country. For instance, a small group tour, comprised of 17 Vietnamese and five Indians, recently booked by Juanderer Travels for June 7 was canceled due to denied visas of the latter nationalities.
Adding to this problem is the lack of direct flights from abroad to various local destinations, not to mention, concerns on unreasonable offloading immigration incidents, delayed and canceled flights due to a spate of airport outages.
While the Philippines’ main selling point is its natural and scenic attractions, the downside would be the distance between tourist destinations that cost a lot of travel time for the visitors due to the country’s geography that is archipelagic. What’s more, he hinted the need for more “immersion” of visitors to the country’s culture and traditions, plus the initiative to develop potential tourist sites.
“We recently had seven Thais and three Chinese going to Manila only. So the challenge there was they were brought to Luneta and Intramuros. They enjoyed it. But obviously, these places are not that very Instagrammable. Unlike in Bangkok, they have many attractions. Apart from the temples, they also converted their canals and even train stations into a night markets,” Plaza stressed.
“These are the systems or strategies the Philippines should do to win more tourists, especially the corporate accounts and incentive markets,” he added.
