TOURISM POLICY

Platform

is a common theme shared by studies on tourism, similar to a paradigm — a way of viewing tourism, identifying key issues, and thinking of solutions. How tourism is viewed shapes how it is planned and developed. The first four platforms come from Jafari (1999); the fifth is from Todes (2011).

• Advocacy Platform

• Cautionary Platform

• Adaptancy Platform

• Knowledge-based Platform

• Social Justice Platform

Types of Platform

Advocacy Platform

Sees tourism as a good thing; celebrates its positive economic, environmental, and social impacts. Key statement: “Tourism is an instrument for achieving national development.”

• Generates foreign exchange, creates employment, modernizes a country, uplifts the poor.

• Called a “clean industry” (no smoke/pollution); revitalizes cultural traditions.

• Promotes world peace through mutual understanding.

• End result: mass tourism.

Advocacy Platform

Related theories: Modernization theory and Trickle-down theory.

Cautionary Platform

Views tourism as a bad thing; highlights the negative effects of mass tourism caused by the advocacy platform.

• Cosmetic development — poverty hidden behind hotels, airports, malls.

• Low-paying, seasonal jobs.

• Demonstration effect — locals adopt tourists' styles/manners, causing loss of tradition.

• Exploitation of vulnerable groups (poor, women, children, minorities).

• Resentment/xenophobia (excessive, irrational fear or anger toward foreigners) between hosts and tourists.

• Pollution and biodiversity loss.

Cautionary Platform

Conclusion: tourism should not be pursued at all.

Related theories: Dependency theory and Irridex (Irritation Index) model.

Adaptancy Platform

Acknowledges mass tourism's negative impacts but believes they can be minimized through “alternative forms of tourism” such as eco-tourism and community-based tourism.

Knowledge-Based Platform

Uses information and data to make better decisions about tourism development and management.

Social Justice Platform

Embraces a participatory process: open dialogue, inclusivity, resource distribution, equity, equality, pro-poor planning, gender sensitivity, and responsiveness to diversity (Todes 2011). Planners must see themselves as “agents of social change” (Lew 2007), tasked with defending the weak.

Advocacy

Positive — economic/social/environmental good

Advocacy Related Theories

Modernization theory; Trickle-down theory

Cautionary

Negative — mass tourism causes harm

Cautionary Related Theories

Dependency theory; Irridex model

Adaptancy

Mixed — negatives minimized via alternative tourism

Adaptancy Related Theories

Eco-tourism, community-based tourism

Knowledge-based

Neutral — data-driven decision making

Social Justice

Equity-focused — participatory, pro-poor

Social Justice Related Theories

Planners as “agents of social change” (Lew 2007)

• Laissez Faire Theory

• Modernization Theory

• Trickle-Down Theory

• Neoliberal Theory

Theories Related to the Advocacy Platform

Laissez Faire Theory

French for “leave it be.” Assumes tourism functions best when left solely to market forces (liberal economic theory) — government does not intervene through policy, plans, regulation, guidelines, codes, or standards.

Modernization Theory

Assumes tourism transforms “traditional” societies into “modern” ones, improving living standards via technology transfer, skills improvement, and adoption of “Western culture.” Critics note it can favor “new over old,” destroying heritage sites and local cultures.

Trickle-Down Theory

Related to modernization theory. Assumes economic growth improves living conditions for everyone, “from the hotel manager to the cigarette vendor.” Linked to the multiplier effect, where the value of original tourist spending grows as money passes between economic sectors.

Neoliberal Theory

Economy functions best with minimal government intervention — but unlike laissez faire (no control at all), neoliberalism accepts government regulation while rejecting government as a business competitor. In the Philippines: deregulation of the airline industry, privatization of government-controlled tourism assets

Dependency Theory

Tourism can worsen the plight of “Third World” countries because “First World” countries exploit and siphon off their resources.

Irridex Model (Irritation Index)

Planners must prevent undue stress on host residents caused by the influx of tourists.

Irridex Model (Irritation Index)

• Euphoria

• Apathy

• Annoyance

• Antagonism

No planning

common when supply/demand is underdeveloped, visitation is too small to have impact, tourism isn't a priority, or the LGU lacks planning capacity/budget.

Ad-hoc planning

planning only as needs arise (e.g., a fiesta or VIP visit); piecemeal, no established tourism agenda. Related to issue-based planning (Dredge & Jenkins 2007).

Integrated Tourism Planning

tourism planned as an integrated system within itself and with overall development patterns (Chaisawat, n.d.); must be compatible with existing economic activities and local values. Example: the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) — divided the Philippines into 20 tourism clusters, built around tourism development areas → tourist sites → tourist attractions.

Boosterist Approach

Sees tourism as a positive force for growth; goal is to maximize tourism revenue through mass tourism. Strategies: expand physical capacity, run heavy international promotion. Success indicators: tourist arrivals/receipts (demand side); hotel rooms/air seats (supply side). Can be product-led, market-led, State-led, industry-led, or public-private shared.

Product-Led Development

“Build it and they will come.” Provide infrastructure/facilities/amenities first. May fail if the target market is indifferent — mitigated through a tourism resource inventory and product-market matching.

Spatial Planning Approach

A wider-scale form of product-led planning; focuses on “destination layout and design,” breaking tourism into spatial units — gateways, communities, access routes, attraction complexes (Dredge & Jenkins 2007). Gunn and Var (2002, in Chaisawat n.d.) identify three spatial scales:

Site scale

individual property (hotel, resort, restaurant).

Destination scale

a community and surrounding areas.

Regional scale

province, region, or country.

Demand-Led Approach

“Know the customer and satisfy them” — akin to Kotler's marketing orientation. Important because (1) the product must be designed around the market, and (2) demand projections guide expansion of physical capacity.

Bureaucratic / Government-Led Approach

Government is the central, multi-tasking actor, using advocacy, money, action, and laws (Dredge & Jenkins 2007) — e.g., infrastructure, marketing, education, research, and laws on zoning, building, safety, and foreign investment.

Central Planning Approach

National-level agencies perform all tourism planning functions. Example: North Korea — government owns all hotels, restaurants, resorts, Koryo Airlines, and tourism buses; runs the Pyongyang Tourism College; requires a local guide with tourists 24/7.

Devolved Planning Approach

Local government units control tourism planning for their own jurisdictions. In the Philippines, devolution was mandated by Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991).

Middle Path Approach (Bhutan Model)

The opposite of boosterism — low volume, high yield (Scheyvens 2007). Bhutan imposes strict controls on tourism type/volume to maximize revenue while minimizing harm to religion, culture, and environment, guided by “Gross National Happiness.” Tourists must spend a high minimum amount per day, which screens out budget travelers who could otherwise alter Bhutanese culture.

Environmental Approach

Works best where the area has outstanding natural beauty, is remote, lacks commercial electric/water services, or is legally protected (e.g., protected areas, ancestral domains). Example: Palawan, protected under the Strategic Environmental Plan (RA 7611), which bans total commercial logging in old-growth and residual forests.

Carrying Capacity

One of the most important environmental-planning concepts: the minimum number of people who may visit a destination at the same time without causing destruction of the physical, economic, or socio-cultural environment, or an unacceptable drop in visitor satisfaction (UNWTO 1981, in Massiani & Santoro 2012).

Ecotourism Approach

Per DOT (2002): a form of sustainable tourism within a natural/cultural heritage area, fostering community participation, protection/management of resources, environmental education and ethics, and economic benefits for host communities and visitor satisfaction. Emphasizes environmental and cultural dimensions of sustainability.

Social Approach

Emphasizes stakeholder roles in planning; directs benefits and control of resources toward the community and vulnerable groups.

Participatory / Stakeholder Approach

Puts people at the center; each stakeholder has a say in decisions. Advantage: builds ownership of the plan → smoother implementation (Hall 1999). Disadvantage: strong disagreements can make consensus hard to reach.

Community-Based Tourism (CBT)

“Tourism that is owned and/or managed by communities and intended to deliver wider community benefit” (Armstrong 2012). Core idea: community control over the tourism enterprise.

Pro-Poor Approach (PPT)

“Tourism that generates net benefits for the poor” (Ashley, Roe & Goodwin 2001); prioritizes the needs of the poor over externally-oriented growth (Potter 1999, in Scheyvens 2007). Assumes trickle-down does not happen automatically — needs deliberate government/agency intervention.

Fair Trade Tourism

A response to conventional trade's failure to deliver sustainable livelihoods in the poorest countries (World Fair Trade Organization 2009) — essentially akin to pro-poor tourism. Based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, seeking equity in international trade.

Sustainable Tourism Approach

Tourism developed without damaging natural or cultural resources, so future generations can also enjoy them. Supported by the triple bottom line:

• People – Place – Profit, or equivalently

• Equity – Environment – Economy

Republic Act 9593 — Tourism Act of 2009

Section 2 sets out the overall Philippine tourism policy, signaling strong government support and investment attractiveness. Paragraph C favors sustainable tourism development: ecologically sustainable, responsible, participative, culturally sensitive, economically viable, and ethically/socially equitable.

Republic Act 9593 — Tourism Act of 2009

• Preferential employment of Filipino nationals.

• Prevention of exploitation of women and children in tourism.

• Government assistance via competitive investment incentives.

• Enhanced tourism data collection, analysis, and dissemination.

• Responsible, environmentally sound, community-participatory tourism (including indigenous peoples).

• Progressive development of civil aviation, land, and sea transport policy related to tourism.

• Also describes the National Tourism Organization machinery — the government agencies planners must deal with at each stage.

Republic Act 7586 — National Integrated Protected Areas (NIPAS) Act of 1992

Allows tourism in protected landscapes/seascapes (Par. I, Sec. 4) — defined as areas of national significance showing harmonious interaction of man and land, offering recreation/tourism within normal lifestyle and economic activity.

Section 20 prohibited acts: hunting/possessing plants or animals without permit; dumping harmful waste; unpermitted use of motorized equipment; defacing/destroying objects of natural beauty or cultural interest.

Penalty: ₱5,000–₱500,000 fine (exclusive of damages) and/or 1–6 years imprisonment.

NIPAS coverage (DENR): 109 protected areas over 3.50M hectares (11.67% of the country's land area) — 29 marine PAs (1.37M ha) and 80 terrestrial PAs (2.13M ha).

Mt. Apo Natural Park: 3,143.6 m — highest point and mountain in the Philippines.

Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park: 359,486 ha — biggest protected area.

Total protected land area: 4.02M hectares (DENR 2014).

Presidential Decree 1151 — Philippine Environmental Policy

Section 4 requires all national government agencies/instrumentalities, GOCCs, and private entities to prepare and file a detailed environmental impact statement for actions/projects significantly affecting environmental quality.

Presidential Decree 1586 — Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System

Helps project proponents weigh environmental repercussions before construction begins, and helps government agencies decide on issuing an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

Republic Act 9729 — Climate Change Act of 2009

Responds to the Philippines' vulnerability to climate change impacts — rising seas, changing landscapes, more frequent/severe droughts, fires, floods, and storms, climate-related illness, and biodiversity loss affecting environment, culture, and economy.

Republic Act 7611 — Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan Act

A national law specific to Palawan, the Philippines' “last frontier.” Establishes the Environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN) — a grading system of protection/development control over all of Palawan (tribal lands, forests, mines, agriculture, settlements, mangroves, reefs, seagrass beds, and surrounding sea), allowing tourism only in certain zones.

Republic Act 8749 — Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999

Maintains healthy air quality by controlling pollution from vehicles, industrial plants, and area sources. Provided for phase-out of leaded gasoline, anti-smoke-belching rules, banning ozone-depleting substances, and smoking prohibitions in public places.

Republic Act 9275 — Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004

Prevents pollution of water bodies from land-based sources (e.g., wastewater discharge); streamlines processes for preventing, controlling, and abating water pollution.

Republic Act 9003 — Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000

Adopts a comprehensive solid waste management program with guidelines/targets for waste avoidance and volume reduction — composting, recycling, reuse, recovery, and green charcoal processing before collection.

Republic Act 9710 — The Magna Carta of Women

Emphasizes gender equality and women's empowerment in decision-making, employment, training, and compensation. Complementary laws penalize abuse, prostitution, and trafficking of women and children.

Republic Act 8371 — The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997

Protects indigenous peoples' (IPs) rights over ancestral lands, freedom from discrimination, and respect for their customs, traditions, values, and beliefs. Grants the right to participate in decision-making on policies affecting them, and defines ancestral domains/lands (including sacred places and traditional hunting/fishing grounds).

Republic Act 7277 — Magna Carta for Disabled Persons

Relevant provisions include tax incentives for private entities that employ Persons with Disability (PWDs).