Entrepreneurial Farmer

Tourists Industry’s Willing Victims

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Are you a participant to the tourism boom in Aklan? Are you profiting from the tourists’ visit to Aklan? On the other hand, are you adversely affected by the coming of the tourists to Aklan?

To some, they are making money out of the visits of tourists to Aklan: from both foreign and local visitors. The transportation company operators like airplanes, boats, buses and tricycles provide mobility to the visitors, charge them for their services with more profits. They are the beneficiaries.

For those who are not engaged in transportation business, they will pay higher as they compete with the tourists for transport services.

Those who have hotels and lodging houses, they make good business providing hotel and restaurant services to the visitors and gain profit from it. Those who have no lodging house and restaurant, they pay the comparatively higher cost of food and room rentals following the law of supply and demand.

In view of more tourists arrivals to Aklan, the cost of room rental, business spaces have sky rocketed to the extent as the most expensive in Panay.

Tourists in Aklan consume more food such as fish, beef, pork, chicken egg and meat, sea foods, vegetables and fruits. Their accelerated consumption has also increased the prices of those commodities. Because of the sustained and increasing demands for food in Aklan, prices of it are also going up.

For those Aklanons who have something to sell, either goods or services, to the tourists, they are the beneficiaries of tourism. For those who sell nothing, they are the willing victims of the tourists industry in Aklan.

However, it is quite easy to join actively and profit more out of the tourist industry in Aklan.

One easy way to participate gainfully in tourism is to look, work, and produce something to sell to the visitors.

Aklan has very fertile soil and favorable climate to produce livestocks and plants. An Aklanon may sincerely and diligently work to produce and sell fish product, a highly demanded class of food. They can invest in vegetables, fruits, and flowers production to supply the demands.

Aklan now produces less quantity of fish than the actual demand. A portion of fish products now comes from Luzon, Capiz, Antique, and Iloilo to fill up the shortage.

Most chicken meat being cooked in the restaurants “lechon manok” are produced from other provinces. Money from Aklan are siphoned out of the province as Aklanons consume more food like chicken meat, eggs, beef and pork from other provinces. Even flowers and ornamental plants are imported.

A portion of rice supply originates from Mindoro. Fruits and vegetables imported can be easily planted and produced in Aklan. Souvenir and gift items are supplied by other cities and provinces.

What happen to us Aklanons? Most of us are victims of tourist industry. This must be reversed by producing, supplying and selling commodities needed by tourists. If not, then those non-participants are willing victims of the tourist industry instead of beneficiaries.

Honesty

“An honest man’s the noblest work of God”. - Alexander Pope

Are the public officials tasked to procure athletic equipment and supplies used in the recent West Visayas Regional Athletic Association meet honest and therefore the work of God?

In “Ilitsahan”, a daily morning radio program Kaibahang Butz Maquinto anchors, the matter of very inferior quality athletic equipment and supplies provided to the Aklanon athletes were discussed.

Cited as examples are archery equipments, bags among others. Information was also given about the kind of transportation the Aklanon athletes were provided. They were allowed to ride in trucks. There was also information received that purchase order for the supply of the equipment and materials were just handed one day before the Aklanon athletes departed for Bacolod City. /MP