BY HELEN J. CATALBAS
DEVELOPING culture of tourism has not been easy for places aspiring to become tourism destinations and partake of the economic benefits that tourism may bring. This difficulty in cultivating the culture of tourism maybe so because it takes harmony of everyone and everything in a place that hopes for domestic and foreign tourist attention.
Many of us must have been tourists in our own country or in other countries. Without necessarily describing the quality of experience that we have in the so-called tourism destination, we know there is culture of tourism the moment we board our assigned transportation to the point of entry leading to that place that promises a dream holiday by our lonesome or with friends and relatives.
We know there is culture of tourism in our tourism destination of choice when our plane does not hover in midair for several minutes because the airport runway is too congested to land right away and the pilot of the plane we are in explains the cause of delay. As a tourist passenger we get to feel assured that nothing is wrong and that it is just a matter of time that our plane is able to land safely anyway.
As soon as we pass immigration and customs personnel we feel our perception of culture of tourism gets stronger or even transforms to real experience as these personnel do their job lightheartedly and with a smile.
When we pass by the restroom a.k.a. comfort room a.k.a. toilet, we take note of how sanitized and user-friendly the place is we want to linger a while.
Then we have to take a taxi from the airport to our hotel because we are doing a DIY tour of that place. The taxi driver is clean, his taxi smells of cleanness, he gets us to our hotel safely the soonest possible time and gives us exact change. Happy with this transaction, we return the favor by telling our friendly taxi driver to keep the change.
Our heart beats faster in anticipation of another exciting episode this time with the hotel personnel as we prepare for check-in. It is a DIY check in as we do it using hotel computer kiosk. In no time at all we are done with check in and have our keycard to the room..
The hotel room is small and clean with a queen bed and loft bed. It can comfortably accommodate three adults. It has a welcomey ambiance, more than enough amenities and promises a pleasant and safe 3N/4D stay.
The DIY tours are simply amazing and the prices budget friendly. Locals are so familiar with local tourist spots, attractions and activities and events. Always willing to assist tourists, they go out of their way to make the tourist experience beyond compare. Grab car and taxi drivers are so knowledgeable of places to eat, value-for-money shopping and remind passengers with personal belongings they might leave behind.
Our tour is over but the memory of the destination where culture of tourism is more than sloganeering alone but as a way of daily life of its people lingers in our mind.
Do we include the place as our destination of choice again in the near future? Certainly!
Not only that, we intend to visit it again. We will recommend to family, relatives and friends to visit this place where its culture of tourism is its top tourist attraction./PN
