market research 2007

8/14/2019 Market Research 2007

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The Lingap ara sa Kalusugan gSambayanan,nc. LtKAs)

For he Foundationor phitippineEnvironmentFpE),Foundationor a Sustainable ociety,nc. FSSI)nd hepeaceand Equity oundationpEF)

MARKETESEARCHAs a Component of the

Participatory Action Research owards DevelopingComprehensive orsogon cotourism lan

Prepared y

November, 007


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TABLEOF CONTENTS

CHAPTERIntroduction

Statement f the ProbtemObjectives f the StudySignificance f the StudyScope nd Limitation

i4aterials nd MethodologyBriefReview f Literature

CHAPTERResults nd Discussion

PageNo.

122347

TouristArrivals n the Phitippines 12Tourism n Sorsogon rovince 13

MajorTourist Attractions 14Whate harkWatching nd nteraction n Donsol 14Rizat each f cubat 16Totong-gapo each n Bacon istrict 16Butusan olcano aturat ark i7Hotand CotdSprings f trosin 18The Mangrove nd FishSanctuary f prieto Diaz 19PNOC co-Park 2lThe Pili Festivat 22The Kasanggayahan estival 22

Arrival Performance n Sorsogon rovince 23TouristArrivats n Donsol 24TouristArrivals n the Butusan otcano Naturat park 25VisitorData Cottection 27

The Sorsogon ourism MarketSocio-demographic rofile

Sex and Ageof VisitorsProfessionOccupationCountry f Residence

Destination Related nformationPoints f EntryDuration f Stay/TravelFamil.iarity ith Sorsogon rovince nd

the communityTour/Travel Costs

282929

3032

3335


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Motivation,Preferences nd Satisfaction RatingTravet Behavior nd Motivation

Satisfaction ate and PreferencesProductAddedVatueConseryation nd Ecotourism Awareness

Conservation nd Environmental warenessVisitor'sFees or Conservation nd Devetopment

ActivitiesHindering Factors or Visitingother Parts of sorsogon

CHAPTERSummary nd Conclusion

Summary

Critical AssessmentOpportunities nd StrengthsGaps, ssues nd Probtems

Conclusion

CHAPTERRecommendations

List of FiguresList of TablesReferences

AppendicesA. VisitorSurveyB. Existing, merging ndPotentiaI ourism estinationsn Sorsogon

ProvinceC. Research eam

37

394 1

4445

515560

43

49

62


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EXECUTIVE UMARY

Donsol s inctuded among he 32 key ecotourists ites n the phitippinesthatthe Department f Tourism has promoted most heavity as a viabte and successfuldestination. The whate shark eco-adventure s the most poputar and visited byboth tocat and foreign ourists. As t is, onty Donsol enefits rom tourism n th;province.However, ther sites of ecotogical ichness nd beauty whichcoutd catchthe interest of tourists and promote he province emain under-utitized. umerouseco-tourism ctivities are avaitabte n other parts of Sorsogon ut stilt a targeponion of tourists had no idea that these activities are being offered and arepossible.

The purpose f this study s to identify the types of eco-tourists oming othe province of Sorsogon. dentifying he distinct type of tourists yisiting theprovince s beneficiat or the ptanning, management nd marketjng of tourism.The nformation witt attow managers o address ifferent motivations, xperiencesand mpacts of tourists and o undeEtand which ourist ypes are more iiety to befound at different stages n the evotution of tourism area. Tourism develoDmentshould not focus only on the suppty or product but atso he demands nd needs ofthe visitors or the ctients.

The recommendations ontained herein Mtt be used n the formation of anIntegrated Ecotourism anagement tan or the provincepertaining o ecotourism

devetopment. ecommendationsor interventions re consistent with the NationatIntegrated Protected Areas or NtpAS pproach o natural resource managementand the Provinciat Ecotourism Framework f Sorsogon hich aims at achievingbiodiversity onservation oatswhite providing ocio-economic evetopment o the[oca[community.

In order o design ecommendations, vailabte ourism data and he resuttsof a visitor survey onducted ver a two month period were analfzed.

The Visitor Survey was abte to determine he demographics f the eco-tourists, heir travel behavior, motivations and experiences. ide from gaugingtheir_ tevet of knowtedge and invotvement n environmental conservation,satisfaction atings and preferences ere [ikewise xDlained.


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Based on the results of the Visitor Survey, he average ourist to Sorsogon1 5 . . . . . .

. young,mostty eenagersnd

youngprofessionats. mostly rom American,European nd AsianCountries. independent ourist and ravels o Sorsogon ithout a guide. has chosen o visit Sorsogon mainly for the opportunity to expenence

atternative ourism whale shark watching/interaction), education ourism(eco-tours nd study ours) and recreation

. does not currently know much about Sorsogon ut woutd ike to rearn moreespecialty bout ts cutture and peoDte

. stays an average f 2 to 3 days n Donsol nd tess han a day or the rest ofthe tourist destinations n Sorsogon

. says hat hatf of their yacation time s on ecotourism ctivities

. dec{ares hat tearning about nature s an jmportant basis or motivation orvisit or travet o any destination.

. lt was ctearty establ.ished hat the sorsogon province can expec anincreasing nnualgrowth n tourist arrivatsover he next severat ears. The ouristmarket of Sorsogon ttracts and fascinates wide range of travelers and visitors.Accordingly, his is the potentiat market hat the pro;nce hopes o capture andentice or its ecotourism ndustry. Existing ourism n the province s mostly masstourism. However, mergingmarket or nature and education ourism s apparent.Unfortunate{y, good number of the tourism sites in Sorsogon emain targetyunexplored ndunderutitized.

Most of the tourists to the province were young hence the increasinginterest or adventure ourism. These are nature-based ourism hat incorporateian.etement f risk, higher evels of physicat xertionand the need or speciatizedskitt. A targe portion of the tourists were professionats, mployees, cottegestudents nd businessmen. herefore, majority of the tourists o the irovtnce havehigher education, are experienced raveters and beLong o the upper incomebracket. These characteristics ere reftective on the visiior,s preferences, ravetbehavior, motivationand ype of activities undertaken.

Tourists' motivations showed consistency with the patterns of activitiescarried out by the tourists and the sites hey visited. Birdersor nature ounsts,who were motivated by birds, the v{itdtife and the natural environmenr, asexpected, visited sites which offered nature-based ctivitiessuch as whate sharkwatching and interaction, bird watching and river cruising among others. The


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choices f activities nd destinations ere elated o, and esulted rom, ourists'motivations.

Target goals or Sorsogon's cotourism houtd e improving he province,abitity to capture more tourism revenues nd receiving more arrivats on asustainabte asis. Precaution, owever, shoutd be made on maximizing heresources ithoutcompromising nd destroyinghe enMronment. nterventionsoimprove eco-tourism evetopment houtd nclude, among otheR, expandingtinkages etween he Butusan otcano aturalPark nd he whate hark n Donsotwith other existing ourism n the province hrough mproved isitor's access oinformation, trengthened arketing nd promotion, nd creation of packagedtours o match potentiatmarket egments. nother mportant actor s improvingopportunity or [oca[ population o participatemore n the industry s owners,operators nd part of the ancittary ervices hrough evelopment f the skittbaseof residents o they can be professionatty mptoyed.

hese woutdconsequenttyadd vatue o the ecotourism roduct.

Through cotourism, he socio-economic enefits re directed o the locatcommunity, nd he tourists enefit as wett with the opportunity o experiencenature's ntainted ptendor nd contribute o the protection f the environmentand preservation f a community's ultureand heritage.


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CHAPTER

INTRODUCTION

Ecotourism epresents he fastest growing egment n the wortd of travettoday. Consideringhe ncreasing arket nd because cotourism nsures hat heintegrity of the ecosystem s not compromised, t is being promoted bygovernment tanners, G0s, rivate nvestors nd he ourism ndustry s a whole.

There re our priorityProtected reas n the Bicol Region nd wo of theseare ocated n Sorsogon Donsotor whate hark nd he Butusan olcano aturalPark. These wo sites are among he most amous ourist destination n theprovince. oweverhese aturat ndowments ontinue o be hreatened y ackofenvironmental wareness mong eopte, ncoordinated ffortsand mislaid enseof deve(opment mongocalexecutives,

Statement f the Problem

Most ourists o the Bicot Region ome o see he Mayon otcano n Atbay,the Whate hark n Donsol, orsogon nd atety he Water SportsComptexn Piti,Camarines ur.The nflux of tourists n Sorsogon rovince, oth ocat and oreign,is mostty ett in Donsol uring whate hark eason. s t is, onty Donsot enefitsfrom tourism n the province.However, here are atso other sites of ecotogicalrichness nd beauty whichcoutdcatch he interest of tourists and promote heprovince.

Next o the whate hark n Donsol, isits o Sorsogon's ristine eaches orsun, white sand and cool btue waters are the usual hightights f tourism n theregion, However, igns of environmental egradation nd cuttural sotationmanifest n areas eavily romoted ndvisited y ourists. his hasprompted ocalgovemment nitiatives o put a more sociatly ware ace o banner cotourism ypromoting ravet with as much passion et without putting he region's ichheritaee t risk.


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Obiectives of the Studv

. .Themarket research,

ngenerat,

aims o identify the types of ecotouriststhat visit selected cotourism ites n the province f Sorsogon.

Specificatty, he study s expected o:1. Determine he demographics f the ecotourists;2. ldentify heir travel behavior nd motivations;3. Surface heir satisfaction ate and preferences:4. ldentify heir economic, nvironmental nd community nvolvement n the

sites;5. Gauge their levet of knowtedge and invotvement n environmentat

conserva$on;6. Determine

heir famitiarity with other parts of Sorsogon nd what can bedone n these reas; nd7. Discuss hat prevents or hinders hem from exptoringother parts of the

Drovince.

Sicnificance f the Studv

. The Lingap para sa Katusugan g Sambayanan LIKAS),ncorporated,

together with the LocatGovernment nits LGUS),overnment ine agencies ndcivit society organizations n the province of Sorsogon, as devetopeo necotourism tan or the provincen 2005.

Part of the ptan s the conduct f researches n the identifiedexistine.emerging nd potential ecotourism estinations, pecificatty; their ecologlcitstatus vis-d-vis tate of being ,.green,', 2) the characteristics, ractices ndmotivations f tourists hat visit hese ites,and 3) the support inkagendustriesor sectors nvolved n ecotourism. esutts f these studies r/i[ serve as crucialinput for future programs nd projects on ecotourism. t is anchored n theprincipte hat a wett-ptanned nd managed cotourism ndustry s an effectivestrategy or tong,term onservation f biodiversity ndsustainabli evetopment fthe communities.

Oneof the studies o be undertaken s the market esearch. dentifyinghedistinct ype of tourists visiting he province s beneficiat or the p-tan-ning,


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management nd marketing of tourism. Furthermore, he information witt attowmanagers o address ifferent motivations, experiences nd impacts of touristsand to understand which tourist types are more [ikety to be found at different

stages n the evotution f tourism areas.lIn terms of potentiats or devetopment nd sustainabte rowth, he use of

tourism ypotogy s needed o match ourism ypes o resource apabitities. f theprovinceptans o make ourism a big factor for its economic roMh, the kinds oftourism, ncluding ecotourism, houldbe viabte and sustainabte ver a tong periodof time.

However, ourism devetopment houtd not only inctude understanding hesupply but atso he demands f the visitors. n tight of this, the foreseen olutionto ture ourists o other ourism sites n the province houtd ake account he need

to niche ourism nto what specific group of tourists visit Sorsogon nd offer thesetourists exactty what experience hey want to pay or.

Scope nd Llmitations

The market esearch as conducted n setected ites epresenting xisting,emerging nd potential cotourism estinations. t was designed hat much f theprimary ata gathering hatlbe done n Donsot. his s primarity ue o the fact

that much of tourism activities n the Drovince re concentrated n said area.These re the same et of tourists hat the provincewoutd ike to see visitingother ourism ites.

The survey hat was conducted nitiatty aimed o cover 30 percent oftourist arrivats n each ecotourism ite for the month designated s the datagathering hase. The 2005 ata on ourist arrivats er site woutd e he referencepoints or the number f survey espondents.

Limitations n data gathering or this market esearch nclude:

: Duffus,D.A.and Dearden, . (1990)Non"consumptive itdtife-orlented ecreation: conceptualframework. iologicol onseNation 3, 213-231


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1. Visitors to be interviewed are those coming from outside of Sorsogonprovince. This js to ensure hat the inform;tion to Ue la*rereo woufjctearly portray the target tovists fo, Sorsogon ra ,ot iiri tZ.;t-residente

2. The.schedute or the data gathering as tt_timed ecause he summerDreakwas a(ready nding.Visitorsgoing o the setected ourist destinationswere almost nit. Vacation oers were getting ready o go back o work andstudents were preparing or the opening f the regutar ahool ear.

3. The whate shark season had ended atready during the time for datagathering. Majorityof the tourist estabtishments erj atready pi*pa.ing totemporarily ctose shop. The visitors interviewed were among the lasttourists or the season.

4. The summerseason as ended and the rainy season ad started atready.This accounts or the difficulty in inteMewing at teast 30% f the touristarnvats n each ecotourism ite for the month desianated.

I4ATERIALSND TETHODOLOGY

Sitqs Assessed. he market research was conducted n setected sitesrepresenting xisting, emerging and potentia( ecotourism destinations. primarydata gathering

was carried out in Donsolwhere much of tourism ctivities areconcentrated.

Other sites dentified as regutarty and substantiatty isited by rounsts, asper Department f Tourism ecordi, were nctuded n the market research. heseinclude the Mateo Hot and Cold Springs of lrosin, Rizat Beach of Gubat, theIlngrovg and ish sanctuary f prieto Diaz, he Butusan otcanoNaturat park andButusan ountainLake, he Batading each f Sta. Magdatena, olong-gapo eachof Bacon istrict ndDancatan each f Bulusan-

. The visitor survey was conducted during a ten week period, rom the tastweek of Mayuntil the first week of AugustJ Ob7 y the |-ur"ur.t iiur. Fifty four(54) tourists were inteMewed about their trip t; Sorsogon rovirrce, nctuOingqueJtions. bout length of stay, motivations, expendituire atterns and basicotnograpnrcs.


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Figure 1 shows the distribution of interviews at selected touristdestinations.

Figure 1: Distribution f InterviewsConducted t Setected ourist Destinations

lvlangrc\eFishSanctuary

110/o

RizalBeach \

Donsol olWhaleshark

bo/o

Dancalan

14Vo 18o/o

The breakdown f the number of respondents nterviewed er tourist siteinctuded n the research as:

. Donsotor whate hark watching/interaction 15 espondents. MateoHot&CotdSprings eson, rosin 8 respondents

. Batading each, ta. Magdalena 10 espondents

. Totong-gapo each, acon- respondents

. Butusan otcano aturat ark. Butusan 1 resDondent

. Dancatan each, utusan 1 respondent

. Rizat each, ubat- resoondents

. Mangrove Fish anctuary, rieto Diaz- respondents

Data o be Gathered nd Gatherine echnique. Primaryandsecondary ataweregathered n the research rocess.

Primary data were cottected rom tourists, tourist guides andinformants hrough nterviews. he socio-demographicrofite, ncluding ge,

Keysex


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Processine f Data and Anatvsis f Results. Data gathered were processedusing basic statisticat procedures. These inctuded frequency distributions,percentages nd measures f central tendencies, Data were analyzed Mth the

Statisticat Package or the Social SciencesSPSS).

tudyof the characteristics ftourists was based on this. Data whenever ossibte itt be presented sing igures,tables nd pie graphs.

The results of the Focused roupDiscussions, ey nformant nteryiews andsecondary ata gathering were discussed n the presentation f resutts and majorfindings. opportunities were identified and gaps were determined throughassessment f data. Areas or improvement nd recommendations ere inctudedand discussed. he resutt of the research was presented nd validated during aworkshop onducted t LIKAS-RIDGEast October 0-11,2007.

Brief ReYiew f Literature

Tourisms travel undertaken or pleasure.'As he largest usiness ector nthe wortd economy, ourism mptoys 00mittion eopte, enerates 3.6 riltion neconomic ctivity and accounts or one n every 12 or 8 % of jobs wortdwide.3n4out of 5 countries, ourism s one of the five top export earners. n 60 countries tis he number neexport."

"Ecotourism" epresents he fastest growing egment f the world ravelmarketand as such has been added o the agenda f government tanners, on-Government rganizationsNGOS),rivate nvestors nd he tourism ndustry s awhote.Ecotourism egan n the 1990s nd s groMngMth a rate of 20% o 34% eryear.' Precise tatistics on ecotourism re difficutt to determine becauseecotourisms frequentty ombinedogetherwith nature ourism.

Definitions f ecotourismn use nternationatty nctude he oltowing:

']rveriam-Web6terDictionarvI MintetReport. Ecoand Elhicat ourisn-UK", October OO3rwortdTourismOrganization, Tourism, Force or Sustainabte evetopment". 9thOSCE conomicForum,Prague, zech Repubtic, une 2, 2004'Mastny, Lisa,Treasing lghtty: NewPath6 or lnternationat ourism, Wortdwatch aper 59(Washington, CrWortdwatch nstitute, December 001), . 37


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"Purposefut ravel to natural areas o understand he cutture and natural historyof the environment; aking care not to atter the integrity of the ecosystem, hiteproducirg economic opportunities that makes the conservation of naturalresources eneficiat o tocat peopte." The Ecotourism ociety)

"Responsibte ravel to natura{ areas hat conserves he environment nd mprovesthe wetfare of {ocatpeopte". TlEs,1990)

"NatureTourism hat advances onservation". WortdWitdtifeFund)

"Tourism hat produces positive benefits for conservation, provides economicbenefits o local communities, nvotves cceptable imits of environmental mpactand s economicatty etfsustaining". The Nature Conservancy)

Majorityof ecotourism estinations re dectared Protected Area. ProtectedAreas re:

"ldentified ortions f landand water set aside y reason f their unique hysicatand biotogicat ignificance, anaged o enhance iotogical iversity nd protectedagainst uman xploitation" NIPASct)

Assuch, cotourism s considered s a management ool n Protected reas.Aside rom capturing conomic enefits o protected reas, t can be regarded san appropriate trategy or addressing hreats o conservation argets. f propertyimptemented, t can become n mportant orce or improving etations etween

locatcommunities nd he administrators f Protected reas. And astty,

t candemonstrate hat tourism eed ot be massive ndecotogicatly estructive.

Ecotourism as hree basic tements: nvironmental ensitivity, espect orlocatpeop(e ndcutture nd sustainabitity. irst,environmentaI ensitivityocuseson the naturat or cuttural environment. he second tement. esoect or localpeople and culture puts emphasis n "learning" as an outcome of tourists'interactionwith the natural environment. cotourism s said o be "knowledgetourism", where pubtic understandings supposed o increase Mth regards onature and cutture and of those iving n it. The tast element, sustainabitity,means he commitment r drive o ensure hat the ntegrity f the resources s not

compromised. he needs f present ourists nd host region r communities remet whileprotecting ndenhancing pponunitiesor the uture.

Deemed n altemative, ecotourism uarantees mpowerment mong helocatcommunities. he raditionat et-up of making n area suitable or tourism


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and teaching the residents o adapt to such a change s reversed. nstead,constituents f the biologicatty iverse natural areas emain n their usuat way oftiving, manning heir sites, and directing activities hat remain environmentalty

and cutturalty ustainabte.6Attempts to identify tourist types have been catled segmentation,

ctassification nd ctustering. A variety of techniques are avaitable o identifyecotourists or to distinguish cotourists rom other tourist types.T Manystudiesconsider ourists entering a particular site to be ecotourists. Other studiesconsider atl tourists engaging n particutar activities 8 or participating n certaintours o be ecotourists. Some use both site and activity criteria.

Ontya few studies use motivational nformation o identify ecotourists. Forexample, cotourists re respondents ho:

. Answervery

important' or'somewhat

important' to,leaming

aboutnature' as a motivationwhen ptanning trip; and. Answer 'very important' or 'somewhat important' to'witderness/undisturbed areas' as an attraction when choosing trip;

ano. Must spend at teast one-third of their vacation on 'safari' or equivatent

ecotourism ctivities-'"

Other researchers egment ecotourism using travel benefits and sociatvatues. Some even go furtber to distinguish ub-types f ecotourists uch as usinginterest level and the degree of physicat igour o distinguish etween hard and

soft nature ourists.Some f these ourist ypotogies re hypotheticat n nature white some have

been empiricatty ested. Most rely greatty on the researchers' bservation ndjudgment of tourist behavior or sites visited to assign a tourist an eco-tourist.Fewer tudies use motivations o assist n this designation. astty, ery ew studies

'Ong, Jaquetine. 007. Ecotourismn the Phitippines: Sustainabte tternative? twww, irdwatch. h

Etamey, .K.and raithwaite, ,A, (1997) sociaL atues egmentation f tlE potentiatecotourlsm arket. oumal of Sustainoble ourism tl).29-45.' Caebattos-Lascurain,l, (1991) ourism, cotourism nd protected reas. arks2 (3), 31-j5.'Diamantis, D. (1998)Consumer ehavior nd ecotourism rodu:ts, Annals f Tourisn Research 5,5 1 5 - 5 1 8 .'" Baltantine, .L. and Eagtes, .F.J, 1994)Defining anadian cotourists. ournal f SustalnobleTourism l1i, 1-6.


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Mass ourism r the 'sun, sand, sea' resort ourism as now "matured s amarket" and ts growth s projected o remain tat. In contrast, ,experiential,,tourism which encompasses cotourism, ature, heritage, cutture and softadventure ourism, s wetl as sub-sectors uch s ural and community ourism- samong he sectors xpected o growmost quickty ver he next two decades.roThe adoption f ecotourism as nfluenced y the growing nvironmentaloncernin tourist destinations. nvironmental egradation n the nature-rich ouristdestinations houtdhus be keDt o a limit.

'Wortd TourlsmOrganization. GtobalForecasts nd Profi{es f l.larketSegments,', ot7, Tourism2020Vision, ladridrWTO.001.

1 l


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CHAPTER

RESULTS NDDISCUSSION

Tourist Arrivats n the Philippines. Tourism ptays a big rote in phitippineeconomy. t is considered o have a big potentiat for devetopment ince thePhitippines s rich n untouched ature y/ith more han 7,000 stands, is cities andDteasant limate.

Comparison f the data for the past hree years shows n ncreasingate inthe number of tourist arrivats o the Phitippines. Refer o Figure 2) Data rom

2004 o 2006 established 24.1 % ncrease. Based n the latest reDort rom theDepartment f Tourism here \/ere atready 1,528,507 isitors o the country romJanuary o June 2007atone. The country currentty egistered n average f atmost200,000 rrivats per month as compared with the previous ears wherein 2OO,OOOvisitorsper month was ecorded hree imes a year only.

Figure 2: Tourist Arrivatsn the Phitippines sourcer scB, egion)

3000000

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

50000()

o

+ No- of Tourists 2 , 2 9 1 , 3 4 7


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For 2005, otal tourism eceipts, meaning he expenditures f 2.3 mi[iontourists, mounted o USS .99 biltion.Froma 2,6% ontributiono the countrv;sGDPn 2004, he DOT argets n ncrease o 2.7% his year rom an expected .6miltion ourists.

Tourlsm n Sorsoeon rovlnce

The Province of Sorsogon s located 600 kitometers rom L anila. lt hasirregular errain with rotting lttsand scattered lains nd vatteys. ountains reposltioned atong he northeast, southeast and western sections as Darts of theBicotVotcanic

haln. he mountains re generalty reen ndwith tush orest whichare sanctuaries f rare lora and auna,

l3


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Sorso_gonas many ourist destinations, nctuding ts numerous eaches;accounted or by its 336kitometers f coastl.ine. mong-the ouneen ownsanO31"--it_tf:

lly

the municipatity f trosinhas no shoretine. eneraV a preasanrweamer s expected ear ound.

- Majot: ouris!Atlrastions. ome f the most poputar estinations nd what)orsogons amous or nctude:

THEBUTANDN6/ N H LEi H APKNATCHN6 AA'DTNTEPAC|TONN DON9OL

Donsols a coastal own located 51 kitometers rom Legaspi ity. As aninterior own,one raverses he routeon ong and winding oads.''

. .The star species or Donsot re.the whate sharks, irefliesand potentiattythe.migratory irds.A Visitors, enter s estabtishea spin oi it" imptementationof the whale harknformation rogram.


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Whale hark nteraction s the major activity n Donsot. ourjsts an swihwith these big fishes onsidered s the-biggest

in'tne woriA.Ai-its'p.ax seasonduring he summermonths, s many s so -hale strarks * ;;;;";in the watersto feed on ptanktons, rilt and smatt ish. However, nr*ie ttra* inturu.tion ,governed yregulationso ensureminimum isturbance. achmotorized utrigger5 :1t9""9 only seven 7).tourisrs. Three 3) ..",n, ur. ir.ign"J pir boat: theboatman/opentor, utanding nteraction fficer(BtO) nd hi spoiter. a visitorregisters t the Visitor,sCenter where one s oriented int on ttie euiOeunesorwatching nd nteractingwith the whate shark. peak ,.uion ir-i"U?uu.y o r*uyeach year. But the shore{ines unsuitabte or,-swimminglone.Oiher emergtngecotourism ctivitiesnclude ivercruising.andireftywatihingat nightat OgoA ;?oTot livgls. Likewise, uringctear nights, star gazing s

-recom-mended.Andounng ay ime, bird watchine s a mustwitha diverce umber f migratory irdsfeeding n he ishponds nd iangroue reas.

There are severat esorts tong he beach ine, 16 homestays nd one (l)lodging.housere present or visitors';ccommodation, ocii restiirants ano ooaestabtishments re avaitabte or food and catering eMces. However uringpeakseasons, hese acitities resaid o be insufficienl o cater o the market hencemany isitoBwoutd ather tay n hotels n Legaspi ityand Sorsogon iry.

t )


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EITALBEACHFOUBAT

Rizal Beach which s located n Gubat,sorsogon ffers a wide expanse ffine white sand beaches. The town is 19 kilometers away from the capital ofSorsogon. t is accessib(e y pubtic transport rom Sorsogon ity. Travet o thetown takes 30 minutes along welt-paved, winding oad. lt has wo wel.tappointedbeachside esort hotets. The resorts offer a wide selection of accommodation orvisitors.Function atts and catering services re avaitabte or speciat ccasions ndvenue for big and smatl group seminars and training. Other recreationalfacilities/equipments re avaitable such as basketbau ourt, biltiard tabtes andboats or boating.

Major attraction is the fine, white sand beaches and cool waters forswimming.One esort has a swimming ool or those who dislike sea water. Nat.ivecottages re tocated atongside he beachfront or swimmers nd picnic-goers se.Noted ecotourism ctivities s the area are swimming, icnjc, boating and surfingwhen he waves re relativety high.

TOLONO-hAPOBEACHN BACONDI|TPJCT

The Tolong-Gapo each n the Bacon District s located n a merety 15-minute ide rom the center of the city. Totong-Gapo eans ,three stones', aresort andmark. t offersa Long tretch f fine white sand each.

Severat eachside esorts perate n the area. These esorts re comotetewith beachside ottages, made of native materiats hat are ideal for Dicnjcs.Existingesorts ffers meals,wide ange f accommodation ervjces ndvenue ormeeting, eminars/training ndother special unctions.

Ecotourism ctivities romoted n Bacon each nclude wimming ndpicnic

in its wide expanse f resort rounds.The resorts at Bacon Beach re among he favorite venue of different

organizations nd offices rom neighboring rovincesor tive-in raining ue o itsaccessibitity ndproximityo the center of Sorsogon ity.


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BULU6AAIOLANONATUMTPAPK

The Bulusan otcano aturat arkand Butusan ountain ake s a favoritedestination fmountain limbers ndnature overs. t is OeiiireO protected reacovering round3,623.29 ectares, ocated n the midst of ! ,,iniiiputitier. ftcovers. arious cosystems ncluded grassland, quatic, orest and agricutturat.Thevotcano emains o be activewith an elevjtionof S,OZZeetiUove sea evet.Butusan ake ies2,084 t. upon he stopes f the votcano.


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The surrounding orest boasts of exotic ftora and fauna. lt harbors a widearray of endemic, ndangered nd globalty hreatened auna.

Just severat minutes away from the Bulusan Votcano Natural park isDancalan each. SeveraI eachside esorts perate n the area.

Ecotourism activities around the park inctude trekking, kayaking andboating, camping nd picnic around he lake area. Exptoration f the dipterocarpforest and quiet commune with nature is encouraged or peace, quiet andinterpretation. Ctimb o the volcano's ummit s also possibte uring nactivity.

HOTAA'DCOID PPINal( OFTRO(IN

Thesprings esort s located n Barangay onbon, t the foot of the BulusanVotcano.t is approximatety.5kitometersrom he Mahartika ighwayn partlypaved oad. The ecreational rea with the pools s part of the 6 hectares mixedagricuttura( nd orest ecosystem.

Key eatures nctude he naturat springs ottected n manmade ut rockftoored oots. hereare hree poots resent whichprovides etection f differentwater emperatures hot, lukewarm nd cotd. The waters re said o be sulfuricand s betieved o havemedicinaI owers.

Singte, oubte nd dormitory ype rooms re avaitabte or accommodation.Pootside ativepicniccottages, hower nd dressing ooms re present. A smattrestaurant um waiting/receiving rea operates nside he resort or food. Theresort s open o functions uchas wedding eceptions, anies and workshops.separate oncrete uitding hich erves s a function all can accommodateromfifty to 150guests t a time.

18


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THEMANOPoVE,Al\)D'I6H6ANCII4AP,/ F PPIET)DW(Coailal Envronn enf o ogran)

The ownof Prieto Diaz s tocated 6 kilometers nd s more han an hour,stravel rom he city of Sorsogon. he mangrove nd ishsanctuarys tocated t 2.5kitometeB rom he national ighway, tong npaved oads.

l9


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The site s a showcase f mangrove each ecosystem ith naturat mangroveforest, mangrove lantation, Mde stretch of seagrass nd protected coral reefs.

The marine sanctuary s 2 kitometeB rom Sabang Beach which s the jump-offpoint. A mangrove ursery s tikewise stabtished ithin the site.

The modet program was recognized as Best Community-based oastatResources Management Program n 1998 by the United Nations Agency forIntemationat Agency. t has been a popular site among ecotourists especiattystudents of natural sciences, he academe and various NGOS,POs and localgovernment nterested n coastal esource management.

Star species inctude about 38 species of hard corat genera withpredominance f Acropora nd Porites pecies. Seagrass boundand 16species f

mangrove hrive n the area. White sea birds (egret) and sea snakes re part of thewitdtifesightings.

Ecotourism activities being offered inctude migratory bird watching,mangrove ayaking r boating, swimming t Basud each,diving/surfing/coratviewingat the Hatabang apis coral reefs, picnic and/or camping and as a studyarea or peopte nterested n coastal esource management nd protection.

The site s managed y a peopte's rganization nd has very basic acitities.A native house and a camping site are avaitable or overnight accommodation.native structure serves s area or reception, orientation and dining.


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THEPNOCECO-PAPK

The PNOC Eco-park overs 25,000 hectares of forest reservation ituatedwithin the boundaries f Legasp'i ity, Sorsogon ity, Bacon District of Sorsogonand he municipality f Manito n Atbay. t is the site of the Phitippine NationatOitCompany's acon-Manito eothermal Ptants. The site is 13 kitometers wav romthe Mahartika ighway.

PNOC ffers guided ours o various ites within the reservation. xistinghotetwithin he site offersmeals nd accommodationervices sweltas venue ormeeting, eminars/training ndother unctions.

The eco-park's tar species re he golden-crownedtying ox, targe tyingfoxand irefties tongmangrove reas. ightingsf the bats are guaranteed.

The eco-park ffers numerous dventures nd activities uchas rocK anowatt ctimbing, rekking, appetting, ot and co(d springs, oitingmud akes, ndsightings f exotic tora and auna. Geothermal echnology bservation/tours amust-see or ecotourists. co"campan be arranged ith he management.


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Country of Residence-

Total Foreign rrivals

AsiaChinaHong ongIndonesiaJapanMataysiaSingaporeSouth oreaTaiwanThailand

lliddle EastSaudi rabia

AmericaCanadausA

EuropeFranceGermanyItatySwitzertandUnitedKingdom

OceaniaAustratia

Others

1 ,512

10112

14218

118761 4

5

39393

52206

561687

184

Table l.Tourist Arrivals n the provinceby Country f Resjdence: 005Source: DOT,Recion V

- .. TogristArrivalsn Donsot.Whatewatching/interaction ccurs rom January:9-l.ay ilhpeak urins-theummer onths f r,il il t;t.

-irJmi0o4 o2006,totat ourist

arrivals o Donsolncreased y Bg.il % refer o fiiriely. Oomesticvisitorsncreased y 69.71%and oreign r.siton y 1j4.4 %: An;;;e;$ng growthrate can be seen ased n he three ye;r data gathired.


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t*n,,fi'*"Jr1lliuli,,.f"1f3"Jl:l'::^1'::1!'ata-romheDepartmentr

**lilri,f;i:fixF.r1;lilffi:?::ft:1il#ffi?#":::,.;i:ll

tteg 5t Uriror Ard*t, atTourismffice,Donsot)3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0Yoar2004 Yoar 005 Yea2006

Donsol s inctuded mone hc:he Deparrment frourism u;";J1.1:u,"!glourists

sitqs n the Phitippjneshat1T:t:'"1;tn".a"iii"iii"n,:iJH::,.ff;:[n:;v"ffiT:i.,:.:ii.,ilrovrnce'Mount inatubon turo::_t-ql a.mttacanin-iloiiiiii b'rieo rrtunonlou. However, whate shark ntellr"s.ol1,"u,on,,r,",ou,.lJ,iffiTl"?,,,8"il:iiliT,.iJ,::*i";.":l*lf;ne to the resorts or picnic ndswimming r.ing eufunOrl. "..., ..

h &r. Data gathered

rom3T H:t*."'"'*.:Tt1$1"r,,A1'{ili:{i,1.:!T:"1rIXsvxp ., ln;;;;,inrlJ"..;: i:|"f,".jJ,!1i""r.,,n",he umberrvisitorio

2.5


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Figuae : VisitorArrivalsn the BuLusan otcano atural ark {Source BVNP isitor's Center)

1,400

1 ,2 @

1,000

800

600

rl00

200

0May o Decembr 006 Januaryo June 007

It was assumed hat atl visitors o national parks are ecotourists, utactivities nd motivations f park visitoB vary widety.17 he crowds f touristsduring hese ummermonths ome or retaxatjon, ightseeing, icnicand ishing.Tourists uring his time are trekkeB, bird watchers, ature ourists nd ceneriltourists. heir visit o the park elies rimarily n the natural nvironmenifortsattraction nd settings. Peakmonths or domestic isitors o the BVNPre durine

the summer onths fAprit o June.A strikingty ighnumber f loca( isitorswere noticed uring he months f

September nd ,larch. Further heckwith the data showed hat t is during hesemonths when most schoots, rganizations nd Locat Government nits fromdifferent parts of the country conduct heir educationat/study ours. Theregistered ourists uringSeptember nd arch come o the park or educationatand eaming urposes. hough he interest n coming o the park s educational,the shortness f the duration f stay prevents he visitors o realty nteract withnature or "(earning"o occur.

r Chudjntra, . (1993)Nature ourismProfite: haitand. n J. Nerbn and p.B. Dur5t eds)NafureTourism n Asia: Oryortunities and Constrcints or Conservation nd Economic Developmenl(pp.31-41). ashington, C: JSDA orestSeNtce.


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Foreign ourist arrivals eak during he months f Mayuntit July which sconsistent ith he national rend on oreien isitor arrivats.

Visitor Data Cottection. here are probtems with existing visitor datacottection ethods mp{oyedn Sorsogon rovince,nctuding:

. Forvisitorsn Donsot, nly hosewhowi[ set out or whate hark watchinc/interaction egister t the Visitor's Center. ourists hocome o Donsot-oractivities ther han whale harkwatching/interaction re unaccountedor.

. TheMunicipal tanning nd Devetopment ffices f Locat overnment nitshaveno data on the number f touristarrivats. hey n(y have n nventory

of tourism nfrastructure ndbusiness stabtishments resent n their area.. For visitors at the Butusan olcano Nationalpark, group ours, amity

reunions, ffice and school educationat ours sometimes egister as oneentry onty. Accurate umber f visitors s not reftected nd Dertinent ataare sometimes issing nd/or vacant. Entries arlier han october 2006 nthe visitor's ogbook ere not sexdisaggregated.

. Resorts ocated and operating t the provlncehave different ways ofcharging ntrance ees. Some esons charge entrance ees per person,whileothers harge ees per use of cottage(s) rregardtess f the number foccupants. umbers f visitors iven re usuatty stimates.

. Department f Tourism DOT) taffgoes o different ites o coLlect ata onoccupancy rom tourists' establishments. owever, ccording o reportsfrom DOT Region V, these are not retiabte since manv of theseestabtishments eeD wo sets of records.

Data n visitor arrivalsn the province re naccurate. here re gaps n thecottectionmethod beingemptoyed. hough here s ctearty n ncreasing rowthrate in the tourist arrivats o the province, he number may either beunderestimated r overestimated. his s due o the diverse oints f entry o ourprovince, he tack of a provincial ourist registration enter and otherinefficiencies.

27


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Socio-demographic rofile

sex and Aqe of Visitors.Survey ata showed hat visitors o Sorsogonprovince eredominated ymate, t 68.5%. Please efer o Figure ) Thevisitorsinterviewedor the research re young,mostty een-agers ndyoung rofessionatsand emptoyees. bout30 %are within he age bracket 15 o 24, white 20 % areaged 5 o 34, and 33 %betong o the age bracket 5 o 44 years td.

The Sorso{onTourism ,larket

Figure7: Ageand SexDistributionf Respondents

Age ot roapondents

numbcf

1 a1 61 4'121 0a

o15-24 25-34 3544 45-54 55 &

upage brackct

Profession/Occuoation.igure shows he profession/occupationf visitoBinterviewed. he butk of the tourists are professionats, mployees, ottegestudents nd businessmen. hus, majority of the tourists o the protnce hayehighereducation nd betongs o the upper ncome bracket. This woutdhave abearing n the travel behavior,motivation nd ype of activities hat thev wouldfavorand orefer.

28


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Figure 8: Profession Occupation f Respondents

1 2

1 0

0

qrv "'".."/rd.a"t-"-':..."-".""."n

On the other hand, ookingat the mixture of the tourists nterviewed, hetourist market of Sorsogon ttracts and fascinates wide range of traveters andvisitors. Accordingty, his is the potential market that the province hopes ocapture and entice or its ecotourism ndustrv.

Countrvof Residence. {most60 % of the totat resDondents nterviewed redomestic visitors or Fitipino nationats. Of these, 3.8 % are Overseas ilipinoWorkers and Balikbayans. he remaining 40 % of the respondents re foreignnationats. t shou(d e noted hat the visitors nterviewed were randomty etectedand yet the research eam were able to interview tourists rom Europe, Aia,Americaand the Middte East. This ctearty shows hat traveters o the phi(ippinesand to the province n this case, are not timited to neighboring nd nearbycountries nty. The market s untimited and shows otential or a bigger market.

Further discussions ith the foreign visitors confirmed hat the phitippinesjs rapidty becoming favorite tourist destination because side rom the wortd-class ourist destinations hat we have, travel here in our country s certaintycheaper han with other southeast sian ountries.

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Tabte 2: Res dents' Countrv f ResideneCountrv f Residence Percentaee

Domestic:Residents f the PhilippinesOf FitipinoNationalityBatikbayans

60.4%56.6%3.8%

Foreign:united States of AmericaCanadaGermanylre{andUnitedKingdomScotland

JapanThaitandlsraetAustraliaSouthAfrica

39.6 %512311

11'l

32

Destination elated nformation

Points f Entrv. Sixty-one ercent 61 %)of the twenty-one oreign ouristsinterviewed ntered he Phitippineshrough he Ninoy quino nternationaI irportin Manita.Surprisingty, 3 % said hey arrived ia Ctark nternational irport atPampanga, entrat Luzon, white the remaining % entered hrough CebuIntemational irportat Cebu,Central isayas. refer o Figure )

The avaitabitity f direct ftights through chartered ptanes rom othercountries as ontributed o the ncrease f tourists o our country.

30


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Figure9: Points f Entry o the Phitippines

Isi\]AlAr Cbrk Intemational irport r Cebu nlematinal irpodl

Entry o Sorsogon rovinces mostty hroughAtbayprovince t 82% f thefiftyfour respondents refer o Figure 0).These re hose oming rom he Luzonlstand. tternative oints f entry are Matnog or visitors oming rom he VisayasandMindanaostands 4%),white isitors oming romCentrat isayas ndMasbatelslands nter ia Pitar 4%)andButan 4%).

Figure10: Points f Entry o Sorsogon rovince

oAlbay lr Matnog lO Pilar

tr BulanI NO nswer


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Dlrationof Stav/Travel. oreignourists lan o stay n the phitippinesfromtwo to four weeks. Foreign nd domestic ourists o Sorsogon rovincentend otravel or a minimum f

one day o a maximum f oneweek.Visiton o Donsol, oth oreign nd ocat, usualty tay or two to three days

in the area. Whatewatching nd nteraction t Donsol ntaits egistration t theVisitor'sCenter nd an orientation ession efore he actual activity s conducted.Thereare times when 4 to 5 hours f waitingat the open seas n the motorizedoutriggerwoutdyietd no sightings f the whate sharks.Hence oat rides o theopen seas usualty tart early n the morning. n cases when here are negativesightings f the animats, isitorsusualty ry again he next day. This ype ofvisitors onsider hemsetves s either bird watcheB r eco/nature ouristg. hevwatched itdtife notontybirds) nd usualty tayed onger n the site.

Visitorso the Butusan otcano aturalPark etdom tayedmore han a dayin the park. There re various ctivitieswhich an be carried ut and exDeriencedat the park such s bird watching, rekking, oating nd ishing mong thers. hetack of facitities uchas accommodation, ood estabtishments nd he neqessarvsupport ervices eeded or tourists o stay onger nd embark n these activitieiis the main eason houghwhy ourism o the BVNPs stitt unsustainable.

Visitors tayat the other ourists'destinations/sitesn the orovinceor tessthan a day only.Very ew stayed nextra day. Timespent n hese ites s from 4to I hours nly.These ourists re calted raveters r generat ourists. his ype of

tourists isit he site o see he "highlights" r majorattractions hichmaybe hescenery, aterfal(s, nd he typical "sun, sand and sea,' eson. Thisshows hatmajority of the visitors o the other tourists sites n Sorsogon re from theneighboringommunities ndprovinces nly.

On he other hand, urther scrutiny f the visitors, rofite rom he BulusanVotcano aturalParkand he Mangrove anctuaryn prieto Diaz howed hat thevisitors were cottege students, members f the academe, NGOS nd LocatGovernment nits rom differentparts of the country. Theycame n group oursand he primary nterest or visitingwas or education urposes. hismarketoneducation ourism s a big potential or Sorsogon. he Coastal Environment

Program n Prieto Diaz, as an exampte, s haven for marine biotogists,environmentausts nd peopte nterested n coastal management nd protection.However, ourismactivities houtd e designed o encourage eeper nteractionand nterpretation o make tearning"more nteresting, eaningful ndsatisfying.


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know-what is expected.l8 For both the traueters'inJ tire loiits, mutratrybeneficiaI xperiencesake ptace.

A greater part of the respondents aid that they teamed about theptace/site hrough riends, associates nd retatives. erson;ttestimony nd irsthand experience re stilt the most potent promotionatoo[. But nfluxof foreigntourists an be attributed o the presence f intemet and web sites.

At(of the visitors o Donsot aid hat t was heir irst time visit o tne area.Neverthetess' ot atl of the tourists nterviewedwere irst time visitors o theprovince. igure 1shows he sitesof first time visit o the province t the touristsinterviewed.

itiari Province the unitv. Common o the::T::*"1'-,i: ,,t llgyludg" auoG rE pGceTiilE-iiiG e re arrivingoSorsogon. raveter need

o be educated efore heir oumei inJiocats neea o

Figure1 : Siteof Firt TimeVisit o Sorso{on30o/o

250h

200

15o/o

10To

5%

0o/oDonsol or

WhalesharkTolongcapo

BeachMateo Hot&ColdSpdngs

RizalBearch

Generatly, isitors to the province are experienced raveters. They are:y:T _"J.i9 T1: th9 necessary reparations eiore raveting. riorknowiedgeabout he destinations an jmponant ractjce. Responsibtects increasesne13Mader, Ron.Defendinghe Tourists, art 1. phneta Forum. t ptaneta,com.

33


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enjoyment of the tourist and aids n the protection of the host site's natural andculturat environments. oreign isitors etated hat they tearned about he ptacbthrough the intemet and print materials like brochures and books. But

informationatmateriats ike this are onty avaitabte or Donsot. hisbrings orth the

issue of weak promotional effort being given to the other tourist sites in theprovince. Naturatty, awareness s a basic etement or name.recatt nd eventuatchoice.

PoDutar irst time visits were to Rizal beach n Gubat or 27 % , Donsot or25 %, he Butusan otcanoNationatPark or 13 %, Totong-Gapo each or 11 % andthe Mateo Hot and Cotd Springs esort n lrosin or 7 %. This can be credited o thefact that these were among he eartier established ourist sites n the province. tshoutd be noted that major tourist activity even n the past was swimming nSorsogon eaches nd springs. t is onty at the Bulusan olcanoNaturat Park where

other attractions were offered besides wimming.However, hese remain argetyunexptored nd not maximized.

The tourists were atso asked on their interest in Sorsogon and itscommunities. Figure 12 shows he additional nformation on Sorsogon rovincethat tourists woutd ike o know.

Figure12. Additionatnformation nd nterest nSorsogon rovince

3%.-/o

.-Ksl__Nflr.."u' , " - !

glocal ulture

I people

tr wildlife iora & fauna)

I nowunadveftisedsites/discoleries

E developmentn heplounce

0 dialect


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A high 85.2 % of the tourists said they are interested n teaming andkn-owing.ore about Sorsogon rovince. ince cotourism s a community asedeffort, he destination s where he communitys. Tourists houtd iveque espectto the existing etup f the tocal ommunity

itspeople,

nvironmint ndcutturalsignificance.n his case, ourists o So6ogon howednterest o interact with helocalcommunities.

Educating nesetf bout he destination, rior o the trip, is an extremelyessentiat ide of good ecotourism ractice. Learning bout he history, cutture,tanguage nd he natural environment f the target destination rea aids bothcu(tural interaction and appreciation f locat ecosystems. eople in thecommunity re more ikely to socialize f visitors howprior knowledge bout theirD\ace.

Tour/Travet osts. n{y .5%of the nteMewed isitors rrived o Sorsosonon pre"arrangedours.The est of the tourists whohireda guide id so when ieyreached he tourist destination/site. uides ired are requantty ocalguides romthe community.

A breakdown f costs associated ith the conduct f a packaged our ontand-based cotourism n Sorsogon rovince or tourism students s Drovidedbelow. The tour operator was rom Albayand offers simitarpackaged ours oother universities/co(tegesn the Bicot egion ndMetroManita.

Sites nctuded n the trip were he otd stone houses n Juban. he ButusanVotcano aturatPark, ChurchRuins n Barcetona, jzatBeach nd he FishandMangrove anctuary t Prieto Diazwhere unch s served. Duration f travel wasfor one day onty.Tour costswere php 700.00 er person nctusive f tunch t theFishand Mangrove anctuary t Prieto Diazwhich s managed y SEA,IANCOR,peopte's rganization. he nteMewed visitorswere part of a tour groupof gOcottege tudents nd5 nstructors rom a universityn Legaspi ity,

BreakdownfTourCosts:

Transportationmini-bus ased n Legaspii Php190.00Food tunch /o Seamancor, rietoDiaz) 250.00Entrance ee (BVNP) 10.00TourOperator 250.00TotalTourCosts 700.00/oax

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Based n the packaged our presented, nty28.6 %of tourist expenditures(entrance

ee to BVNPnd unch at Seamancor) eached he province, pecificatly

the tourist destination/site. he our operator nd ransportation, oth based nAtbay, ot 35.7%each of the tour cost. The otat eakage n this packaged our s71.4%.A "teakage" s when an nput or tourism s imported rom outside f thelocatity. ncreasingty,here s reatization hat ve^ryittte of the money pent bytourists emains t or near he destination tsetf. ' A common stimate s that essthan ten percent (10 .%) of tourist spending emains n communities earecotourism estinations.'"

As most costs are fixed or packaged ours' a higher our pdce or tongerduration ignificanttyncreases rofit margins. pproximatety 0% f money or

att-inctusiveackage

oursgoes

toairtines, hotels, and other internationat

companies.2r he butkof the profit goes o the tour operators, here he greaterpercentage f the tourist expenditures oes. Conversety,his reduces enefits othe ocatity.

In contrast, breakdown f an average npackaged our costs o Donsol sshown etow. t should be noted hat att of the inteMewed ourists n Donsolcame on unpackaged our. The travet cost presented etowwas based n theamount f money pent y he respondents uring heir stay n Donsol. uration fstaywas3 days nd ? nights.

Breakdown f TravetCosts o Donsot:Transportation PhD .000.00Accommodation 2,000.00Food 1,500.00Whatewatchinc/interaction visitor's ee 1,000.00Totat 7,500.00/pax

t" Ljndberg, K. \19911Poli.ies or lAaimizing Nature Tourlsm'| Ecological and Economlc &enefits.Washington, .C.:WorldResoufces nstitute.'o Llndberg, K. and D. Hawkins 1993), Ecotoudsm: A Guide or Plannerc and Aanagerc. Notth

Bennington,vT.: he Ecotourism ociety.'?r uhited Nations Environment Programrne, "Ecommic lmpacts of Tourlsm," at, 1 . 1 . , . . 1 : 1 . . : . , , . " : . . . . : : : . : . i - ' Mar t h a o n ey, IES , Eco t o u r i s m:

Toot for Sustainabte evetopment," worlchop on Ecotourism, condKted by Eco Tourism SocietySri Lanka ESSL)n Association ith the Tourism CLuster the Competitiveness rogramme/USAIDBMlCtl,Cotombo, Sri Lanka, November 2, 2004

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Expensesor handicrafts ndguides ere not nctuded. ess han 10% f therespondents ave answers o these questions n the visitor's survey, hence sinsufficiento come up with a generalization.

ased n the above, 7 % of totattouristexpenditures accommodation,ood, ees) went o Donsot. co-todces ireand purchase ocatty nd herefore ut a higher sometime s much as 5 % ofmoney-intohe (ocaleconomy.z2n this case he onger he duntion of the stay ofthe visitor, he biggerwitt be he benefits o the area.

Based on the above leakages rom the tourism ndustry, the bestopportunitiesor ncreased ocalparticipation ndcapturing conomic enefits refound n the accommodation,ood/restaurant nd handicraft ectors. t Dresent.most of the accommodationn the province re owned by locats nd here areatready16 omestays vailabte nd operating n Donsol.With regards o the lowincome nd sates rom arts and crafts,

Sorsogon as o consider reation f artsand crafts hat would be unique and originat o the provincen order o have aplace n the market.Opportunitiesor increased articipation f tocats n the oodsector s on food commodities uchas vegetables, hichat present, s purchasedfromoutside f Sorsogon.

. The reverse of reducing eakage s increasing ourist spending n theprovince. o ncrease ouristspending,nterventions houtd upport rogiams ndactivities hat witt entice yisitors o stay onger nd spendmoreduring heir stayin Sorsogon. evetoping ther activities nd ecotourism roducts nd-siteso visitare concrete ays o do his.

ilotivatlon,Preferences nd Satisfaction ating

Fye!-tscha!9rcld-Uqgla$en. From he fifty four tourists nteMewed,onty29 % raveted itha guide uring heir stay n Sorsogon.

Reasonsor hiringa guide nctude on-famitiarity ith the place, afety ndsecurity, nd because his s their irst time visit o the province.lrefer to Figure

13) .

" tbid


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and are often ignored by atl except or individuat smatl operatoB who depend onthis target group or their source of revenue. This type of tourists s mindful ofbudget and expenditures. Other ourists o the province had no need or a guide

because hey were staying with friends and retatives who are residents ofSorsogon.

Figure 13. Reasons or Hiringa Guide on First Time TraveLo Sorsogon

10 Oo/o

9.OoA

A.Oo/o

7 -Oo/o

6.Oo/o

5.Oo/o

4.Oo/o3.Oo/o

2-Oo/o

1.Oo/o

A.Oo/oNon-familiarity Safety and F rst t ime tralel

ro sorsogon

Onty 5 percent rom the respondents entioned he need o hire a euide oimprove he trip. These are frequently students and backpackers. tude;ts whovisit the province usuatty come as a group. Though hese educational ours areguided, however nly one or two guides are employed n such ours or sometimesthe professors/instructors/teachers ould ake he rote of a guide. BacKpacKersnthe other hand are catled trekkers. Trekkers or hikers are atso ,,indeDendent',travelers and were motivated by a variety of attractions, but mostty cutture andthe Locat eopte. That s atso he reason why they want more nformation aboutthe sites so that they can exptore he province on their own. For many rounsmdevetopers, ackpackers re not a priority market- due to their being seen as notcontributing inanciatty. So far, few studies have been conducted o Drove hisDOint.

The main reason or the majority of visitors comingand visiting Sorsogon sto see he star species whale sharkwatching/interaction) n Donsol. hese isitorsmay either be bird watchers or eco/nature tourists. Birders are motivated


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exctusively by birds and the witdtife.,3 Self-described cotourists or naturetouristsare motivated by the natural environment, .irds, nd wil.dtife.

As for the rest of travel in other parts of the province, visitors come orenjoyment, sightseeing nd relaxation. These ourists are catted general ravelersor tourists. Motivations f general ourists are varied, but concentration s on thescenery, waterfalts, and the hightights f the sites, which n this case s the usual"sun, sand and sea" resorts.

Tourists' motivations showed consistency with the patterns of activitiescarried out by the tourists and the sites hey visited. Birdersor nature ourists,who were motivated by birds, the witdtife and the natural environment. asexpected, visited sites which offered nature"based ctivities such as whate sharkwatching and nteraction, orest trekkjng, bird watching and river cruisingamong

others. Hikers on the other hand were motivated mostty by the Locat utiure anicommunities. hey were ndependent ravelers and typicat(ystayed onger n thesite to interact with the tocats. Whereas enerat ourists usuatty isited he majorattractions and hightights f the province but setdom tayed more than a day inthe site. The choices of activities and destinations were retated o, and resuitedfrom, tourists' motivations.

Satisfaction Rate and Preferences. ourists want their expectations o besatisfied. Some witt be demanding white others are not. The Visitor Survev

conducted n the provinceof Sorsogon eftects a high rate of visitor satisfaction.Forty-three isitorsor 80 %of the 54 respondents xpressed hat the trip met theirexpectations and were very satisfied. Visitors, especiatty hose coming fromDonsot, aid that they were "reatty overwhetmed,', ,amazed,', the activitv was"very interesting" and "one of a kind adventure',. Worth mentioning were thevisitors' responses hat reflected the receptivity and friendtiness of theSorsoganons. isitorsatisfaction howspromise or increased ontinued erowth ofecotourism o the Drovince.

The remaining 20 % were tikewise satisfied however suggestions erementioned egarding he avai{abitity f more nformation about he different sitesand o consider he improvement f road conditions.The state of the roacs macethe travel tonger and very uncomfortabLeor the visitors.

3 Hvenegaard, .T. (2002) Usingourists TypoLogiesor Ecotourism esearch. oumdfolEcotourism 11\7-16.


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As part of the visitor survey, ourists were asked about heir knowledge fattemative activities, such as snorketing, iving, kayaking nd mountain timbingamong others, offered in the province. Most had no idea those

activities werepossibte. good number of the respondents ere aware onty of swimming t theprovince's numerous beaches, hot and cold springs and the atternative eco-adventure ffered by whale watching/interaction t Donsot.

Whenasked f they woutd be nterested o undertake ny of these activitiesif made aware of their avaitabitity, the tourists gave positiye responses."Experientiat" ourism which encompasses cotourism, ature, heritage, cultureand soft adventure ourism, as wett as sub-sectors uch as rural and communitytourism- s among he sectors expected o grow most quickty. This exptains hepreferences expressed by the tourists interviewed. Cutturat exptoration,altemative ecotourism ctivities,

he sea and the springs titl remain he tourists,favorites. But more han half of the visitors atso exDressed nterests n mountainctimbing, cave exp(oration, snorkeling, diving and kayaking. Tabte 3 shows heecotourism ctivities presentty eing offered at the province nd the preferencesof the tourists nterviewed n the studv.

Table 3 : Ecotourism ctivitiesOffered and MarketPreferencesActivities Aware ahead

of timeUndertook at

the timeWoutd einterested

Altarnative/ecotourlsm

activities

56% 43% 56%

CulturaI ExDloration 5 0% 35% 6 3%

Snorkeling/diving 44% 24% 50%

Kayaking 28% 15 % 46%

Forest rekking 28% 24% 40%

Mountain climbing/ CaveExploration

30% 1 8% 54%

Sea and hot springs 65% 5 7% 56%

Rural Developmgnt Exposures 24% 22% 43%

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Thoughmajorityof the other ourist sites n the province ave acilitatesfor accommodation,ood and other services, ourists eldom tayed onger han aday. Fot(ow-upnterviews howed hat a portionof these isitors re rom nearbyprovinces uchas Atbay nd Camarines urand stitt have ime to retum home nthe afternoon. Other visitors, even foreign nationals, referred o stay withretatives r friendswho are residents f the province r stay n So6ogon ity orLegaspi ity n Atbay.Mth this scenario, he tourists isit he sites ust to see he"hightights" r must-see ttmctions n the destinations nd not as an experientialjourneywhere eaming nd nsights maybe cutted rom.za his maybe credited othe fact that visitors re unaware f the different activities vailabte nd hat canbe ananged n each f the tourist sites.

Of he fifty-fourvisitors, 8 %said hey did not purchase nyarts and craftsduring heir trip to the province.On he other hand, an average xpenditure fontyPhp 00.00 as eported y visitors ho bought rts and crafts or souveniB.

The ow ncome nd sates rom arts and crafts can be attributed o the factthat avaitable rts and crafts being otd at souvenir hops nd stores ere n theprovince re atso avaitable t other provlncesn the Bicot Region. n comparison,Atbay ven has more aried ouvenir tems and at a much owerprice.Tourists reinclined o buy arts and crafts at Daraga, tbay were hey can be obtained ven atwholesate rice or bulk purchases. orsogon as o consider reating rts andcrafts hat woutdbe unique nd original o the province n order o capture ndhave place n the market.

Sorsogons rich not ontyn

naturatcological itesbut also n proudof its

culturean_draditions.Many ountries ontinue o equate cotourism ith beingoutdoors.'"Whether uch misdirection eftects aivety r intentional bfuscationand confusion emains o be seen. To gaugewhether he visitors o the provinceare aware of the presence f these cultural heritage and traditions, herespondents ere atso asked f they or their guide arranged or any traditionatdancing, inging, eating ituats or any culturatperformances uring heir trip orstay at the province. esutts ointed ut that none f the visitors or heir guidesarranged or any of the above raditionat/cuttural erformances. ain reasongiven gain s due o tack of awareness hat such activities re availabte nd maybe arranged.

'?4Navarro,D.B.1998,FeasibiLity tudy n a Community-based ustainabte co-tou smlntheButusan olcano ationat arkand Surfounding ommunities. XAs, nc. rosin , 5o6ogon.'?5l,^ader.Ron.Defending he Tourists, Part 1. Planeta orum. t ptaneta,com

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around he world and the growingdesire o see natunl areas before heydisappear.

Based n ntemationat onsumer emands. 0-30%f EuroDeanraveters reaware of needs nd vatues f sustainable ourismwhite 10-20% ook or'creen'options nd 5-10% emand green' hotidays.2T survey f U.S., British; ndAustralianraveters eveated hat 70%woutdpay up to 515-0 ore or a two-weekstay n a hotet with a responsibte nvironmental ttitude." In U.K.,87% ay heirhotiday houtd ot damage he e-nvironment;9% aid hey were prepared o pay5% xtra or ethical guarantees." hisexptains he brisk demand or ecotourismvacations nd activities wortdwide. onsequentty, eventy-four74 %)percent fthe tourists nteMewed n this study said that teaming about nature s animDortant asis r motivation or visitor travel o anv destination.

Visitor's Fees or Consenation nd DeveloDment ctivities. Questionnumber wenty-six f the Visitor Survey onducted s part of the market esearchasked isitors o Sorsogonhe fottowing uestion:

At present, ot matryl very amily n the various ites nthe Province s beneliting rom the arrivat of travelers. t olocally managed und were established or community weuorc,would you object to o small ee being charged as part of thecost of your sit to the site?

Whotwouldbe an acceptable mount?

The visitor survey resutts ndicated a high wittingness o support acommunitymanaged und for communitywetfare. Of the fifty-four visitorsinteMewed, 4.6 % ound no objection o a smatl ee being harged s part of thecost of their visit to Sorsogon. or hose who ound no objection o a sma[[ eebeing harged, ocat ourists uggested n affordabte r minimal ee but gavenospecific mount. oreign ourists n the other hand ecommended hp100.00 eeper visitor.

':7HerbertHamete, cotrans, ermany, 004. www.ecotrancs.orgT Travetbiz, creen s Good or hotet Busines5, Ontine rticte. 29 August 002.http//www.travetbiz.com.au/artcles/14lOc010614.asp. eferencingHEl,2002.3 MORI,Package Hotidays, ,,{OR|, eptember 002.

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Visitor'swittingnesso pay was ound o be highty ubject upon he fundbeing ocattymanagea nd used n support f community etfire. A targenumberof respondents, articutarlyoreign isitors, hose o point out the mportance f

the fee not going ogovemment

gencies. herewasa direct corretation etweenthe respondents' ittingnesso payand he community sbeneficiary. cotourists,as consumers, ften support the importance of tourism benefiting ocatresidents.30

An international urvey evealed hat more han two-thirds f U.S. andAustratianraveters nd 90 % of British ourists onsider ctiveprotection f theenvironment n mportant esponsibitity or tourists.3l raveters re witting o paymore or a stay n a site with a responsibte nvironmental ttitude and nctudingsupport f localcommunities.

Hinderlng actors or VlsltlngOther Parts f Sorsogon

55.8 % of the respondents ere unabte o visit other sites and try thevarious ctivities during heir travel to Sorsogon ue o lack of time (refer oFigure 4). Only6%mentioned bout peace nd security robtems s a hindrancefor exptoring ther parts of the province. Other actors mentioned ere theimpending ruption f the Bulusan olcano, robtem ith transportation nd ackof bankingacitities.

The ack of time to visit other sites s due o the lackof information n heother ourist destinations n the Drovince nd what other actlvities re avaitabteand s being offered on these sites. Tourists arety ravet or simptistic easons.Theyare usuatly repared ndgeneralty heir tinerary s atready mapped ut andarranged. pur of the moment isit to a new destination s not common o firsttime and reouent ravelers like.

Though marginal number onty of the tourists articutated about thesecurity rob{emsn the province, orsogon uffers rom negative ubticityandimage ecause f its peace ndorder situation. t has been a fact that numerous

extra-judiciat ittings ad been documented n the past and remains nsotved p

30 Lindberg, K. and D. Hawklns 19931,Ecotoudsm: A 6uide lor Planners and Al'artugers. ofthBennington,W.: he Ecotourism ociety3rThe Internationat Ecotourism ociety. Ecotourr'sm dct sheet

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to the present. ncounters etween he mititary ndoutlawelements re sporadiFand unDredictabte.

We can presume everal easons why the peace and security situation wasnot considered threat by the tourists nterviewed. First, majority of touristsinterviewed were not from Sorsogon rovincehence were unaware f the presentsituation on peace and security. Second, he tourists maybe were aware of theinsurgency robtems ut they were assured hat tourist destinations re safe andare usualty pared rom these ncidents. Third, here s the preconceived dea hatcrossfire and fighting between mititary and rebets occur in the mountains ndremote rural areas only. Lastty, t was observed hat LocalGovernment Unitsdonot reatly hightight nor express nd report openly probtems n insurgency. his sto discourage egative pubticity which of course woutd affect the town and as aresult prevent he arrivat of tourists. Tourism destinationsr more so ecotourismproducts,

should becontained and free from security probtems hat cannot be

controtled by the management f the area or [oca[ authorities. Otherwise, he tifeand safety of the tourists would be at risk. Safety and security measures reintegrat considerations n choosing n ecotourism ite.

Figure 14: Hindering actors or VisitingOther Parts f Sorsogon

600/o

50%

40va

30%

20o/o

10%00h

1t 36ss E g.g EBE !EgE ,*EE ;_i[$ g-s; i"EE SEEE.E;-- E e.5

.E


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Twenty-five ercent 25 %)said hey woutd ike to visit the Butusan otcanoNaturat Park the next time they visit Sorsogon. Several ourists mentionedspecificatty he activities they woutd tike to try and experience n the site:

t


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CHAPTER

SUMMARYNDCONCLUSION

Based n the resutts f the Visitor Survey, he average ourist o Sorsogons.....

. youngrmostty eenagers nd youngprofessionals

. mostty rom American, European nd AsianCountries

. independent ourist and ravets o Sorsogon /ithouta guide

.has chosen o visit Sorsogon mainly for the opportunity to experienceatternative tourism (whate shark watching/interaction), ducationalpurpose nd recreation

. does not currentty know much about Sorsogon ut woutd ike to learn moreespeciatty bout ts cutture and peopte

. stays an average f 2 to 3 days n Donsot nd tess han a day or the rest ofthe tourist destinations n Sorsogon

. says hat hatf of their vacation ime is on ecotourism ctivities

. dectares hat tearning about nature s an important basis or motivation orvisit or travet o any destination.

Tourists' motivations showed consistency with the patterns of activitiescarried out by the tourists and he sites hey visited. The choices f activities anddestinations ere related o, and resutted rom, tourists' motivations.

The main reason or the majority of visitors comingand visiting Sorsogon sto see he star species whal.e harkwatching/interaction) n Donsot. hese isitorsmay either be bird watchers or eco/nature tourists. Birders are motivatedexctusivety y birds and the witdtife. Setf-described cotourists r nature ouristsare motivated by the naturat environment, irds, and witdtife.

As for the rest of travel in other parts of the province, visitors come orenjoyment, sightseeing nd retaxation. These tourists are catled traveters orgeneral ourists, Motivations f general ourists are varied, but concentration s onthe scenery, waterfat[s, and the hightights f the sites, which n this case s theusuat sun, sand and sea" resorts.

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More than hatf (56.6 %) of the tourists nterviewed were aware that anational park or a protected area exists n Sorsogon rovince. n act, every one of

those who confirmed of having nowtedge f the presence f these sites was abteto visit either he Butusan otcanoNaturatpark or Donsot or the whale snarK.

More han hatf (53.8 %)of the respondents tated hat half of their vacationtime should be spent on ecotourism ctivities and seventy-four 74 %) percent ofthe tourists interviewed n this study said that learning about nature rs animportant basis r motivation or yisit or travet o any destination.

55.8 % of the respondents ere unable to visit other sites and trv thevarious actiyities during their travel to Sorsogon ue to tack of time andinformation. However, ourists o Sorsogon howed nterest o try the various co-tourism activities, nctuding utturat and traditiona{ performances, nd to interactlongerwith he tocaI ommunities.

Lastty, he visitor survey esults ndicated a high wittingness o support acommunitymanaged und or communitywelfare.


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CRITICALSSESSMENT/ANALYSIS

This part of the report shatl focus on discussing he strengths andopponunities f the provinceand dentifying he gaps and problems etated o andconceming cotourism evetopment ased n the market esearch onducted.

OpportunitiesndStrengths

. Presence f Naturat ndCuttural eatures

Sorsogon rovince as atl the necessary esources o embark n ecotourism,There are numerous xisting nd even underutilized nd unexptored cotogicatsites present nd availabte n the province. he wortd'sbiggest ish (whate harkor "butanding") s found n Donsot.Numerous ourismproducts uchas churchruins, he Butusan otcano aturalPark, pristinebeaches, ot and cotd springs,mangroves, aterfatts nd unexptoredstands an be ound n Sorsogon. uringheMutti-sectorat eminar-Workshopn Devetoping n Integrated cotourism tan orSorsogon rovinceetd t the LIKAS-RIDGEn lrosin, orsogon nJune 6-17, 005,one of the outputs were he tisting of existing, merging nd potential ourismdestinations er municipatityn the province. Based n the list, there are moreemerging nd potential ourism ites han existing nes. ptease efer o Annex Bfor comptete ist). There were 32 existing ourism roducts, 5 emerging nd 27potentiat ourismsites dentified. Three municipalities ut of the totat fifteenwere not abte o participate n the said mutti-sectoraI eminar-workshop.

Sorsogon n addition is known for its fiesta cutture. Festivals recetebrations o showcase ow religion, utture and raditions re woven n thepeopte's ay of tife. More commonty nown s iesfas, hese are hetd yearty ocetebrate he foundation f the town, city and even he province r to honor hefeast of its patron aints. Atmost tt he towns elebrate heir own estival whichis anchored n a theme. Kasanggayahanestival hich s the premier estivat fthe province s hetd during the last two weeks of

october eachyear.

ltcommemorateshe foundation f Sorsogon s a province f the Bicot Region. hePiti Festivalwhich s hetd every ast week of June each year n Sorsogon itycetebrates he Piti rees and ts numerous roducts. ver he years, hese estivatshave aken a more unique approach s each town become more nnovative,

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imaginative and creative. Fiestas became much awaited occasions hat bring toforefront the pride of the tocal peopte because t embodies heir arts, talents,resources, ulture and traditions, This s one way of supporting he preservation

and promotion of toca[ arts and cutture inctuding ndigenous olk arts andtraditional cultural artistic forms which are an integral part of locat tourismdevetopment nd promotionefforts.

These ourism activities and sites need to be further devetoDed ith theconsiderations hat the ecotourism product must be unique, cannot beexperienced tsewhere nd buitds on the strengths and attractions of the area.The use of natural settings and attractions n a community s a must but withoutdestroying he environment.

. Increasine nvironmentat wareness nd market or educative ourism DroductsCountries wortdwide have realty nvested on educating and informing he

peopte on the present situation of our natura( resources nd the effects of itsmisuse nd exploitation. Hence he mounting media exposure o naturat esourcesaround the wortd and the growing desire to see naturat areas before theydisaDoear.

There are several easons or increasing ocat community participation n,and benefits rom, ecotourism devetopment. Primarity, when residents eceivebenefits they usualty support ecotourism, even protecting the site against

intrusions. mproved conservation fforts are anticipated both from the visitorsand the tocat residents. Ecotourism s supposed o increase the pubticunderstanding f nature, cutture, development nd retated ssues.

International ourists consider active protection of the environment animportant responsibitity or tourists. Traveters ave shown o be aware of needsand values f sustainable ourism and so hey ook or "green" optionsand demand"green" hotidays^^whenraveting. Ethicat ourism witt rightty be a big issue n thenew mittennium."

Current rend in tourism put emphasis n the knowtedge bout nature and

cutture or the ones nvotved n it. The significance f "learning" as an outcomeof tourists' nteraction with the natural enyironment s one of the major aspect ofecotourism. Market rends show hat present ourists reatly favor, support and

tt Tearfund, Tourism an Ethical ssue: MarketResearch eport", Tearfund, ondon, anuarv 0m.


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choose cotourism roducts ver he usuat ourism ites. ncreasing issatisfactionwith raditionat ourism estinations nd products hifted ravelers' reference ormoreeducative nd chaltenging ariation.

. Wide ranqe of tarset market and ncreasinq esire o visit novel, chattenqinqand adventurous estinations

In 1990s, ourist arrivats grew at seven percent (7 %) per year. -However,tourist arrivats grew gtobatty t ten percent '10%)per year since 2003.'1 ourismis a primaryexport or dollar exchange arner or 83 % of dev-el.opingountries andthe teading xport of one-third 1/3) of poorest ountries." t is the o nly targesector where poor countries have atways posted a surptus. This can be attributedto the fact that it is in these poor or underdeveloped ountries where a huge

portion of these natural and unexplored reas an stitl be found. Furthermore, t isatso n these countries where he presence f rich cultural heritage and raditionscan be found and ndigenous otk arts and ethnic communities tilt exist.

Demand or ecotourism acations s now ncreasing ecause t has proven obe an appropriate trategy or addressing hreats to conservation argets and atthe same ime demonstrated hat tourism need not be massive nd destructive. Asa result, ecotourism estinations nd activities are now the most sought-after ripfor atl types of travelers. The ncrease n media exposure o natural areas aroundthe wortd has resutted n people's craving o see naturat areas and authenticcultural and raditionat arts/performances efore hey disappear.

Ecotourism/nature ourism s growinggtobatty hree (3) times faster thantourism ndustry as a whote.36 Sun and sand resort has now "matured" as amarket. n comparison, experientiat" ourism, which ncludes cotourism, ature,heritage, cutturat, rurat & community ourism and soft adventure ourism, isamong he sectors on the rise rapidly at present. Even ravet to visit novel andremote ecotourism estinations ad posted an increasing rend. There s atwayssomething o offer for everyone.

'" WorldTourismOrganization. orld TourismBarometer. anuary 005.p.2ri Mastny, reading ightLy: ew Paths or International ourism, Wortdwatch aper 59(Washjngton, C:Wortdwatchnstitute, December 00136WortdTourismOrganization, ress elease, une 2004.

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. Revenue eneration

The proposed rovincial ecotourism ramework s anchored n Biodiversity

Conservation nd Sustainabte evetooment. cotourism s a kind of tourism hatconserves he environment and improves the wetfare of the [oca[ peopte.Ecotourism evetopment outd result to: (1) source of tivetihoods; 2) non-farmtivelihoodopportunities; 3) education and training; (4) enterprises; 5) cutturalenrichment; and (6) improved heatthcare, nfrastructure and services o name afew. Though onservation nd management f the naturat esources s the primarygoal n ecotourism, t cannot be denied hat it is seen as a move owards povertyatteviation nd reduction.

The expectation n what tourism can give s high. Tourismundeniabty taysa big part in the economy. In 20-04, ourism contributed gtobatty n estimated S5.49 rittion of economic ctivity." lt is considered s the largest business ectorin the wortd economy hat approximately emptoys 200 mittion -people, andaccounts or one n every 12 or eight percent 8 %)of jobs wortdwide.'o

In Donsot, everal esidents ad started operating homestays here ouristscan be accommodated uring peak months of the whate shark season. he boatoperators and interaction officers for whate shark watching and interaction aretocals who had undergone raining and are certified by the Tourism Councit.Operators of the transport sector are mainly tocat residents and several oodestablishments ave operated atong he tourist area. Owners f the five (5) resortstocated atong Dancalan each, nctuding he staff emptoyed, re att residents f

Donsot. ervices uch as massage re avai(able wherein ocal masseurs re on cattstatus. Several ouvenir hoDs an be found near the Tourism Office that offersarts and crafts made and produced n the province.

Ecotourism s seen as a tool for sustainabte evetopment hrough propermanagement, rotection and conservation f natural and cutturat esources hiteat the same time generating obs and businesses or the locat people. Localresidents an be employed s tourist guides, boatmen or make handicrafts o settto visitors as souvenirs. Ecotourism ostering entrepreneurship mong he locatscan contribute o increasing roductivityof the peopte, economic devetopmentand poverty eduction.

" wotto travet ano rounsm ounctL. ravet(London, 004ip.4.It MinletReport, Eco and EthicalTourism.

and Tourism orging head: Executi\Summary

UK",October 001.


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. Not att destinations ave basic necessarv acitities

Presence nd availabitity of visitor acilities and services s a major eature

of a viable ourism product. The expectations f visitors shoutd be futfitted, andpreferabty xceeded, y the activities, services nd acitities offered.

Some esort and business stabtishment wners are nsensitive o the needsof the visitors. Sometimes he carrying capacity of the site is insufficient toaccommodate arge number of tourists present n the area. Facitities houtd ot beexactly state of the art, but should rather blend with the naturat and existingenvironment. uxurious ourism acitities might destroy and atter the atmospherethus precaution shoutd be practiced n making renovations nd improvements.Basic amenities shoutd nctude presence of adequate ctean restrooms, safedrinkingwater, ctean and convenient estaurants, nvironment riendty structures,

equipment nd urniture. Services vaitabte hould onsist f medical and irst aidfacilities, ire prevention, afety and security measures, mplementation f a sotidwaste management nd disposal ystem o name a few. Communication s stitltacking n some areas and access o sites s sometimes ifficutt due to timitedvehicle rips. LikeMse o be considered s the quatity and levels of seMces andfacilitiesoffered.

Absence f basic necessary acitities may result o overcrowding, xcessivedevelopment nd environmentat isksand degradation.

. lnsufficient nformation.weak promotion nd market channetsAn extremety mportant side of good eco-tourism practice is educating

onesetf about the destination prior to departure. Learning about the historycutture, language nd naturat environment of the destination aids both cutturatinteraction and appreciation f locat ecosystems. nformation houtdbe availabtefrom libraries, our operators, ourism offices and visitorcenters on arrival.

Most tourism destinations n the Drovince ack information materials.Existing rochures eed o be updated and mproved. Signages here visitors canget basic ourism nformation on how to reach ourism destinations re lacking.Even ourism offices and visitor centers do not have updated nformationmaterialsto hetp make he visit easier, more manageable nd hassle-free o the tourists.

Tourists ome mainty o Donsol ue to the whale sharks nd because t hasbeen heavity promoted tocatty and internationatty with assistance rom the

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DeDartment f Tourism. Donsol ad ts share of exposures n internationat ourismand travet magazines, etevision documentaries, rite'ups n major national andinternationat newspapers, nd personal estimonies f satisfied isitors o name a

few. Visitors o Donsol everthetess ave ittte knowtedge n what other tourismsites and destinations xist in the province outside of Donsol.Furthermore, Yerytittte is known on what a tourist can do on a particutar site. As mentioned n theresutts of the visitor survey, numerous co-tourism ctivities, nctuding culturaland raditional performances, re avaitabte n other parts of sorsogon. owever,targe portionof tourists had no dea hat these activities are being offered and areDossibte.

Promotions are activities that communicate he merits of the tourismproduct and hereby persuade he target market o visit or experience t. The ackof sufficient nformation avaitable o tourists s reftective of the weak promotion

and marketing of tourism destinations n the province. Brochures, tyers, tetra-media (radio, etevision, print and etectronic), and the internet (webpage nd e-news(etter) re examples f marketing materiats which needs o be improved andupgraoeo.

Linking with different tourism estabtishments ike hotets, restaurants'airtines, bus and rain terminals, ourist nformation enters' ravet agencies, ouroDerators and even through internet is one approach of marketing tourismp;oducts. The absence of coordination and tinking with tourism destinationsihrough market channets s noticeabte n the province hus delivery of tourismservices s more often detayed and uncoordinated. his is atso one factor why

timely and accurate nformationdoes not reach he tourists.

. Levelof social and Dotitical uDDort

Evenat national evet, ourism planners roposed hat for ecotourism o besustainabte, ewer interventions houtd be made by the government ector andmore involvement n the private sector s encouraged. he probtem s actualtypotiticat n nature. The tevet of support rom the tocat government s dependenton the officiat's or administration's enure.

Since ecotourism s a community based effort, tourism devetopment houtdbenefit he locat community ince he destination s where he community an atsobe found. The (ocat esidents houtd enefit atso rom ecotourism nd not just theresort owners and tour operators. When residents eceive benefits hey usuattysupport ecotourism, even protecting he site against ntrusion. However, f the


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Conclusion

Forty"fivehousand inehundred nd ony fiYe 45,945) ourists rrived nSorsogon rovincen 2005, f whom ne housand ive hundred nd welve 1,512)are oreign ationats. Attof the registered oreign ourists o the province isitedDonsotor whate hark watching nd nteraction. hese igures re consistent ithearlier projection y the Department f Tourism hich ecognizes he prospectsand potential of Donsot s an ecotourism estination. he tourist market ofSorsogon ttracts and fascinates a wide range of traveters and visitors.Accordingty,his s the potentialmarket hat the province opes o capture ndentice or its ecotourism ndustry.An ncreasing nnual rowth n tourist arrivatsover he next severat ears s pOected.

Existingourism n the provinces mosttymass ourism.However, mergingmarket or nature-based ndeducation ourism s apparent. ost f the tourists othe provincewere younghence he growing nterest or adventure ourismwasatsonoted. Unfortunatety, good umber f the ecotourism ites nd activitie

market research 2007

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