Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

The study focuses on an analysis of the competitiveness and sustainability of the historical attractions in Bulacan, Philippines. Its primary objectives include strategic heritage tourism development and a framework for global competitiveness and sustainability. The study identifies existing natural, cultural, and built attractions in the province and analyzes how tourists define travel motivation, how they evaluate heritage sites, how they get emotionally involved in destinations, and their over-all satisfaction in a destination. It also identifies the issues and concerns of the industry and formulates competitiveness and sustainability frameworks. Through the use of focus-group discussions, in-depth interviewing, and survey questionnaires, the study revealed that the historical attractions of Bulacan are highly competitive. The results also showed that several issues and concerns faced by the tourism industry of the province, through the results of the SWOT analysis provided by the Provincial Tourism Office was the fact that the attractions, specifically the old houses, were not properly maintained and that there is a lack of well-trained manpower to assist tourists, which can greatly affect the tourism industry in general. Moreover, to boost the level of competitiveness, the key players (the attractions and the private sector, the government sector including the provincial tourism office, the regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT), the local government units (LGUs) and the academe) should help and work hand-in-hand in promoting and supporting the tourism and hospitality sector of Bulacan. The sustainability framework on one hand includes strategies such as clear brand image or unique selling proposition for Bulacan, improvement of tourism infrastructure, creation of heritage tourism/historical destination marketing office, enforcement of safety and security measures, sustainable heritage tourism programs and activities, involvement of three key players in heritage tourism promotion, and involvement in national and international heritage tourism conservation.