On the Dot
Knowing the tourist product
Many do not know what a tourist product is. Sadly, some in the tourist industry hardly know what tourist product is all about. Tourist product is intangible. When a tourist, guided by his motivations and the image of the tourist destination, decides on a trip somewhere outside his usual place of residence or work, he is buying a tourist product - a promise that will soon become a memory once he returns home.
Let's take the case of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras , Iloilo or Negros Occidental as individual destinations or a multiple-destination, as the case may be. When one buys a trip to destinations like these, one does so in anticipation of a memorable experience. The experience at the airport, pier or bus station upon arrival in the destination is part of the tourist product. The quality of transportation and the behavior of the driver and other aspects of transport services all form part of the experience in the destination. They are important components of the tourist product. The residents' attitude towards visitors and tourists forms part of the tourist product, of the tourist experience.
The facilities and services of the accommodation establishment, shopping places and their wares, restaurants, food, local tours and security are all part of the tourist product. The fiesta and festival, tourist spot, accessibility experiences are all parts of the total tourist experience. All these elements should be attended to by tourism stakeholders in the destination if they want to fill their air, sea and land transport seats, hotel rooms and function rooms, restaurants, souvenir and delicacies stores all year round.
Does Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo or Negros Occidental have what it takes as a memorable tourist product? Is the Aklan Experience, Antique Experience, Capiz Experience, Guimaras Experience, Iloilo Experience or Negros Occidental Experience worth experiencing or re-experiencing, as the case may be? We only have to evaluate the destination against the above-cited criteria to know the answer.
There are tourist markets for every tourist product or combination of tourist products. Tourist markets level off with tourist products. Tourist destinations, therefore, should improve their tourist product if they want to attract high spending, discriminating tourists. They should know their markets and supply what they want. After all, the quantity and quality of tourists that a destination gets depend on the quantity and quality of the tourist products it offers.