The Municipality of Badian will release an amended version of their tourism ordinance, this time with the complete prices of packages for the world-famous Kawasan Falls, after a TikToker took to social media to complain about the site’s hidden charges.
In a now-deleted video, Cebuana Tiktoker Adena Wilson, known on the platform as “Yayasosyalera,” posted a clip telling her 250,000 followers of her unpleasant experience while trekking the waterfalls in Badian.
Kawasan Falls is a group of three waterfalls and natural swimming pools in Badian – a southern municipality 106 km away from Cebu City.
According to her, their group of friends were made to pay P350 per head upon reaching the third and final waterfall on the tour, after already paying P200 as a group for the tour package. The influencer questioned why they were not informed of the additional fees upon entry.
Similar complaints were soon echoed by netizens who have shared the same experience as Wilson.
“Package A, Package B ug deductable, wala gyud to siya. Wala mi na sultian ana (Package A, Package B, and even deductables – there were none. We weren’t appraised of any of that),” Wilson said in a meeting on Wednesday, July 7, with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Badian Mayor Carmencita Lumain, and representatives of the Provincial Tourism Office and the Badian Tourism Office.
Badian Tourism Officer Donald Villarin explained that the tour that extends to the third waterfall is part of another package. Should guests be willing to upgrade their package, all fees paid initially will be deducted from the cost of the new package.
They admitted that there have been lapses in the system. Apart from enumerating the fees and packages, the ordinance will also mandate a standard conduct for tour guides in Kawasan Falls.
Balancing act
For the local governments in Cebu, it’s a balancing act between the interests of local tourists and workers in the tourism industry. The meeting further revealed the bigger struggle faced by tourism workers under the pandemic.
“Para pud mo mahibaw, pagsira sa tourism untawn kay gi-ECQ ta…kaning mga tour guides, hapit isa ka tuig ni waý nakit-an nga kwarta. Wa na gyu’y kita,” she said.
(Just so you know, when tourism was suspended because of [the enhanced community quarantine]…these tour guides, for almost a year, have not made any money. No income at all.)
For Badian in particular, there are over 200 local guides to Kawasan Falls.
Each guide is assigned to a group of about seven tourists, getting only P170 from the P200 guide fee for guests. The remaining P30 goes into their association, formed during the height of the pandemic in an effort to prepare for the reopening of tourism.
Badian Councilor Mark Andrew Jorolan shared that a guide sometimes makes less than P500 a week.
“Kung group of seven mo, nya magkuha mo og isa ka guide, ang iyang income ana na adlaw, is kana ra gyung P170. Nya sa ilang kadaghan karon…in one week maka-guide sila og kausa, kaduha. Kana ilang P170, maka guide silag kaduha is P340. So that’s their income for one week,” he said.
(If you’re a group of seven people, and you get a guide, his income for the day is only P170. And because of their number now…in one week, they only lead tours once, twice. That’s P170, or if they’re able to facilitate two tours, it’s P340. So, that’s their income for one week.)
This is why, Jorolan explained, the LGU is quick to allay any complaints surrounding tourism services.
Tourism in Cebu Province has been open for almost a year. However, with the absence of foreign visitors, the province is now relying on residents and local tourists to resuscitate one of its key industries. – Rappler.com
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