Toward A Progressive Philippine Tourism Research
By Norma Jean Vergara
It was an enlightening event in the field of Philippine tourism. Last Saturday, August 31, the Tourism Foundation Inc. (TFI), in partnership with Colegio de San Juan de Letran College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) was successful in inspiring the country’s tourism educators in advancing Philippine tourism research. The day-long seminar that was organized entitled, Boosting Tourism Research Productivity gathered the country’s esteemed tourism research experts to impart invaluable knowledge on trends, themes and techniques to an audience comprising tourism educators, researchers, students and business practitioners. The event was held in St. Thomas Hall, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Manila.
The participants were treated to a day of learning on current and untapped areas of Philippine tourism research. Dr. Ramon Benedicto Alampay, the program manager for the Canadian Urban Institute- Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) and a former faculty of the UP Asian Institute of Tourism (UP AIT), talked about the inevitably strong linkage of the tourism industry to many natural and social science disciplines such as psychology, ecology, economics and business. He stressed that for tourism research in the Philippines be most fruitful, there is dire need for a broader multi-disciplinary base and linkages. Dr. Edieser Dela Santa, Assistant Professor and Institute Secretary to UP AIT, discussed emerging themes open for exploration among new and seasoned social researchers. He talked about the rising interest of niche tourism developers on film tourism and dark tourism. The participants learned about how the New Zealand economy benefitted from the filming of the Lord of the Rings franchise in their vast greenery, and how tourists become motivated to visit the ‘dark’ and ‘depressing’ 9/11 Memorial Site at Ground Zero, New York. Dr. Emma Lina Lopez, an Assistant Professor at UP AIT talked about the viability of non-parametric quantitative techniques in tourism research. She stressed that a researcher can arrive at valid and reliable quantitative figures even with a small sample size, if the non-parametric technique is appropriately chosen and carefully performed. Finally, Assistant Professor Reil Cruz, former dean of UP AIT and currently pursuing Ph.D. studies in Malaysia, gave a hearty talk on finding local and foreign literature resources. Participants learned about techniques in utilizing the rich local and international journal resource platforms online, in addition to traditional knowledge sources such as books, theses work and periodicals. The participants eagerly raised their musings and concerns about the lectures, which further elevated the discussions.
The event was attended by delegates from various tourism educational institutions such as the UP Asian Institute of Tourism, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Manila, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Bataan, University of the East, Caloocan, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Adamson University, De la Salle University, Dasmarinas, Miriam College, University of Makati, Saint Jude College, Dr. Yanga’s College, Bulacan, and representatives from Rajah Travel Corporation.
Preparations are underway for the seminar’s succeeding runs outside Metro Manila to reach more tourism educators and researchers. A follow-up seminar on how to get a tourism research work published is likewise being organized by the Tourism Foundation, Incorporated together with UP AIT.
The event was aided with support from the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) and the online lifestyle magazine, WhenInManila.com.
The event was indeed successful in sparking the quest for Philippine tourism knowledge. A very relevant event especially now that the Philippines has identified tourism as a major thrust for economic development.
Toward A Progressive Philippine Tourism Research
