The Boracaynon

By Gil delos Santos Today is a wind down day on the last leg of a spontaneous 40-day escape across various tourism locations in the country.  It’s a privilege to slow travel and discover the unique characteristics of every destination we’ve visited. More than the face of every location, we have actual experienced nature, people, systems, food, facilities, amenities, and everything in between.  After 40 days on the road, here are some observations I’d like to share: 𝟭) 𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝘀. For instance, Coron personally ranked among my least favorite destinations in terms of expectation versus reality. My reference point was the heavily promoted lagoons and white beaches. The actual experience felt different from what I had imagined.  Send me a private message if ...

By Gil delos Santos Photo: "Tuyo" (dried fish) as one of the highlights in a five star hotel breakfast COMMON NARRATIVE  Tuyo is a poor family's cheapest sustenance. VALUE FOCUS NARRATIVE  Tuyo is a Filipino comfort food enjoyed by families brought by abundance of the Philippine sea. As Philippine tourism ambassadors, each one of us contributes how we shape our country's perception.  When we go around, even luxury travellers could encounter mishaps along the way. It's the universe' nature of balance.  As storytellers, we must choose to take pride in sharing the value over inconvenience.  This is a responsibility not realized when summoned by the feeling of entitlement and arrogance.  It's just convenient to be arrogant than be goodwill ambassadors. It's what divides high value travellers over tryhard status seekers. In order to target intentional travellers, the Philippines must have a conscious effort how we tell stories, how we depict our...