THE BOTCHED hostage rescue attempt at the Luneta last week was such a shame, further discussion on the whys and wherefores of the subject is akin to inflicting wounds on ourselves. Such a masochistic adventure that has so far succeeded in making everybody appear culpable, from the President down to the eager-beaver kibitzers. The President erred for being a no-show at the height of the drama. The police did a lousy job of stopping a demented former colleague from turning the incident into a bloodbath. The crisis management committee composed of civilian authorities did not seem to exist at all. The media, particularly broadcast, contributed to the confusion and the bungled rescue effort through their blow-by-blow coverage. The overly curious, mindless crowd that materialized out of nowhere got in the way of authorities who themselves did not seem to know what to do to resolve the dangerous situation. Everybody, but the usual critics, was at fault.
In the wake of the tragedy, the question uppermost in the minds of those who followed avidly the way the strange drama unfolded and ended so tragically is: “What now?”
With the bloodbath, and the worldwide bashing our country has been getting for being unsafe for visitors, should we kiss our tourism targets goodbye?
We don’t believe so. While admittedly, the cancellations made so far by Chinese tourists will hurt us, we should consider a window of opportunity to strengthen our domestic tourism. Statistics prove that this is no wishful thinking. The country’s domestic tourism has been growing at the rate of 18 percent per annum since 2005 and has contributed a total of P800 million to revenues from total tourist traffic.
In 2009, the projection was that, of the nearly 11 million tourist arrivals , no less than 8 million to 8.5 million would be domestic and only 3 million to 3.1 million foreign. The actual figures are still being sorted out.
With the development of so many tourist spots in so many areas of the country, our domestic tourism is expected to grow even more. The turnout of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of visitors in Davao City, Cebu and other parts of the country which have institutionalized their festivals, is the strongest proof of this positive outlook.
The deadly Luneta caper last week was deplorable, sure, but it’s not the end of the world, as the saying goes. Life will go on. Time heals all wounds. As it always has.
