Organizing for Sustainable Eco-tourism

This is a follow-up to the column I wrote last week. I had to write this because of information that the eco-tourism effort in Calicoan Island is not well organized, if at all.

There is no association that involves an extensive private sector membership.
           
To make eco-tourism succeed, it is important that “Destination Management Organizations” or DMOs be active participants in promoting tourism. The DMOs include local government units (Municipal Government of Guiuan), Non-Government Organizations (e.g. local chamber of commerce and hotel and restaurant association), community and indigenous representatives (association of fisher folks), and the academe or schools (Eastern Samar State University – Guiuan Campus).
           
They will play significant roles in land-use planning, business permits and zoning controls, environmental and other regulations, and many other strategies that can attract tourists.
           
Proper organization efforts are needed to make eco-tourism sustainable. Along with this are activities which emphasize the dissemination of information, benefits residents (e.g. employment), conserves resources and respects local culture and traditions.
           
Again, I emphasize the organizational aspect because the other activities are done by active organizations that are aware that eco-tourism should be sustainable.
           
For a place that is just starting to focus on tourism and get to be noticed at the national level (to some extent, also at an international level), it is expected that organizations will need to mature and understand their roles better, consistent with sustainable tourism.
           
It might also be important for these organizations to know their limitations. They must seek help from the outside (e.g. experts) of those are not available locally. For example, making a thorough Tourism Master Plan requires the help of experts with experience in this job. The conduct of an advertising campaign also requires the assistance of experts who know how to penetrate and get a sizeable share of the tourism market.

How to get things moving in the right direction is a challenge that the entire community has to grapple with so that they will reap the benefits of this rare resource – being a tourist destination.