TOURISM IN THE PHILIPPINES: A VIEW FROM THE UNDERSIDE

An Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism and Peace for Life Consultation

2008 OCTOBER 21-23 | QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

A Moral Economy of Tourism

By REV. EVERETT MENDOZA, D. THEOL.

OCTOBER 22, 2008

Introduction: “Tourism is truly a dynamo of the Philippine economy” – tourism czar Ace Durano. He goes on to say that the bottom line of the tourism industry is how much dollars tourists are going to put into the economy. That one-liner represents official and real government view of the tourism industry. It is common knowledge, however, that tourism in this country owes part of its success to a dark side—the loosening of environmental regulations, the invasive penetration of traditional and indigenous culture, the disruption of local livelihood, the prostitution of women and children. The moral balance sheet of tourism in the Philippines appears to be heavy on the negative side.

Not too long ago, I had a conversation with a middle-aged European woman tourist who happened to be a houseguest of a university colleague. She said my country was endowed with great natural beauty, which is very attractive to international tourists. She was going back home with a very nice tan and a healthier and a sunny attitude towards herself. As our dinner chat was about to end, she said that the Philippines should focus on developing tourism as the country’s major industry and in order to preserve the natural environment we should avoid the path of industrialization that is making many Asian countries dirty and ugly. Tourists from Europe, she said, would not want come to the Philippines only to see an image of their own countries. What was supposed to be a quite hour of dinner and conversation turned into a long and loud discussion that left both of us angry. I had one too many cups of coffee and cost our hosts lots of cookies.

She was really a nice lady with a good heart. Her appreciation of the beautiful places she saw made my proud of my country. But her contact with the Filipino was only skin-deep perhaps because she was shown only what her money could buy. The young ladies who served her were pretty, neat, cheerful and friendly but she didn’t know where they came from and what kind of things they had to bear with to impress the guests.

Tourism is indeed a dynamo of the economy but it is a dynamo filled with ambiguities and contradictions. Of course, no part of the economy—whatever type of economy it is—can be entirely free of ambiguities and contradictions. But this reality is no more palpable and morally compelling than in the national tourism industry. Tourism is more than all the statistics put together. It defines national identity. It is a measure of a people’s pride and self-esteem. It is the face that others see them. Tourism is a window to a people’s soul. What has become of a people inside their land and sea and their bodies is laid open for the whole world to see. When people of other lands come to see us, is it pride or shame that we feel, or both?

An Ethical Profile of Tourism

Tourism poses to the church as an intractable moral dilemma. Its ethical terrain is not composed of black and white choices but varying shades of black and white. And the church seems ill equipped to deal with it as a whole. Certain aspects of tourism which are palpably immoral, such as the sexual trafficking of young children and the promotion of gambling are easy targets of church denunciations. Even then, these immoral practices are viewed in isolation, removed from the industry that thrives in them. The popular line of argument is that tourism is good by itself but is spoiled by rotten practices. The government promotes clean and wholesome tourism but certain greedy and immoral officials give the industry a bad image. It is necessary to rid tourism of undesirable practices, but since it is impossible to insulate it against bad elements the most that can be done is to minimize its abuse by unscrupulous individuals. The problem for moralists is not tourism itself but its malpractice. This understanding, however, is deceptive in its simplistic view of society and its institutions since it conveniently ignores the fact that social institutions are historical extensions of human proclivities and goals. A nation’s tourism industry is a function of the so-called developmental goals of the state which, in turn is shaped by the economic and political ideology of the governing authorities.

A less simplistic view is that tourism is a morally ambiguous undertaking that has both good and bad aspects. It means that tourism is definitely beneficial to society but it also has a dark side. It brings good things to society but it also causes unwanted effects like a toxic waste product, unintended but unavoidable, like the collateral damage of wars. If we wish to enjoy tourism’s blessings, we must also be willing to accept its vices. The ensuing moral problem is basically a matter of maintaining a positive balance in favor of the benefits over and against the ill effects. This line of argument is insidious in that it minimizes the moral responsibility of those behind the tourism industry and engenders a cavalier attitude towards its victims.

The Political and Moral Economy of Tourism

More than going after the malpractitioners or balancing the good and bad sides of tourism, it is necessary to come up with an ethical judgment on the nature of tourism in its concrete historical context. There is no need to belabor the fact that tourism as an industry is an integral part of the national economy and that its nature is in the main shaped by the country’s position in the international economic order. Historically, the economic development of the Philippines has been designed to meet the needs of the world’s great industrial powers, particularly the United States, for cheap raw materials, cheap labor and market for its industrial products and finance capital. Given that framework of international relationship, the Philippines is not supposed to create things that make a modern industrial society but to be ogled at and enjoyed by tourists for its natural beauty and ability to entertain. As a nation, we are not meant to develop like the leading economies of the world but to do what we are good at—to amuse, entertain and refresh the work-weary workers of the industrial world (so-called theory of comparative advantage). And so, there is a disproportionate abundance of capital for building world-class hotels and beach resorts compared to building the nation’s industrial capacity.

While it is true that tourism brings in billions of dollars to the economy, in the end the whole nation is diminished, both materially and morally. In 2007, foreign tourists injected US$ 4.9 billion into the national economy. This year, the industry hopes to earn US$ 5.8. The amount of energy and attention devoted to the development of tourism industry seem to have taken precedence over agrarian reform, food security, social services and industrial development. In the commercial exchange of goods and services, foreign visitors unload a portion of their surplus wealth, which is already a considerable fortune to the host country, but leave behind a people even more addicted to quick money from outside. The income derived from tourism is a hefty contribution to the nation’s GDP but it draws the nation’s material and human resources away from the path of genuine national development.

Tourism is the quintessence of neo-colonial oppression. In the context of neo-colonial relations, tourism on the part of politically marginalized nations is invasive in every sense of the word. The environment has to be made up and enhanced like a woman’s body—sorry for the analogy—to make it look more natural, that is, suitable to tourist fantasies of paradise, never mind if it is disruptive of local economies and cultures. Our songs and dances and arts are produced and sold as commodities to please the customers to the extent that we have forgotten how to sing and dance and create for ourselves. Finally, tourism gives this invasion a benevolent, harmless and friendly face. Welcome to the Philippines! You may have our home and, if you like, our children, too.

From the moral point of view, tourism is a parable of the exploitation and abuse of subject people. The prostitution of women and young children recapitulates the history of the conquest, subjugation, exploitation and humiliation of colonies and neo-colonies. The special treatment given to foreign tourists by local officials and law enforcement agents depicts the heartless and shameful collusion of the national government with foreign vested interests. When fishermen no longer go out to the sea to fish but spend the day at beach resorts waiting for tourists to hire their boats, there we see a microcosm of the Philippine economy that is sustained by the service sector here and abroad rather than by producing goods to meet the needs of the population. You want to see inside the soul of a people, look at its tourism industry.

The Moral Dilemma

But here is the moral dilemma. In the struggle to overcome a bad system, somehow we must learn to live with it. In the same way, while the tourism industry of marginalized countries is on the whole exploitative and demeaning it is a legitimate source of living for many people. Without glossing over the violence and abuse suffered by innocent women and children, the disruption of communities and the corruption of native culture, it is nevertheless providing opportunities for many others to engage in decent and creative activities. The irony and ambivalence of living rightly in an evil environment is supremely illustrated in the tourism industry.

Some insights may be gained from the story of Adam and Eve when they were driven out of paradise. In the story of creation in the Book of Genesis, God created Eden to be the home of the first man and woman. Not only are they driven out of paradise, henceforth they must fulfill their life’s duties under a curse—childbirth which is the woman’s duty will be accompanied with great pain and making a living is going to hard toil for the man. What they must do in order to live and realize their humanity is at the same time a reminder of their existence under the shadow of sin. Only when they are saved from a state of sin may they fulfill their true vocation as beings created in the image of God. But till then, every act of loving and working is inevitably tainted with shame and guilt. Relating this theological understanding to our subject, it means that no aspect of tourism in the context of unjust and exploitative social relations is free from exploitation and abuse. And yet, this is the kind of world that many people must engage in order to live.

The Christian Bible has 66 books. Between the first book, entitled Genesis or Beginning and the last book named Revelation which is a vision of the end of time the Bible is a record of testimonies of people who struggled to do what is right under the shadow of sin. Every situation is a temptation to sin but also an opportunity to overcome sin. But each victory against sin is but a temporary respite until the time when God would redeem and renew the whole creation. This biblical insight may serve as a guide to living with the dilemma that is tourism in a neo-colonial society.

While we cannot challenge the entire tourism industry, every aspect of it may be considered an opportunity to put it right. We need to work for a legal infrastructure that protects the health, safety and moral integrity of people involved in the industry. Law enforcement should be complemented by an independent watchdog with quasi-legal authority to discourage collusion of officers of the law with unscrupulous private entities in the industry. Finally, tourism industry workers and managers will benefit from a continuous educational campaign aimed at raising their awareness of its perils and pitfalls and also raising their political consciousness.

Conclusion: Christian believers must face the ambiguities of living under oppressive and dehumanizing conditions but in the hope of attaining liberation and freedom. The liberation or redemption of tourism from exploitative and abusive practices will take place alongside the continuing advance of the struggle to create a just and humane society. This means to say that every effort to reform Philippine tourism should be viewed and undertaken as an integral part of the larger social project to achieve basic reforms in Philippine society.

Related pages:

• Unity Statement: Tourism in the Philippines: A View from the Underside
• PfL, ECOT, Philippine groups probe impacts of global tourism
• State and Trends of Global Tourism: Setting the Context