Sustainable Filipinas: A study of how social media can be used as a platform for creating awareness and engaging its audience

• Main Authors: Arre, Trixie, Pabalan, Jaime Miguel G., Santos, Jose Angelo
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2016
• Subjects: Internet marketing—Philippines; Social marketing—Philippines; Marketing
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/9348
• Institution: De La Salle University

The archipelagic nature of the Philippines, as well as its colonial heritage, offers a wealth of scenic views that invite both locals and foreigners to participate in tourism­related activities. According the Department of Tourism (2011), the industry is one of the three largest industries in the country, where most of the visitors came from East Asia, Korea in particular. From 2009, international and domestic arrivals in the Philippines (DOT, 2015) doubled from 27 million visitors to 56 million by the end of 2015. HVS also stated that tourism contributed 4.2% of the nation’s GDP and it is expected to increase by 5.6% per annum till 2025. The drastic growth of tourism in the Philippines has its own pros and cons. From the economic perspective, it uplifts the economic status of the country and increasing the quality life of Filipinos by generating jobs opportunities. On the other hand, the actions of tourists and investors are having negative impacts on the socio­cultural values and environmental assets of the host community. According to Bac Dorin Paul (2012), tourism brings together people from different backgrounds, cultures, and traditions and promotes peace. But at the same time, due to globalization, many communities have lost their cultural identity and gave way to the Disneyfication of their village or town. Tourism also helped create national parks and protected areas where unique examples of flora and fauna can be found. But tourists have also been proven to be a problem because of the pollution they generate. Tourist entrepreneurs can also be blamed for total disrespect of local traditions and the environment. The main problem from these negative impacts is that the local community is the only side that picks up the check for all the damages on the culture, tradition and, most importantly, on the environment. In order to keep the momentum of the Philippines in its tourism sector and eliminate the socio­cultural and environmental degradation factors of a destination, a sustainability plan must be created. In this sustainability plan, the stakeholders: locals, local government, tourists, tourism operators must work hand in hand as all of them have different roles and influences. In this study, the proponents will present how can the local government use social media as an effective platform of information dissemination and influence millennials in their part as a sustainability stakeholder.