'Iloilo City cleaner than New York City’s Queens’

“I come from a poor family, I have seen poverty. The poor need respect, and it begins with cleanliness.”
--Narendra Modi

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- A Filipino-American vacationer from New York City has agreed with Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin that “Iloilo City now looks like Singapore in terms of cleanliness and orderliness.”
Rommel Leal, 48, who lives in Jamaica in New York City, said he wanted to see for himself if Bersamin’s observations about Iloilo City were true, thus “surveyed” the City of Love when he went home for a week-long vacation first week of April this year.
Bersamin and his wife were reportedly impressed by the city’s cleanliness, including the Iloilo River, when they visited Iloilo City during the 17th National Convention of Lawyers held at the Iloilo Convention Center from March 28-31, 2019.
“In fact, Iloilo City is cleaner than the Queens (a borough in New York City),” said Leal, who grew up in Lambunao, Iloilo.

Queens is known for the JFK and LaGuardia, the two important New York City airports. It is also known for the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a remnant of the 1964 World's Fair. Nearby are CitiField (home of the Mets) and the Arthur Ashe Stadium, home to the US Open Tennis tournament.
“Every morning, I saw a lot of street sweepers combing the highways, especially in the Iloilo Business Park and in the Diversion Road,” observed Leal.

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Leal hailed the local government’s efforts to maintain cleanliness and orderliness in Iloilo City even as he noted “an apparent increase in the number of tourist arrival” during his short visit.
Leal had intended to spend only his time in Boracay in Malay, Aklan in his recent vacation, but decided to travel in other parts of Panay on his way to Iloilo City “to find out if there were any physical progress and development outside Metro Manila.”
“I became curious when Chief Justice Bersamin praised Iloilo City and compared it to Singapore,” he said. “From Boracay I traveled to Iloilo City and passed by Antique and Capiz.”
Leal said he noticed that Roxas City had a “poor and undeveloped highways including the Passi City roads while progress was seen in the roads in Antique and in the municipalities of San Joaquin and Guimbal in the first district of Iloilo.”

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He also credited the Duterte administration for the progress in Mactan International Airport where he arrived from the US on his way to Boracay.
Leal said he surmised that because of the many infrastructure projects that are visible all over the country undertaken under the present administration, “people might ignore the issues about the president family’s alleged involvement in the narco business as alleged by a certain video maker Bikoy.”
Because of what he saw, Leal vowed to encourage other US-based Filipinos to visit Iloilo City and Panay Island “so they can also witness for themselves how tourism there has developed by leaps and bounds.”
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Ilonggos’ hospitality is tourism’s No. 1 promoter

“We didn't invent anything new. Hospitality has been around forever.”
-- Joe Gebbia

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- We can hold the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City in the Philippines multiple times in one year to attract tourists from all corners of the globe, but if we have a lousy hospitality, tourism will stagnate if not nosedive.
As an annual cultural and religious event held in the fourth week of January each year, the Dinagyang Festival has already captured the world’s imagination what with the digital media technology aside from the Dinagyang ati tribe’s consistent international rendezvous these past seven years, helping provide a colossal publicity and massive promotional tableau.
Dinagyang Festival has reached its peak in as far as universal recognition is concerned.
It is primarily well-advertised there in the Youtube, lionized and chronicled heavily in international journals and flight magazines, and is known all over the social media.
What the stakeholders, led by our officials from the Iloilo City Government, the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Provincial Government of Negros, Guimaras, Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, and Capiz should do now is strengthen the infrastructure and the backbones of Iloilo City and the Western Visayas’ tourism programs.

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This can be done by encouraging investors to build more hotels and resorts, and other entertainment hubs all over Panay Island and Western Visayas, or within the tourism belts where tourism spots are located like in Carles, Iloilo; Anini-y, Antique; Caticlan, Aklan; Pan-ay, Capiz; the island province of Guimaras; Talisay City, Cadiz City, Mambukal, among other known tourist spots in Negros Occidental.
There should be regular trade missions abroad to be participated by the regional provincial governments akin to the trade and economic mission undertaken by the Iloilo City Government in the East Coast in the United States in June 2018.
We should also invest more on the manpower and hospitality by recruiting tourism personnel and train them to become effective tourism ambassadors.
These tourism emissaries must see to it that each year when tourists from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Europe arrive for the Dinagyang Festival as well as other similar festivals and events in Iloilo City and in other parts of Western Visayas, these tourists must have the reason to come back or invite, motivate, and bring their fellow nationals.

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It has been proven that tourists are encouraged to come back when they feel a certain extraordinary warmth and peaceful climate even if they are not so head-over-heels by the local festivals and events.
When they see amiable and smiling faces and local folks who can easily and effectively communicate in English, the tourism destination becomes a second priority.
In a sustained tourism promotion, there is no substitute for hospitality.
And we have abundance of it.
When the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), led by Governor Thawatchai Arunyik, conceptualized the “Amazing Thailand” and promoted it internationally in 2015, it was supplemented by a "Discover Thainess" campaign.
The campaign incorporated the "twelve values" that Thai junta leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wanted all Thais to practice.
Due to the "Discover Thainess" campaign, Thai tourism officials foresee a large increase in tourist numbers even as Ms Somrudi Chanchai, director of the TAT Northeastern Office, has forecast that tourists to her Isan region will increase by 27.9 million visitors and thus generate an expected 65 billion baht in revenue.
We can generate more funds in tourism, and with our vast resources and God-given natural wonders and sparkling destinations, the sky is the limit.

A whirlwind of pride for Ilonggos

"You don't stumble upon your heritage. It's there, just waiting to be explored and shared."
--Robbie Robertson

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- There is always an element of pride and exhilaration etched on the face of any Ilonggo anywhere in the world when random discussions take a spiral on the Dinagyang Festival.
Ilonggos are always brimming with so much excitement and enthusiasm once someone brings out the topic on Iloilo City's annual cultural and religious festivities that last for a week highlighted by a fluvial parade, colorful ati dance competitions, among other cultural, religious, sports and tourism programs and activities.
There is no other festival or event that defines the Ilonggos' heritage and culture to the level of maximum bliss and erudition.
The hysteria whipped up by all the positive energy that clustered the metropolis for one week is shared by every stakeholder and those behind the wheels that steered the festival to what it is today.
Ilonggos parlayed and talk about the Dinagyang Festival like they were promoting their own values, talents, and personal achievements in the global platform.

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Dinagyang is Iloilo; Iloilo is Dinagyang.
There is so much goodness and substance that radiate in the horizon when an Ilonggo talks about the 51-year-old festival, which has now become the focal point when our tourism officials led by Department of Tourism-6 Director Helen Catalbas and Iloilo City Tourism Chief Junel Ann Divinagracia promote Iloilo City and Western Visayas as a whole.
Even the Iloilo Business Club (IBC) has been smitten by the Dinagyang's potentials and solid impact on business an investment opportunities over the years.
Although their hands are full owing to the stressful security preparations, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) get a special attention, credit and commendation when the festival goes to bed with nary an anarchy and revelry-related bedlam.
Ilonggos always find the Dinagyang Festival as an occasion to refine and rebuild their spirit and character.

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Ricardo Alonsabe, an Ilonggo Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Victoria, Seychelles, watched the Dinagyang Festival in his laptop in the lobby of a restaurant where he worked last year.
"I opened my Facebook account and was able to get access to the 'live' performances," said Alonsabe, a chef in a restaurant serving African food.
Alonsabe's co-workers and some tourists joined him and they were enthralled by the sound of drums and choreography of ati warriors.
"It's really a world class festival," he chortled.
Alonsabe and thousands of other OFWs all over the five continents were like watching the Dinagyang Festival "live" in the streets.
With the advent of technology, Dinagyang Festival could now be seen on the Internet and in any social media platform.