Monday, December 15, 2008

South African Commenting on Philippine Foreign Policy

Below is a comment of a South African on the foreign policy of the Philippines. Read and please share your reaction to the article in the comment link found at the bottom of this blog article. Thank you.

I think the Phillipines should promote all aspects of the country.Ecconomic aspects and especially tourism.Before I left for the Phillipines on a vacation people here said I was crazy going to a country where rebels were abducting tourists and holding them for ransom(two South Africans were abducted 4 months previously)and I should change my destination to a safer country.

This is the biggest obstacle facing the Phillipines....people have preconceived ideas of the negative side...therefore more marketing of the country should be done by government.People the world over think the whole of the Phillipines are racked by bombs and abductions.They do not realise that it is the southern part where there are problems.

Take South Africa...crime is rampant here in Gauteng province but tourists are streaming to the Cape Province 1,500 from Gauteng,there is also a fairly high crime rate there but yet it has not affected tourism which brings in a large amount of foreign currency.This is because the country is marketed abroad.

The Phillipines should export more to South Africa and other countries and invite high level trade delegations to the cities throughout the Phillipines.More information about all aspects of the country should be sent to the rest of the world.Unless buisnessmen personally see what the country is like they will not invest there.

Irrespective of all the trouble in the Southern Phillipines and reports of disunity in the Senate etc they would definitely still consider buisness opportunities there.

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