Showing posts with label high technology. Show all posts

THE LOCALITY AS A TOURIST DESTINATION,

HIGH TECHNOLOGY, AND TRAVEL AS AN INNATE DESIRE

By Apolinario Villalobos

First of all, the primary objective of a locality in its desire to become a tourist destination is to earn REVENUE. In this regard, one way is to come up with CONCEIVED ATTRACTIONS, the most common of which is the fiesta or festival. The most important supports for this particular activity are the ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES and the COOPERATION FROM THE RESIDENTS. On the other hand, the offices of the LGU, staffed with SALARIED PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO EXERT THEIR SHARE OF EFFORT.

Aside from conceived attractions, the locality can make use of the NATURAL ATTRACTIONS such as swift rivers, caves, mountains, forest with its wildlife, as well as, fruits, vegetables and flowers from farms that grow them being the source of livelihood of the locals.

The local government unit or the LGU is SUPPOSED to have an office for the above objective – the TOURISM OFFICE which should be the OVERALL COORDINATOR. Whoever is in-charge of the said office is expected to be knowledgeable about WHAT THE LOCALITY HAS TO OFFER  FOR THE KIND OF TOURISTS THAT ARE BEING TARGETED, SUCH THAT IF THE LOCALITY HAS ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES THAT CAN SATISFY LOCAL TOURISTS WHO ARE NOT FINICKY, THEN, THE EFFORT SHOULD BE CONCENTRATED TOWARDS THEM. IT IS ILLOGICAL TO EXERT MUCH EFFORT TO ATTRACT INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS IF THEY CHOOSE TO STAY IN ANOTHER LOCALITY KILOMETERS AWAY WHERE “DECENT” HOTELS OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ARE FOUND….MAKING THE OBJECTIVE OF THE LOCALITY WHICH IS THE TOURIST DESTINATION INUTILE. For example, if a festival is to be held in town “A” that got no first class hotels so that international tourists stay in town “B” because it has plenty, how can town “A”, then, attain its objective to earn?...In this case, why not put more expectation on the local tourists who are not finicky as regards “international standards”?

Tourism is supposed to generate information, hence, educational. This matter is beginning to seep into the consciousness or understanding of Filipinos who are now appreciating the adage that says about their being tourists in their own country. Students are traveling around on “educational tours”, companies give their employees “familiarization tours” as part of their benefit package, families who can afford to travel and stay in certain local localities are willing to spend. These phenomena are what, whoever is in charge of touristic activities of the locality, should bear in his or her mind….that any Philippine tour destination can survive on Philippine market….festival or no festival.  The international market comes into the picture by way of high-tech promotions…NATURALLY.

TODAY, THE PROMOTION OF A TOURISTIC ACTIVITY OR DESTINATION IS NO LONGER A PROBLEM DUE TO THE PROLIFERATION OF BLOGGERS, BOTH LOCALS AND FOREIGN…THEY WHO VISIT TOURISTIC DESTINATION ON THEIR OWN.  MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS SUCH THAT,  ALL IT NEEDS IS FOR A TRAVELLER TO OPEN A LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER, OR SMART PHONE TO CHECK THE INTERNET FOR DESTINATIONS THAT SUITS HIS OR HER INTEREST. CONSULTATIONS  WITH TOUR AGENCIES AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE DIRECTLY, ASIDE FROM  AIRLINES, BUS COMPANIES OR SHIPPING LINES THAT OFFER CRUISES. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NO NEED FOR TOO MUCH EFFORT, ESPECIALLY, EXPENSE ON THE PART OF THE LGU TO ATTRACT INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS. THE DESIRE TO TRAVEL IS INNATE IN A PERSON, WHETHER HE IS AN ASIAN, AN AMERICAN, OR EUROPEAN. HE WILL FIND MEANS TO BE WHERE HIS OR HER CURIOSITY WILL DRIVE HIM OR HER.

TOURISM AS AN INDUSTRY CAN ONLY BE SUSTAINABLE IF THE LOCALITY IS CAPABLE OF ATTRACTING BOTH THE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS BASED ON WHAT IT CAN “HONESTLY” AFFORD TO OFFER. IF THE TOURIST ARRIVES IN A LOCALITY,  HE OR SHE DOES NOT GO TO THE TOURISM OFFICE, BUT STRAIGHT TO THE HOTEL FOR BOOKING.  IN THE ABSENCE OF BROCHURES AS IN THE CASE OF SMALL LOCALITIES, THE STAFF HANDLING THE RECEIPTION COUNTER CAN GIVE INFORMATION AND CAN EVEN HELP IN ARRANGING FOR A MODE OF TRANSPORT, SUCH AS HIRED CAR, JEEPNEY, OR TRICYCLE.

THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO A LOCALITY THAT IS AMBITIOUSLY VYING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SEGMENT OF TOURISM, IS WHEN A SUPPOSEDLY “INTERNATIONAL” ACTIVITY FLOPS,  RESULTING TO THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS!.... DISAPPOINTMENT CAN RESULT FROM UNCOMFORTABLE TRAVEL DUE TO POTHOLED ROADS TO THE DESTINATION AND UNREALIZED EXPECTATIONS UPON ARRIVAL AT THE DESTINATION WHICH IS THE “TOURIST ATTRACTION” BEING PROMOTED.  AND, THESE GUYS CAN BLOG AND VERBALLY SPREAD DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCES AMONG FRIENDS BACK HOME! ON THE OTHER HAND,  “INTERNATIONAL VISITORS” WHOSE STAY ARE ON FOC (FREE OF CHARGE) BASIS ARE EXPECTED TO BE FULL OF PRAISES TO SHOW THEIR GRATITUDE TO THEIR HOST.

EXPECTEDLY, FOR THE EVENT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, UTMOST “COORDINATION” TO BE INITIATED BY THE OFFICE CONCERNED WITH THE REST OF PARTIES THAT ARE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, INVOLVED, SHOULD BE MADE, SUCH EFFORT BEING CRUCIAL.  IF THIS IS NOT DONE, SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG SOMEWHERE.

Wildlife as an attraction will always be there unless, the forests catch fire or illegal loggers cut down trees without let up. Promoting it by attracting supposedly international groups but with the government paying for their expenses is not necessary, in my opinion. Designating a day or days to come up with a semblance of festival is for me, still not necessary, because the wildlife is there 24/7 throughout the year. The same idea goes with the real festivals that have to do with the locality’s customs and traditions, foremost among which is the phenomenal “ati-atihan” festivals of the Aklan, Iloilo and Cebu, the Moriones of Marinduque, etc.

AGAIN…BLOGGERS ARE JUST AROUND – THEY WHO ARE MAINTAINING THEIR SITES IN THE CYBERSPACE WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF FILLING THEM UP WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR TRAVEL IN ORDER TO ATTRACT FOLLOWERS. THE MORE BLOGS THEY MAKE, THE BETTER FOR THEM AS THEY BECOME MORE POPULAR …GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN THEIR SITES TO ADVERTISERS…AS THEIR OWN WAY OF EARNING.  THAT IS WHAT HI-TECH LIFE IS ALL ABOUT TODAY….IT AFFECTS JUST ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD…INCLUDING TOURISM!

The Heavy Pollution in China

Should Warn Third -World Countries

By Apolinario Villalobos

Manufacturing countries that clandestinely hate China have successfully inflicted a “slow death” on the awakened dragon of Asia. They have simply transferred the production aspect of their business in China because of her cheap labor and with it, the byproduct of high technology – the deadly pollution! They have been awfully successful, no question about that!

China today, is practically crawling due to the effect of heavy pollution while countries that own brands manufactured in China are basking under smog-free atmosphere. Every day, internet news carries warnings of the Chinese government to its citizens about the heavy pollution and photos are those of the Chinese citizens with face or surgical mask to lessen their inhalation of the dirty air. An enterprising European country is reportedly exporting fresh bottled air to China.

The phenomenon in China should serve as a warning to the third-world countries that are blinded by the prospect of living in comfort through high technology. China has practically flooded the world with products made in her homeland. Despite such show of opulence, she is far from being satisfied as her expansionistic desire is slowly creeping towards the rest of Asia and the African continent- with all their third world countries.

The governments of these countries would like their forests be uprooted and replaced with factories; would like their fields planted to rice, corn and other staple foods bulldozed to give way to resorts and first-class housing projects; would like their mountains to be drilled for minerals; would like their citizens to be introduced into the mean habits of squalid urban life; would like their centuries-old traditions and faith to be polluted with the immoralities of progress.

As the exploitation lasts only for as long as there are yet to be exploited, their “benefits” are likewise short-lived. When the factories and mining companies stop their exhaustive operations, they leave behind ghost towns and villages- with their rivers poisoned by chemicals and the once-fertile land exhausted of their nutrients making them not suitable even for the lowly grass. Their polluted culture gives rise to a new generation of prostitutes and indolent, and worst, with a twisted view on faith.

The high-technology must be one of the checks that God has imposed on earth to maintain the balance, aside from natural calamities such as typhoon, earthquake, diseases, and floods, as well as, man-made war. Without them, the world would have burst long time ago, due to overpopulation and inadequate sustenance. But, while these are divine penalties, caution should have been observed by man to at least delay and minimize their occurrence. Unfortunately, man is now reaping the fruits of his greed…at high speed!

In the Old Testament, when the God of Israelites wanted them punished for their misdeed, He used the heathen races or tribes to sow disaster upon them. Sometimes He used calamities such as diseases and famine-causing pestilence. The religions of the world are based either directly or indirectly on the Abrahamaic faith, except for some pockets of tribes in unexplored nooks of forests and islands. In a way, most peoples of the world are connected to the God of Israel. Are we now suffering from this divine penalty, mentioned in the Old Testament?

The Harmful Effects of Modern Technology

By Apolinario Villalobos

There is no question to the purpose of man in continuously discovering new conveniences to make life more and more comfortable which is a noble quest. It is a pursuit that resulted to the fabrication of bullet trains, jet-propelled aircraft that defy speed, synthetic drugs that prolong life, long lasting gene-modified vegetables, and many more.

But because of the universal principle of negative and positive, the modern technology has likewise, brought forth harmful effects. The convenient “plastic money” – ATM and credit cards have become tools of the fraudulent in sacking bank accounts of the hapless. System-generated communications of banks that contain confidential account status, complete with figures and speedily printed for distribution to their clients via mail or courier service, oftentimes land easily into the hands of hackers. The latest scheme in the unscrupulous emptying of bank accounts involves the bold “skimming” of ATM cards.

The computer and internet shops have become the scourge of families and schools, as juveniles splurge their allowance at internet cafes and skip classes to be with their buddies in such hangouts. Instead of browsing their books, they become engrossed in exciting and violent internet games. They have also developed the habit of talking back to their parents who think twice before giving them hard-earned money to be spent in internet cafes. Meanwhile, social networks have become the venue of people with deteriorating values in lambasting online, unsuspecting people who do not deserve such treatment.

The governments, private institutions and individuals are not spared by the waylaid IT geniuses with their sporadic hacking activities – just for fun or for a fee. Some hackers earn by rumbling sites, although, some do the act just to prove that they can do it. On the other hand, some countries use hacking as a tool in sending warning to their “opponents” to behave or suffer more damaging actions.

The worst effect of modern technology, however, is the invention of grossly damaging tools for warfare that could swiftly annihilate lives in minutes. For instance, a single lethal bomb may just be enough in obliterating several adjoining cities from the face of the earth, with ease. The suffering of the population can even be prolonged by using cultured viruses released into the atmosphere of a country.

There goes our free will. The extent of our life, practically, depends on us. God gave us the freedom to choose, which is tantamount to saying that He cannot be blamed for anything that happens to us on earth.  We are intelligent enough to know what is good or bad for us…but do we give such thought even just a few minutes of musing?

Fearless Predictions for a Comfortable Life

By Apolinario Villalobos

I know that I will be exposing myself to ridicule with the ideas that I will share in this dissertation, as viewers will perceive me as a trying hard Nostradamus. But I don’t mind because I espouse freedom of expression. I am emboldened with the questions such as, was not TV used to be called “idiot box” before it was finally accepted? …and was not the cellular phone just a crazy idea, far from being realized because there was no connecting cable involved?

When I was young, during which the only cordless communication gadget that I knew was the walkie-talkie radio units, I was already imagining about phones not connected with cords and wires. I had my first glimpse of a phone from the pages of the National Geographic when I was in high school. Later, I saw pictures of phones installed in cars. Later, the pager came, and finally, the cellular phones that are being manufactured today with different shapes. There was a time when I imagined a typewriter that could store typed words; small flashlights and radios that can fit pockets; pencils that double as ballpoint pens.

Today, I do not tire of imagining things to come as a result of never-ending quest of man for things that will satisfy his whims and comfort. Although there is a popular view is that, newly-invented gadgets are nothing but ridiculous contraptions until their use have become widely accepted.

Along this line, I imagine the day when a slim duplicating machine will become an integral part of laptops. A few stack of copying paper, brought along in the laptop bag, can be fed to it one at a time. Bulky? No!...because the design I imagine shall revolve around the principles of slimness and lightness. On the other hand, the prototype of a laptop that can be rolled and which I have been imagining for many years has already come out in the internet.

I also imagine, a set of 3 ball pen-sized contraptions that beam laser images of computer keyboard on a table, screen on the wall, with the third serving as modem that stores beamed images and texts, and with the contraptions operating on a very compact battery.

Other innovations that I am imagining are:

-          Cellphones, laptops, i-pads, and other gadgets that run on motion-charged batteries (this concept is already used in automatic writswatches, but not yet on big gadgets)

-           “Perpetual” vibrating  cellphone restpad/charger for units with motion-charged battery; the restpad/charger shall also be self-charging from its motion, with the initial charge from few minutes of shakes given to it

-          Cellphone units that can convert received verbally transmitted messages into text, as well as, vocalize received text messages for the benefit of the deaf and blind

-          Cellphone units that automatically prevent electrical transmission of chargers when batteries are already full to prevent overcharging

-          Batteries for laptop and cellphone that can last for one week despite regular daily use

-          Cellphones that can be unfolded four times into a mini-pad

-          Intelligent cars installed with application readers, to enable them to read applications, for instance, on geographical make up of a town, city,  province, and direction to tourist destinations, so that a tourist can just go to a car rental agency, choose an application depending on the number of destination wanted, and let the car do the rest – without even being driven; the intelligent cars shall also read applications on reminders about the fuel status of the car, spare parts that need to be replaced, etc.

-          Cars that can reverse magnetic attraction to a certain level, so that they can be driven over flooded surface

-          Airport cars that are remote- controlled so that after bringing clients to destinations, they can be electronically guided back to the airport garage

-          Wheelchairs that can float and be driven, with battery powered by motion

-          Edible food container as replacement for styros

-          A chemical that can disinfect and convert human waste into an odorless consistency free from germs, and can be molded into hardy boards and roofing sheets that can be used for low-cost housing

-          A chemical that can convert waste from the kitchen into liquid fertilizer

-          Hybrids of fruits such as seedless jackfruit and durian with smooth skin, kiwi fruit with edible skin, seedless avocado with edible skin, round banana with edible skin, seedless mango with edible skin, grapes that can grow into the size of pomelo

-           Hybrids of vegetables such as seedless gourds, seedless tomato, seedless cucumber, seedless squash, elongated cabbage that can grow like vine

-          Hybrids of flowers such as roses that can bear flowers as big as cabbage and can last for at least one year, and when cut, for at least three months

-          A glowing paint with pigments that can illuminate walls and ceilings, with the degree of illumination depending on the color of the paint, to drastically reduce, if not eliminate the use of light bulbs in some areas of the house or building

-          Gadgets that can capture electricity from a source at least fifty kilometers away so that electric cables shall no longer be necessary to transport the power to the homes and other structures; the principle to be used here will be similar to the one used in the cordless mouse of computers and cordless chargers of cellphones

-          A gadget that can be plugged into a socket and can send power to an equipment such as copying machine, refrigerator, TV, radio, and music station, while another gadget  shall be attached to the equipment to receive the power; this way the clutter of cables and wires is eliminated and the equipment can be moved anywhere in the house or building but within the range of the relaying and receiving gadgets

-          Umbrellas with extra thin extension that can be unrolled into a tarp and can accommodate 4 more people

-          CCTV cameras that are programmed to detect harmful actions of captured images so that an alert can be received by the monitor and which shall send out a signal;  this way the CCTV can maximize its use even if the monitor is not watched 24/7

The modern world thrives on some crazy ideas and I would like to contribute some of my own. I am asking the indulgence of viewers in this effort. This is better than thinking of ways on how to evade a CCTV while robbing a bank, kill someone with a deadly look, break eardrums with horrid songs, or concoct herbal preparations that can induce conception of quadruplets or quintuplets.