Giyera sa Droga (War on Drugs): An application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to the influence of negative word-of-mouth communication to the tourists’ intention to visit the Philippines

War on drugs campaign commenced in the Duterte Administration in 2016. The campaign resulted to worldwide criticisms which spread negative word-of-mouth about the Philippines. The study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by Ajzen and Fishbein (1991) to test the negative word-of-mouth (WOM) communication regarding war on drugs to tourists’ intention to visit the Philippines. Structural Equation Modelling was utilized to determine the relationship among the three factors of TPB namely, Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioural Control to tourist intention. The data was collected from 242 foreign passport holders and through an interview conducted with the Department of Tourism (DOT). The result of the study reveals that Attitude does not affect tourist intention to travel. On the other hand, Subjective Norm has the strongest influence on tourist intention followed by Perceived Behavioural Control but does not necessarily affect their decision-making behaviour towards visiting the Philippines regardless of the campaign

Pagbalangkas: Issues and opportunities on natural heritage sustainability of Samar Island Natural Park (SINP), Philippines - Basis for inclusive organizational management framework

Pagbalangkas is a Filipino term, which means formulation or conceptualization. And in the conceptualization of a place branding strategy, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), stakeholders, specifically the government sector, must understand different factors and aspects of sustainable development. This study explicated the different issues and opportunities for conservation, and sustainable development, specifically for Samar Island Natural Park (SINP), Philippines. Specifically, the study also determines the associations of different efforts mandated and implemented by different government agencies both from the national and local, assessing the impacts and effects of current and potential plans and programs for conserving and sustaining SINP as a future UNESCO WHS and to conceptualized a framework that would highlight the basic factors on place branding development based on the case of SINP. The research used a qualitative-case study design, specifically by measuring information through focus group discussion (FGD) and content analysis on available government-issued documents. Participants from the FGD were representatives from different government agencies from the national, regional, local, and people’s organizations. The gathered information was analyzed through a repertory grid. Based on the research, conceptualizing a place branding development, such as UNESCO WHS, must determine the government organizations, institutions, and systems framework, situation analysis of the place and its community, issues, and opportunities manifested

Assessing the community-based tourism potentials of Romblon, Philippines: A structural equation model

Community-Based Tourism is seen for having a huge impact on rural communities in the Philippines and many countries. It is generally known for its pro-poor implications that deliver socio-cultural, ecological, and economic benefits to steer a community if directed with strong policies. CBT has a great potential on elevating the said aspects of a locality for community development. Hence, the researchers attempted to comprehensively determine the perceptions of key actors in CBT with quantitative approaches to shed light on its costs and benefits in the communities of Romblon province in the Philippines. Through quota sampling, a total of 400 residents were surveyed to determine their positive and negative perceptions towards CBT. Structural Equation Modeling was utilized as the statistical analysis tool to impute relationships on the latent variables; sustainable tourism development, politico-administrative affairs and climate, and citizen participation. The model provided empirical evidence that CBT activities positively affect the latent variables in Romblon province. The findings contributed to the great importance of politico-administrative affairs and climate as a support system to enhance tourism laws and programs. The authors, moreover, advocated for further improvements on sustainable tourism development and citizen participation. Among recommendations, in order to assist the tourism stakeholders in the development of CBT, this study proposed sustainable tourism programs focused on enhancement of the quality of life of the locals, fostering collaborations among institutions and the people, and for a sustainable growth of Romblon province                                                                                                      &nbsp