IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2019) 10-2

Research article
erd

Ecotourism-related Strategies toward Increasing Tourism
Destination Competitiveness: The Case of Biliran Island
Province
VENICE B. IBAÑEZ*Visayas State University, Baybay City, Philippines
Email: venice.ibanez@vsu.edu.phReceived 25 December 2018

Accepted 20 October 2019(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Tourism has scaled into one of the biggest and fastest economic drivers in theworld today. With the increasing number of new attractions, the imperative of assessing thecompetitiveness of tourism destinations is seen to be beneficial in improving its capability
to create competitive advantages while ensuring adherence to sustainable development
goals. Dubbed as “the best kept secret haven of Eastern Visayas”, Biliran Island Province asa tourism destination was assessed and analyzed using Porter’s Diamond Model of nationalcompetitiveness to propose useful strategies headed towards increasing its potentials andtourism competency. A total of 33 tourism stakeholder-respondents have undergone oneon-one interview survey in the said province to describe their perspectives on theimportance and performance of various factors and conditions towards increasing its
tourism competitiveness. Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) revealed that the tourism
competitiveness of the province is directed to its eminent natural resources, safe andsecured environment, and provisions of basic facilities. However, performance
improvement of other factors especially marketing and advertising must be addressed
promptly. Various concerns and challenges that the province facing include lack ofgovernment support in terms of product development and promotion, high taxes and cost ofother basic utilities, and environmental challenges as a result of climate change. To addressthese adversities of, ecotourism-related strategies were recommended in line with thepositioning of the province as an “Agri-Garden and Premier Ecotourism destination inEastern Visayas Region”. These must involve responsible marketing and advertising,human resource development and environmental-friendly infrastructures, and emphasis onintensifying safety and disaster risk reduction and preparedness management.
Keywords ecotourism-related strategies, tourism, destination competitiveness,
Porter’s Diamond Model, Importance-Performance Analysis

INTRODUCTION
Tourism has been eyed as one of the biggest and fastest economic drivers in the world. With theincreasing number of new destinations along with the increasing investments and financing poured
to tourism worldwide, the industry transformed itself into a key driver in socio-economic progress(UNWTO, 2016). Due to its potentials for growth and contributions derived from the industry,
tourism is seen to be taking an important role in implementing strategies for local and regional
development, especially for developing countries like the Philippines.
The tourism industry portfolio of the Philippines constitutes mostly of various tourism andnative products. Among the highest ranked tourism products in the country in terms of priority arenature-based, sun and beach, and diving/marine sports tourism (DOT, 2016). This denotes that thetourism industry in the Philippines has been greatly dependent on the natural resources for its
continued growth and existence. To ensure that these resources are responsibly used, destinations
can adopt the concept of ecotourism which offers conservation-oriented and sustainable form oftourism.
Increasing the tourism competitiveness of a destination means enticing potential tourists andoffering and serving them with products and services better than other destinations (Mazurek,Ⓒ ISERD132

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2014). In order to ensure strong and sustainable development, analysis of competitiveness should
be taken to form a sound basis for strategy formulation and policy implementation (Melisidou, etal., n.d.). Tourism competitiveness studies revolved around the identification of factors that affectthe destinations ability to attract tourists and development of possible management strategies(Crouch, 2010; Goffi, 2013; Bobircă and Cristureanu, 2006). Porter’s Diamond Model is also
widely used in studies on competitiveness (Wahogo, 2006; Bobircă and Cristureanu, 2006)
Biliran is the best kept secret haven in Eastern Visayas. With its charming community, richand wonderful coastlines and island attractions, majestic mountains, jaw-dropping waterfalls, andhigh concentration of hot springs surrounded with rich flora and fauna, the province has thepotential to become a sought-after destination for local and foreign tourists as it envisioned tobecome a premier ecotourism destination.
Ironically, with all the beauty and vibrancy of the tourism endowments, for the past years,Biliran Island Province occupied the last place in terms of its share in tourism arrival in Eastern
Visayas Region (Table 1), and 31st among the 72 provinces in the country according to the National
Competitiveness Council in 2017. Analyzing the competitiveness of the tourism sector of Biliran
Island Province is seen to be a must. This identifies the competitive strengths of the province aswell as the barriers that impede the development of the tourism sector (Navickas andMalakauskaite, 2009), more so, a fundamental concern for successful tourism management andplanning.
Table 1 Provinces in Region 8 and their major characteristics
ProvincesBiliran
Eastern Samar
Leyte
Northern Samar
Samar
Southern Leyte

Population inthousands (2015)
172
467
1,967
632780422

Land area(sq. km)
536
4,660.5
6,515.1
3,692.9
6,048
1,798.6

Tourism performance*Arrivals
Rank
31,2196
72,0605722,0101
240,9724
480,275
2391,1083

Sources of data: DOT, PSA *Based on the cumulative tourism arrivals (2011-2015)

OBJECTIVE
This research study which assessed the tourism competitiveness of Biliran Island Province used thePorter’s Diamond Model of Competitiveness that generated proposed strategies to aid in the policy
and management planning of the Provincial Tourism Office and stakeholders towards enhancing its
tourism competitiveness. Specifically, the study aimed to: (1) analyze the tourism competitivenessof Biliran Island Province using the Importance-Performance Analysis; (2) ascertain the challenges
faced by the tourism sector in the study area that impedes its competitiveness; and (3) proposed
strategies to enhance the tourism competitiveness of Biliran Island Province.
METHODOLOGY
Research approach: As a descriptive research, this assessment study employed quantitative
research approach which involved the collection of data in order to quantify them and subject theinformation gathered to statistical treatment to predict, explain, and confirm knowledge claims. The
personally collected numerical data were analyzed to address the research objective(s) defined for aparticular study (Williams, 2007). Like most of the assessment studies on competitiveness done by
Wahogo, (2006), Goffi (2013), and Dwyner (2010), the survey method was used as data collection
method.
Research area: It located on the western side of the Eastern Visaya region, also Biliran is boundedby the province of Leyte on the south, Western and Northern Samar on the east, and Masbate on theⒸ ISERD133

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northwest. The province is considered to be the smallest island province in the region and one of
the smallest in the entire Philippines (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Location map of Biliran Island Province
Retrived from en.wikipedia.org

Research respondent: A total of 33 tourism stakeholder-respondents were surveyed, of whom, 27
were owners/managers of tourism enterprises and six were staff and tourism officer of theProvincial Tourism Office of Biliran. Respondents were chosen based on their availability andconvenience.
Data collection: The two-part survey questionnaire was used in gathering the needed data toaddress the research objectives. The first part identified the profile of the respondent’sbusiness/company while part two determined the level of importance and performance of thevarious factors and conditions towards competitiveness that Biliran Island Province had as a tourist
destination. Micheal Porter’s Theory of Competitiveness (Porter, 1998) as illustrated by theDiamond Model of Competitiveness is contextualized and applied to the tourism industry. The
questionnaire contained 29 items grouped in accordance to the four factors in the diamond modelfactor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and context for firm
strategy and rivalry. The data were gathered between May to July 2018.
Data analysis: The responses of the respondents were coded using a five-point Likert scale,encoded in Microsoft Excel, and descriptive statistical analysis were sorted and summarized.

Fig. 2 The IPA grid
Adopted from Dwyner, L., 2010

Furthermore, the computed mean scores of the variables were analyzed and plotted in theImportance-Performance Analysis (IPA) grid which aided the development of management
strategies. The median of the variables’ mean values, on the other hand, served as the central valuesof the grid, forming four quadrants. For this study, the computed central values were 4.3(importance) and 3.42 (performance). IPA combines measures of attribute importance andⒸ ISERD

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performance into a two-dimensional grid to easily interpret the data and derive practicalsuggestions (Fig. 2).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Tourism Competitiveness of Biliran Island Province
Increasing the competitiveness of Biliran Island Province requires efforts to improve theperformance of various factors that have significant effect on its ability to attract and entice
tourists. Showing the result of the analysis in Table 2, the tourism competitiveness of the province
relies on its outstanding natural resources, safe and secured environment, and provision of somebasic facilities.
Table 2 Factors of competitiveness (Direct IPA)
Factors
Safety and security
Electricity
Awareness/Recognition of Hazards
Scenery
Roads
Demand by foreign customers
Landscapes and seascapes
Demand by local customers
Quality/ Skills of employees
Water system
Communication network
Legal, regulatory, and administrative
framework
Development of strategy
Marketing and advertising
Airports and seaports
Product pricing
Cost of personnel
Availability and access to locally based
suppliers
Flora and Fauna
ClimateCost of capital expansion
Joint Promotion of exhibitions, and trade
fares
Membership in organizations
Quantity of employees
Science and technology
Availability of capital
Level of rivalry

Mean Values
Importance
Performance(y)(x)
4.793.88
4.73
3.52
4.64
3.67
4.48
3.85
4.49
3.67
4.39
3.64
4.36
3.67
4.36
3.72
4.33
3.45
4.64
3.24
4.52
3.3
4.36
3.18

Quadrant
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Concentrate here
Concentrate here
Concentrate here

4.3
4.3
4.3
4.24
4.24
4.18

3.42
3.09
2.76
3.48
3.42
3.33

Concentrate here
Concentrate here
Concentrate here
Concentrate hereLow priority
Low priority

4.12
4.09
4.09
4.03

3.21
3.33
3.42
2.42

Low priority
Low priority
Low priority
Low priority

43.88
3.82
4.15
3.78

2.67
3.24
2.18
3.55
3.52

Low priority
Low priority
Low priority
Possible overkill
Possible overkill

Source: Survey data

However, efforts should be made in order to improve the performance of the factors
positioned on the “Concentrate Here” quadrant. Marketing and advertising and product pricing are
significant factors affecting tourists’ decision-making in exploring and visiting the area (Batra,2016). Weak tourism promotion and advertisement manifested by the absence of a website andsocial media presence, brochures and other promotional collaterals and materials impede thecompetitiveness of tourism in the province. Supporting facilities like strong and integrated
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are likewise necessary to increase the flow of tourists. Sound regulation and strategy to serve as theoverall umbrella need to be in place to ensure sustainable development of resources, and acompetitive tourism destination.
Challenges and Proposed Strategies toward Increasing Tourism Competitiveness
Table 3 shows the challenges and strategies that Biliran Island Province can adapt as it positioned
itself as an agri-garden and premiere ecotourism destination in Region VIII. A competitive ecotourism destination would require the presence of standard-compliant tourism facilities, highquality of service and skilled workers, accessible sites and destinations, distinctive souvenirs andlocal products, and a peaceful and secured environment. Moreover, the provision of infrastructureand other support facilities towards competitiveness implies that transportation, electricity andwater are readily available for domestic and commercial consumption, and reliable internet andfunctional network coverage. As an island destination located at a hazard-prone area, theimperative of developing sustainable tourism products, coupled with disaster-prepared community
is of paramount concern in increasing the competitiveness of Biliran Island Province. On the otherhand, Biliran’s competitiveness could be enhanced with certain environmental marketing activities
and initiatives (Mihalic, 2000) which convey messages related to environmental awareness andprotection (Batra, 2006).
Table 3 Summary of Challenges and Strategies for Biliran Island Province
Challenges
High cost and inconsistent supply ofbasic facilities
Underdeveloped ports
Lack of support from thegovernment
Climate change%
response
84.84
45.45
30.30
60.60

Strategies
Developing environment-friendly
infrastructure
Establishing a Destination Management
OfficeSustainable development of natural
resources
Developing responsible marketing andadvertising program
Intensifying safety and disaster
preparedness initiatives
Enhancing human resource capacity%
response
60.60

45.45
81.81
51.51
75.75
36.36

Source: Survey dataCONCLUSION
The competitiveness of Biliran Island Province rests on the outstanding state of its naturalresources, safe and secured environment, and availability of basic utilities. Thus, in order to realize
its vision as a premier ecotourism destination in Region VIII, and at the same time, increasing its
ability to attract tourists, management strategies and policies anchored on the principles ofecotourism should be considered and enacted.
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