TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

This chapter aims to present the introduction, review of related literature,
conceptual framework, statement of the problem, hypothesis, and significance of the
study, scope and limitation and definition of terms.
INTRODUCTION
Ecotourism is often perceived as an excellent tool for promoting sustainable
development in developing countries. Many view ecotourism as a viable way to protect
the natural environment and create social and economic benefits for local communities.
According to David Weaver Interest in ecotourism, now widespread among tourism
planners and marketers, is rationalized by a number of popular assumptions regarding the
sectors potential economic, environmental, and socio-cultural benefits (Weaver, 2011).
While some ecotourism projects can support such claims, many ecotourism projects have
failed to address some fundamental issues and do not generate the very benefits
ecotourism is intended to provide. When poorly planned and implemented, ecotourism
can quickly turn economic gains into social and environmental disasters.
Clearly ecotourism is not a universal remedy; but its potential to promote
sustainable development deserves considerable attention. As ecotourism has grown and
evolved over the past. Although the foundation of data is strong, there remains a great
deal of uncertainty and debate, which requires more exploration as to what ecotourism
really means and what its role is in the context of international development.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

With the advent of the documentation of Mts. Pamitinan and Binacayan, Brgy.
Wawa in Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), Rizal is fast becoming a haven for hikers. Just
an hour away from Metro Manila, and offering dramatic views atop limestone
formations, these mountains are truly worthy dayhikes. Mt. Ayaas is a pleasant addition
to the outdoor destinations of Rodriguez, Rizal. While Pamitinan, Binacayan, and
Hapunang Banoi are practicality look-alikes, Mt. Ayaas is a mountain made distinctive by
its river trekking and grassland slopes. Moreover, it is arguably the most challenging of
the hikes in the area even though all of them are relatively easy and are, as of July
2015, rated as Difficulty 3/9.
Just like the other mountains in the area, the hike up Mt. Ayaas originates from
Brgy. Wawa proper. Passing through Wawa Dam and the magnificent gorge. The first half
involves mostly river trekking, and the difficulty is highly weather-dependent, as the
rocks are very slippery when wet and the water level is high such that it is inevitable
that you yourself will get wet.Past the river trek, the trail becomes more inclined, passing
through woodlands and a final assault up grassland slopes to reach the summit. At times,
the trek is reminiscent of the Malipunyo Range and other Batangas mountains. At the top,
one is treated to a view of not just the Wawa mountains, but also Mt. Lubog (SE).With its
distinctive features, ease of access, and relatively challenging trails, Mt. Ayaas is truly
another compelling reason to visit Montalban!
If the strategy is ecological tourism, let it be. If Mt. Ayaas has it, develop it, and
manage it. Invest in it as people are going there because it has what it takes to be an

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

ecological tourism site. This is true for all other ecological tourism sites all over the
country, such as Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, Corregidor, and others. But we have to do the
basics to attract more tourists. We have to show that we do not only have the natural
bounty, but the capability as well to nurture the nature that we have.
Local awareness also has a long way to go. The immediate community needs to
realize that this is their livelihood and that the foodstuff they sell is not what tourists
come for it is the landscape, the history of the place, and the people. Thus, they have to
participate in keeping the landscape and history desirable for visitors because it provides
them the livelihood as a result. Here, local government and civil society are needed to
increase the awareness of people. Tourists also need re-education, as there are local
tourists who irresponsibly throw their garbage anywhere.
It is generally understood that tourism development affects local communities.
While tourism activities can also be very beneficial at the national level through foreign
earnings (Alejandrino, 2011) among others, the focus in this research is on the local level
impacts, or more specifically the perceived impacts. Rather than looking at actual impact
indicators, such as real income or environmental degradation, this study focuses on the
attitudes of residents towards tourism development in their community. This is a
challenge for all of us the people and the government. Local government is in the right
direction in making tourism a development strategy, but it cannot continue managing
things the way they it is done now, with poor quality and poor maintenance.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

The next paragraphs will discuss the three types of impact in more detail, with a
specific focus on the potential outcomes for the possible effects of eco-tourism in Mt.
Ayaas.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Local Related Literature
The first definition of ecotourism itself came to the Philippines in 1994, during a
workshop on that subject. Here, ecotourism came to be out rightly defined again in terms
of sustainable development. Though the definition also had in addition to this social and
economical advantages for culture and nature, sustainable development seemed the
prioritysomething that I would call sustainable tourism with a touch of ecotourism. At
any case, this definition came to be the foundation and the inspiration of the succeeding
ecotourism initiatives by the local government units (LGUs), NGOs and local
communities in the Philippines. Ecotourism became a buzzword when ecotourism was
under its way in the small local level. Eventually, the issue of ecotourism also became
more and more popular as well as more mainstream. Feeling the popular winds of the
time, then president Joseph Estrada decreed Executive Order 111,146 which echoes the
result of the 1994 workshop on ecotourism. The order led to the creation of the National
Ecotourism Development Council (NEDC), whose role was to structure the previously
small, low-budget and unstructured local ecotourism projects in the country.
(Andrada,2012)
The Philippines is economically a poor country, but on the other hand it is a
country rich in nature. Partly because of this, tourism has become a promising source of
money for the Philippines, and stands for a significant part of the national income.
Understandably, this has translated to a big interest from the government to further

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

develop tourism and make the Philippines a big tourist destination in the stiff
Southeast Asian competition. The Philippines is indeed being marketed as a tourist
destination that features predominantly wild and untouched nature of high mountains and
white beaches. That a country such as this so rich in nature would see ecotourism as a
good economic alternative is in this sense not strange. However, it would be interesting to
see how such an ecotourism would look like.( Alejandrino , 2011)
International tourism is today a giant industry, an industry which is also growing,
but asking Midas discovered, everything is not gold that shines. The pursuit for profit has
led to exploitation of nature as well as people. It have been shown that tourism often does
more harm then good, especially for development countries, of whom many are big
tourist destinations. Traditional mass tourism is often run by foreigners without cultural
or environmental sensitivity, whos only goal is profit. To counter these negative effects
of tourism, other non-traditional forms of tourism have been considered, including
tourism associated with nature such as nature-based tourism, ecologically sustainable
tourism and ecotourism.
According to Ecotourism Philippines, Ecotourism refers to a form of sustainable
tourism within a natural and cultural heritage area where community participation,
protection and management of natural resources, culture and indigenous knowledge and
practices, environmental education and ethics as well as economic benefits are fostered
and pursued for the enrichment of host communities and satisfaction of visitors.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

For ecotourism to work, the community needs to establish goals that promote the
conservation of the natural environment, economic prosperity for the majority of
stakeholders and community development. Wealth generation is a major goal of all
livelihood projects including ecotourism. The dynamics of development however, often
results to inequality, wherein the rich tend to become richer and the poor tend to become
poorer. This happens when market forces are allowed to control development and there
are no conscious effort to establish safety nets. The latter come in the form of community
organizing, capacity building, networking, sustainable livelihood projects, market
linkages, sustainable financing and other schemes that will make sure that the
marginalized sector of society also have a chance to be part of development. (Terrence,
2012).
Foreign Related Literature
According to Boo (2011), Ecotourism has six characteristics. These are: a)
ecotourism involves travel to relatively undisturbed natural areas and/or archeological
sites, b) it focuses on learning and the quality of experience, c) it economically benefits
the local communities, d) ecotourists seek to view rare species, spectacular landscapes
and/or the unusual and exotic, e) ecotourists do not deplete resources but even sustain the
environment or help undo damage to the environment, and f) ecotourists appreciate and
respect local culture, traditions, etc.
Moreover, Orams (2012) believes that ecotourism must have a strong people
element. For example, the travelers should learn about the forest and its people. They

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

10

should also learn the causes of destruction of the rainforests. The project must
also be built through the cooperative action of a variety of key groups because failure to
involve even a single group may result in destruction of the resource.
International tourism is today a giant industry, an industry which is also growing,
but as king Midas discovered, everything is not gold that shines. The pursuit for profit
has led to exploitation of nature as well as people. It have been shown that tourism often
does more harm then good, especially for development countries, of whom many are big
tourist destinations. Traditional mass tourism is often run by foreigners without cultural
or environmental sensitivity, whos only goal is profit. To counter these negative effects
of tourism, other non-traditional forms of tourism have been considered, including
tourism associated with nature such as nature-based tourism, ecologically sustainable
tourism and ecotourism. (Weaver 2013)
Nature-based tourism is, as it sounds, tourism that has nature as its main
attraction. This form of tourism has its roots in the conservation movement of the 19th
century. Ecologically sustainable tourism on the other hand has its foundation in the
concept of sustainable development. This concept rests on the implementation of
environmental sustainability in mainstream thought. Mainstream thought though, is said
by some to be modern thought, and critics of sustainable development say that the
concept of sustainable development rather means ecological modernization.(Cruz, 2013)
Already in 1985, Murphy stressed the importance local involvement in tourism
development. He indicated that the success of tourism relies on the goodwill and

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

11

cooperation of local people because they are part of the tourism product. He
argues that if tourism development. He indicated that the success of tourism relies on the
goodwill and cooperation of local people because they are part of the tourism product. He
argues that if tourism development and planning does not match with the local aspirations
and capabilities, this can destroy the industries potential. However, there are various
ways in which local communities can be involved in tourism activities. Thus, while there
is little discussion as to whether or not locals should be involved in tourism development,
there is discussion about how they should be involved (Gossling, 2012).
Because local participation is generally regarded as a contributing factor in the
success of development projects, it is now incorporated in policies of many NGOs and
governments (). Many organizations talk about having locals participate in their
programmes, which makes their projects look good on paper. In reality however, there is
not one form of participation, and therefore the term may sometimes be used
inappropriately. Gossling indicate that it is the uncritical manner in which participation is
conceptualised and practiced that draws increasing attention (2012).
An example is the rise of alternative types of tourism as discussed previously,
which will be more appropriate for local community development. Also the relation
between tourism and development is expressed in the outcomes of tourism and therefore
cannot be ignored. These outcomes may be positive or negative depending on many
factors such as tourist attitudes, tourism development processes, economic and political
structures, etc. (Weaver, 2011).

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

12

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This study will focus on the effects of Eco-Tourism to local and its people of Mt.
Ayaas in Rodriguez, Rizal.
INPUT

PROCESS

- Demographic
profile of the
respondents in terms
of:
a. Age
b. Gender
c. Nationality
-The Effects of EcoTourism to local and
its people of Mt.
Ayaas in
Rodriguez, Rizal

- Conducting of
survey through
distribution of
questionnaires
-Analysis of Data
Collected
-Discussion of the
Data

OUTPUT

For people to know

the importance of
local involvement in
tourism
development in Mt.
Ayaas Rodriguez,
Rizal.

FIG. 1 RESEARCH PARADIGM

-Satisfaction of
Tourist

-Residents of
TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
Rodriguez, Rizal

13

on the diagram that shows the input of the study, addressing the effects of
eco-tourism to local and its people in Mt. Ayaas in Rodriguez, Rizal. The mountain has
made distinctively by its river trekking and grassland slopes. Moreover, it is arguably the
most challenging of the hikes in the area even though all of them are relatively easy and
are, as of July 2015, rated as Difficulty 3/9 that they may help the newly discovered
tourist destination to be more known by other people. Satisfaction of tourist for them to

come back to the destination again and the respondents chosen by the researcher are from
the residents of Rodriguez,, Rizal and tourists who came or visited the said eco-tourism
destination so that they can help to find answers and facts about the said topic.
To determine the profile of respondents and to find out the tourist satisfaction in
terms of choosing eco-tourism destination, how convenient the said destination for the
tourist and suggestions coming from them. To identify the problems encountered and
promote the eco-tourism destination in Rodriguez, Rizal to be more familiar.
Mt. Ayaas will be more develop in the near future if it will be take care of the
municipality and by the tourist. Aiming the effects of eco-tourism to its people . To give
idea about the mountain, to enhance and promote its natural beauty to the people to know
the new discovered cave in Rodriguez, Rizal, so itll be known and tourist may enjoy the
said tourist destination.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

14

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to determine the effects of Eco-Tourism to local and its people of
Mt. Ayaas in Rodriguez, Rizal that will help the local community and at the same time
improve the tourism industry of Rodriguez, Rizal.
1. What are the demographic profile of the respondents:

Age

Gender

Occupation

Civil Status

1. 2. What does the government and locals do to preserve the Mt. Ayaas ecotourism destination in terms of:
a. Attractions
b. Location
c. Culture
d. Natural resources

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

15

3. What are the advantages of Mt. Ayaas eco-tourism destination to the stakeholders?
4. Is there any significant relationship among the variables of determining the different
effects of Eco-Tourism to Local and its people of Mt.Ayaas in Rodriguez, Rizal ?
ASSUMPTION

There is no demographic profile of the tourists and the maintaining tourist

satisfaction towards Mt. Ayaas. There are no standards that the said mountain need to
reach to satisfy the tourists.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

16

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on cooperation of local people in eco- tourism development of
Mt. Ayaas various ways which local communities can be involved in tourism activities..

Also this study is important to local level impacts, or more specifically the perceived
impacts. There are group of people who will benefit to this study:
Researchers
To the researchers, it will benefit other researchers who want to study about the
effects of eco-tourism to local and its people in Mt. Ayaas Rodriguez, Rizal. Because they
can have information and ideas when they will make their own research.
Community
To the community, it is important for them because they knew that local
communities have a high degree of control over the activities taking place, and a
significant proportion of the economic benefits accrue to them if they visit the said
mountain. And of course the income of the community will increase if that tourist spot
will be known by other people especially those who loves adventures like foreigners.
Students
To the students, if they love adventures together with their friends they can go to
Mt. Ayaas offering dramatic views atop limestone formations, where the mountain are
truly worthy in dayhikes. Also, to enhance their skills to promote the tourist spots in this
country especially with the hidden tourist spot like the Mt. Ayaas.
TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
Family

17

To the family, for them to know the newest place they would visit then if they
want adventures with their family. A best time to catch-up with their family and also to
teach their children about the tourist spots in our country.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This study will focus on the Effects of Eco-tourism to local and its people of Mt.
Ayaas in Rodriguez, Rizal; as perceived by the tourist. The respondents will be one
hundred (100) residents of Rodriguez, Rizal who already visited the Mt. Ayaas. They will
be segmented by means of their age, gender, occupation, and civil status.
The purposive sampling will be used in selecting the respondents in this study.
This is the sampling that will be used because the researchers have to set a particular
characteristics that they will need for their respondents who already went to Mt. Ayaas.
The qualifications set by the researchers should meet by the respondents. The research
instrument that will be used is survey-questionnaire that will consist of demographic
profile of the respondents, how can maintain the cleanliness of the area in the said
mountain, what type/s of local participation are shown by the local community, who the
stakeholders in the eco-tourism of the said mountain and what are their roles, and which
social, economic and environmental impacts are encountered and how satisfied is the
local community with these impacts.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

18

The respondents of the study who will answer the survey-questionnaire that will
be provided by the researchers will be the residents of Rodriguez, Rizal and tourist

already visited the mountain. These will be the respondents because they already visited
the mountain. They will be able to give accurate answer on the survey-questionnaire that
will be provided. The researchers will go to the province of Rodriguez, Rizal to conduct
a survey-questionnaire to the residents of Rodriguez, Rizal and tourist who went in the
said mountain. They will be distributed survey-questionnaire until they reach the
respondents that they needed which are the one hundred (100) residents of Rodriguez,
Rizal and tourists.
This study will focus only on the mentioned variables of the effects of ecotourism of Mt. Ayaas in Rodriguez, Rizal; as perceived by the tourist

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Attraction- something interesting or enjoyable that people want to visit, see or do.
Community- a group of people living in the same place or having a particular
characteristic in common.
Destination- a place to which a person is going..
Eco- Tourism- tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments,
especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

19

Promotion something(such as advertising) that is done to make people aware of

something and increase it sales or popularity

Stakeholders- a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business.

Tourism- the act of travelling to a place for pleasure
Tourist- a person who travels to a place for a pleasure
Travel- to go on a trip or journey
Traveler- a person who moves around a place to place instead of living in one place for a
long time.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

CHAPTER II. METHODOLOGY

20

This chapter presents the process in the preparation of the study, research design,
population and sampling, selection of the respondents, instruments and used sources of
data, data gathering procedure and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design
The study the the effects of eco-tourism to local and its people of Mt. Ayaas in
Rodriguez, Rizal was conducted 2016-2017. Descriptive method was used in this study.
Descriptive method of research is a fact-finding study with adequate and accurate
interpretation of findings. It describes with emphasis what actually exist such as current
conditions, practices, or any phenomena.
Population and Sampling
The study focused on the local residents of Rodriguez, Rizal, their perspective
regarding the effects of eco-tourism to local and its people. The target population
consisted of 100 local residents in Rodriguez, Rizal. The researcher were used the
Purposive sampling method, wherein for a non-probability sampling method that is
characterised by a deliberate effort to gain representative samples by including groups or
typical areas in a sample. The researcher relies on his/her own judgement to select sample
group members. Purposive sampling is mainly popular in qualitative studies.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

Respondents of the Study

21

The respondents chosen by the researcher is the residents from Rodriguez, Rizal
and other tourists who came or visited the said tourist destination, they are the easiest
respondents to conduct survey because they have the knowledge and visited the resort
often.The researcher used survey form by distributing questionnaire.
Research Instrument
The questions made by the researcher was from the topic, problems and even the
benefits of the said problem. The questions will be answered by respondents. The
researcher utilized the following to answer specific problem.
1.

Descriptive Interview

An act in which there is a question and answer portion between people.

2.

Questionnaire

The main instrument that will be used is questionnaire. It will consist of two parts:
Part I- The demographic profile of respondents
Part II- The questions on how selected restaurants help to campaign the tourism trends in
Rodriguez, Rizals local tourism which will be answered by respondents.
3. Likert Scale will be used in measuring the variables will be:

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

SCALE

VERBAL INTERPRETATION

22

Strongly Agree

Moderately Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Data Gathering Procedure

The questionnaire will be presented to qualified person for criticism. The
questionnaire will be given to the respondents, with proper instructions on how it should
be answered.
Statistical Treatment Of Data
After gathering the data it was organized and analyzed. With the used of
frequency count, percentage, weighted mean and ANOVA, f-test/t- test, the answer to the
study can be calculated and interpreted.
1.

Percentage- this is used as descriptive measure to determine the frequency of

respondents against the total number of respondents this will how the profile of the
respondents.
Formula: % = f/n x 100

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

23

2.

Weighted mean to get the perception of selected individual from Rodriguez,

Rizal in terms of their gender.

Where: p = percentage
f = frequency
n = total number of respondents
( w. x )

=
w

3. ANOVA- A One- Way Analysis of Variance is a way to test the equality of three or
more means at one time by using variances.The populations from which the samples were
obtained must be normally or approximately normally distributed.The samples must be
independent. The variances of the populations must be equal.

TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

24

REFERENCES
Alejandrino AM, (2011) Ecotourism in the Philippines
Tokyo: Asian Productivity Organization, pp. 174-182
Andrada WM, (2012) Ecotourism Development Framework in the Philippines
Tokyo: Asian Productivity Organization, pp. 166-173
Boo, E. (2011). Making Ecotourism Sustainable: Recommendations for Planning,
Development, and Management.
Washington, DC: Island Press. (pp. 187-199).
Cruz RG, ( 2013). Towards Sustainable Tourism Development int the Philippines and
Other Asean Countries: An Examination of Programs and Practices of National Tourism
Organizations. General Format. Retrieved from http://www.ecotourism.org/
Gossling, Stefan. (2012.) Ecotourism: a means to safeguard biodiversity and
ecosystem functions? Ecological Economics. pp. 29: 303-320.
Orams, Mark B. (2012). Towards a more desirable form of ecotourism. Tourism
Management. 16(1), 3-8.
Terence DJ, (2012 April 25). Pledge of Support. In: United Nations Development
Programs Philippines General Format. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org.ph/speeches/
Weaver, D. B. (2013). Ecotourism in the Less Developed World.
New York: CABI International.

THE EFFECTS OF ECO-TOURISM TO LOCAL AND ITS PEOPLE OF

MT. AYAAS IN
RODRIGUEZ, RIZAL

A Research Proposal to the

School of International Hospitality Management
World Citi Colleges
Quezon City

In Partial fulfillment
Of the Requirements in Research (Thesis 1)
Of Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management

BUENO, ANA PRUDENCE

DE CASTRO, THAIRON
JACOB, LENARD
PRADO, RIZA BERNALAINE
RAZON, JAN ELEXER
ZAMORA, TRISHIAN KIM

ARPRIL 2016

Table of Content

Page
Chapter
1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction
Review of Related Literature
Theoretical Framework/
Conceptual Framework
Research Paradigm
Statement of the Problem
Assumption
Significance of the Study
Scope and Limitation of the Study
Definition of Terms
2 METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Population and Sampling
Respondents of the Study
Research Instrument
Data Gathering Procedure
Statistical Treatment

3
6
12
13
13
15
16
17
18
20
20
21
21
22
23