Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2012 10:15:50 GMT 8
I've been lurking a long while now, and have revisited Corregidor (again) recently. Let me say first how wonderful a place it can be, and is, when presented correctly.
CFI does a difficult job well.
The problem, as I see it, is that the people who run the Inn, and the Tours, are very uncomfortable with the historic significance of the island. It's often difficult to separate intended consequences from unintended ones, but there's a distinct environment there today which discourages and diminishes the historical significance of the island, in favor of attempts being made to build a "TOTAL RESORT."
What's happened to the place? What with all the Zip-line zipping, and off-road off-roading, and a bunch of unimaginative souvenir shops, the Resort Operators seem to be more interested in the almighty buck (sorry, peso) than in providing their guests with an environment that supports the contemplation of History and Sacrifice.
And Environment? The way that the environment is being pillaged and bullied there disqualifies the resort management from claiming any environmental awareness at all! Consider, if you will, the amount of material they are bringing to the island, yet in my few days there, I discovered that no garbage leaves the island. that means it's being dumped somewhere there.
I have learned through the years that when tourists go to a destination, and are happy with it, they almost always come again through subsequent years. Many times they bring their friends. So what do you think those overnight tourists will think about Corregidor who cancelled their plans to visit other parts of the island because of the P300 price tag for the hotel transport? It's not the peso that they can't afford, it's that it's human nature that people don't like to feel ripped off, or got at.
The Inn used to be a great eatery. They once had someone who was good enough to be called a chef.
When you get a hotel or resort feeling like its being micro-managed by accountants from another city (who have no feeling for a place), the "feel-good-factor" of a resort evaporates fast. That's what I believe is happening to the company which is running the Inn, and the Tours.
The walls have stains that are old enough to have birthdays. The shower stalls have doors that haven't closed in years. The toilets don't shut-off. The restaurant no longer has a complimentary refill to make lingering there more amenable. (Tourists who linger often order something additional.)
In the Philippines, the reaction to a drop in tourist revenue is to increase prices, not increase tourist numbers. This is also, as it happens, the way that accountants think, and accountants make lousy managers, which is why they are accountants and remain accountants. They lack understanding of marketing, promotion, sizzle, of almost anything beyond numbers, and they lack imagination. They lack feelings - I noticed they don't even bother to raise the flags (of other nations) outside the inn any more.
But what's worst of all, accountants don't understand the nature of why was a resort built there in the first place. You get the feeling that beyond lip service about the "history, Sacrifice, Sacred-Soil" bla bla, they haven't the slightest bit of actual understanding of what differentiates Corregidor from some hotel in Ermita or Makati.
The staff are all wonderful people, kind, and sweet, pleasant and affable to a fault. The true fault is somewhere in a management office somewhere in Manila, a fault that treats Corregidor like just another ledger entry, and not like a unique natural and historical resource belonging not just to the entire country, but to the participants in WWII, and to the Ages.
That's why Corregidor should be turned into a National Historic Park, and not left to deteriorate as a private commercial fiefdom.
Mr. Mxyz
(I concede that what I understand as a 'National Historic Park' is not what is understood as a 'National Park' by other persons. A Filipino friend of mine taught me this via a joke riddle:- Q: How do you clear all the trees from a mountain top? A: Declare it a National Park. )
CFI does a difficult job well.
The problem, as I see it, is that the people who run the Inn, and the Tours, are very uncomfortable with the historic significance of the island. It's often difficult to separate intended consequences from unintended ones, but there's a distinct environment there today which discourages and diminishes the historical significance of the island, in favor of attempts being made to build a "TOTAL RESORT."
What's happened to the place? What with all the Zip-line zipping, and off-road off-roading, and a bunch of unimaginative souvenir shops, the Resort Operators seem to be more interested in the almighty buck (sorry, peso) than in providing their guests with an environment that supports the contemplation of History and Sacrifice.
And Environment? The way that the environment is being pillaged and bullied there disqualifies the resort management from claiming any environmental awareness at all! Consider, if you will, the amount of material they are bringing to the island, yet in my few days there, I discovered that no garbage leaves the island. that means it's being dumped somewhere there.
I have learned through the years that when tourists go to a destination, and are happy with it, they almost always come again through subsequent years. Many times they bring their friends. So what do you think those overnight tourists will think about Corregidor who cancelled their plans to visit other parts of the island because of the P300 price tag for the hotel transport? It's not the peso that they can't afford, it's that it's human nature that people don't like to feel ripped off, or got at.
The Inn used to be a great eatery. They once had someone who was good enough to be called a chef.
When you get a hotel or resort feeling like its being micro-managed by accountants from another city (who have no feeling for a place), the "feel-good-factor" of a resort evaporates fast. That's what I believe is happening to the company which is running the Inn, and the Tours.
The walls have stains that are old enough to have birthdays. The shower stalls have doors that haven't closed in years. The toilets don't shut-off. The restaurant no longer has a complimentary refill to make lingering there more amenable. (Tourists who linger often order something additional.)
In the Philippines, the reaction to a drop in tourist revenue is to increase prices, not increase tourist numbers. This is also, as it happens, the way that accountants think, and accountants make lousy managers, which is why they are accountants and remain accountants. They lack understanding of marketing, promotion, sizzle, of almost anything beyond numbers, and they lack imagination. They lack feelings - I noticed they don't even bother to raise the flags (of other nations) outside the inn any more.
But what's worst of all, accountants don't understand the nature of why was a resort built there in the first place. You get the feeling that beyond lip service about the "history, Sacrifice, Sacred-Soil" bla bla, they haven't the slightest bit of actual understanding of what differentiates Corregidor from some hotel in Ermita or Makati.
The staff are all wonderful people, kind, and sweet, pleasant and affable to a fault. The true fault is somewhere in a management office somewhere in Manila, a fault that treats Corregidor like just another ledger entry, and not like a unique natural and historical resource belonging not just to the entire country, but to the participants in WWII, and to the Ages.
That's why Corregidor should be turned into a National Historic Park, and not left to deteriorate as a private commercial fiefdom.
Mr. Mxyz
(I concede that what I understand as a 'National Historic Park' is not what is understood as a 'National Park' by other persons. A Filipino friend of mine taught me this via a joke riddle:- Q: How do you clear all the trees from a mountain top? A: Declare it a National Park. )