picture taken from www.wowphilippines.com.phI can't believe what I read at GMANews.TV which reported that an influential business group wants the government to privatize a handful of the country's major tourist spots, a move that they said will ensure the preservation of the areas.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and appointed tourism private sector chief Samie Lim said the Philippine Tourism Authority should sell some of its major assets which have the potential to become even more attractive to both foreign and local visitors.
Among those spots that should be privatized are the Banaue Rice Terraces, Picnic Grove and Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay City and Burnham Park in Baguio City.
Lim said that by having private groups to manage the destinations, the country could have a better chance of attaining its goal of hitting some 10 million tourists arrivals by 2010. Department of Tourism (DOT) data showed the country accommodates an average of 3 million tourists annually.
Apart from this proposal, Lim is also raising the possibility of privatizing all the government-controlled duty-free shops. I don't have a problem with that,
You can privatized all you want but leave Banaue and other natural wonders alone.
Source: http://beta.ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20080603/tbs-businessmen-want-rice-terraces-other-1da90e5.html
8 comments:
i simply agree with you. okay nga lang talaga ang mga man made tourist spots pero ang banaue malabo.
tsaka baka bigla pang ibenta pag iba na ang humahawak.
I am kind torn here. If the local government and the PTA could do its part and job in preserving this natural wonder, then, there is no more need for its privatization. Maybe what is needed is a wake-up call.
@ the dong: It's public property and should forever remain that way. Any private entity can invest in any way to improve the site but the ownership should still be in favor of the government.
@ lawstude: The PTA don't have a good track record in even managing resorts like those in Pangasinan and Leyte so I don't expect them to manage well any natural wonder, including the Banaue Rice Terraces.
i don't really watch TV, but my guess is that what Samie Lim was saying is essentially, instead of the government (thru the PTA) administering the Banaue Rice Terraces, a private entity should do it instead.
So it doesn't really mean that the government will sell the BRT to a private corp., i guess its more like hiring an outside company to oversee it and maximize its tourism potential.
personally, its an idea worth trying. A private entity (with profit motive) will come up with creative ideas on how to market the BRT, and get more people to visit it.
that's the way to go, if we are to solve the problem of young people not wanting to tend the terraces and go to Manila instead. There is simply no economic opportunity for them.
1 million duh to those who wish to privatize the banaue rice terraces.
@ grumpyurbanslacker: I hope you're right with that. PTA has yet to prove that they are good in managing tourist sites.
@ travelphilippines: Let me add an additional 1 million "duh."
Post a Comment