[The TOURISM INDUSTRY in Thailand is wonderfully growing by leaps and bounds as it is now next to CHINA as the most visited tourist-destination in ASIA. In fact, Thailand has now out-paced Japan with a record 35 million in tourists’ arrivals for 2018. After visiting the newly-opened ICON SIAM Mall in Bangkok [opened only in November 2018 and where its investors poured in US $ 2.28 Billion (equivalent to 54 Billion baht or about Php 100 Billion)] to built the edifice), I said to myself that the Philippines must now focus its eyes in TOURISM DEVELOPMENT in order to upgrade itself from its cellar-position where Vietnam has in fact outranked it based on 2017 figures. Still, our country, the Philippines, is lagging behind as only about 7 million tourists’ arrivals have been registered in 2018. Enterprising middle-class Thai citizens have gone into putting up mini-hotels, thus, expanding the options of tourists to avail of cleaner, homey and cheaper lodging accommodations. I think we have to spark this kind of entrepreneurship in our country, in the Philippines, NOW.]
We really have a lot to
learn from the THAIS,
Especially with respect to improving our TIES…
Specifically our ties with foreign NATIONS,
The prospective sources of tourist POPULATIONS!
We must beautify our MALLS,
And not just fill it up with STALLS;
We ought to make it more UNIQUE,
And not just build a plain BOUTIQUE!
Tourism development must be the CALL,
Let’s build a high-end super MALL;
A foreign friend just made a QUIP,
Our MOA is not even quite UNIQUE!
The MOA of our very own NATION,
Has downgraded to a rural VERSION;
It’s not the largeness that really COUNTS,
‘Tis beauty and majestic elegance that’s the success’ FOUNTS!
Our SM malls have also dreadfully ALTERED,
The meaning of what’s “majestically MASTERED”;
They have taken the path of banal MULTIPLICATION,
Instead of a better ornate BEAUTIFICATION!
For what indeed attract those tourists ACTUALLY,
Is what is beautiful and done MAJESTICALLY;
We ought now to focus on tourism DEVELOPMENT…
So we could attract our people’s COMMITMENT!
We ought to preserve too our nation’s CULTURE,
And not just destroy walls, old buildings and MORE;
Our native brethren must be DIGNIFIED,
So that our nation will be SOLIDIFIED!
The greed of commerce has VIVIFIED,
The lure for profits in some sort of STRIDE;
Pope Francis said that greed must be TEMPERED…
Our nation’s pride and culture must always be REVERED!
The ICON SIAM in Bangkok, THAILAND;
Is the fanciest mall to where I have GONE…
It is even the biggest mall along the Chao Phraya RIVER,
The indoor floating market is its majestic LOOKER!
Indeed, ICON SIAM has mixed the new and the OLD;
It brought its FLOATING MARKET culture unto its FOLD…
It indeed dignified the FLOATING MARKET VENDORS,
As it has adopted the motto of OPEN DOORS!
A NICE EXAMPLE FOR OTHER PEOPLE!!!!
