Tourism matters

I think Filipinos don't need to be convinced that the Philippines has great tourist destinations, and that we ourselves can be tourists in our own country.

- TONYO CRUZ

The trouble begins with what links tourists, foreign and local, to the destinations. Airports in this country seem to be too small for big dreams. Just like a lot of infrastructure built supposedly on our behalf, they are often too tiny, too boring, too inaccessible to the common person.

The airports are often cut off from the public transport system. This is unlike most other airports elsewhere in the world where they are part of the routes of trains and buses.

Most Philippine airports' default connections to the public transport system are private taxi and car rental services owned by officials or persons close or related to them or to other powerful persons.

Then, there are the hotel rooms and other accommodations. Except perhaps for Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Baguio, most other supposed destinations don't have adequate hotel rooms for millions of supposedly potential visitors.