Privatize Banaue Rice Terraces?

picture taken from www.wowphilippines.com.ph

I 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.

Banaue Rice Terraces to be privatized? Well, I don't have problems with the Picnic Grove and Burnham Park to be privatized... but an "ancient" natural wonder (well it's man made technically) to be privatized is kinda below the belt. I believe that the government should let the private sector manage parks and beach resorts in able for them to be more tourist friendly and accessible (I don't know why but I find government managed parks and resorts are not that tourist friendly). Just an analogy... Would China privatize the Great Wall?

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