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Optimism
By Michael Alan Hamlin
May 31, 2004
It turns out that El Nido is a pretty terrific place
for a vacation. But it's a pretty tough place to work. There are
worse fates than being put to work in a beautiful, exotic island
resort, and while spending less than every waking hour enjoying
its attributes isn't quite tortuous, it takes enormous will power
to focus away from the place, and on work. It's certainly better,
however, than spending the week working in an office like, well,
you did.
For those of you who haven't been to the twin El Nido resorts of
Miniloc and Lagen, it's an investment you should rethink. Lagen
is the more upscale of the two, and it's newer. It's also for adults.
Laid back, serene, quiet. It's a resort for busy executives who
need to decompress, and recharge. For the adventurous, diving, snorkeling,
picnicking and hiking sites are just a 15- to 30-minute pump boat
ride away. Others stay back to enjoy the pool, the sun, and each
other.
Miniloc is for the kids, and the kid in all of us. It features two
lagoons, one called, somewhat disingenuously Big Lagoon and the
other, Little Lagoon. Both are beautiful. The Big Lagoon is shaped
by sheer limestone clefts, typical of the topography of northern
Palawan. Water depth ranges from a foot or two to more than 40 feet,
and boating up and down its tributary-like branches is a study in
subtle sensual overload: the gentle lapping of the water against
the boat or kayak, the chirping of the insects, and sheer visual
beauty of the crystal waters set against the backdrop of the natural
limestone walls.
The Little Lagoon is entered through a narrow opening between limestone
outcroppings through which visitors carefully maneuver their kayaks.
It's as if visitors are entering a very private space reserved for
special guests only, and the instinctive reaction is awe, reserve,
and respect. Someone tells me these majestic limestone ocean valleys
migrated millions of years ago from what is now mainland China.
We next made our way to Miniloc, anchoring just off the resort and
snorkeling the distance to the landing. I can't claim to have years
of snorkeling and diving to my credit, but in these past few years
I have spent a reasonable amount of time exploring some beautiful
diving and snorkeling sites. For snorkeling, however, I have to
say that none so far compares to Miniloc.
Almost as soon as we jumped from the boat we were surrounded by
at first hundreds and then thousands of fish hoping, it seemed,
that we'd share a little sustenance with our underwater companions.
As we neared the landing, the size of the fish actually increased
until I was startled by huge silver and dark brown jackfish maneuvering
alongside us. My companions and I suddenly felt as if we were living
the Discovery Channel.
The time in El Nido was significant for other reasons. It was a
good week to be away from Manila and the election aftermath for
one. Instead of spending another week bemoaning that national backfire,
we spent the time taking in the incredible richness of the Philippines,
which remains a well-kept secret to most of the world. And it was
the perfect venue for renewing old ties and building new friendships.
Another outcome of the week was confirmation of the optimism many
executives have about the economy and business growth this year
and the rest of this decade. Our discussions were confidential so
I can't say much about them. But I can say that a broad spectrum
of executives on El Nido last week are feeling tremendous optimism
about their businesses in particular, and the opportunities the
Philippines is well positioned to leverage.
It's no secret that many of those opportunities lie in non-traditional
business areas that are a frequent subject of this column and business
journalism in general. But even I am surprised at how strongly these
sectors continue to grow. One of the most exciting business opportunities
for the Philippines lies in research and development in just about
every non-traditional sector you can imagine: hardware, software,
and wireless technologies.
The one caveat to the optimism is the shortage of the key resource
that drives these sectors, and that's people. Businesses in these
non-traditional spaces don't seem to have concerns generating income;
rather, their issue is developing the people resources required
to meet demand. For instance, the contact center industry is already
on record warning of personnel shortages because just five percent
of the people they interview have the skills they need to get a
job. It's worse for R&D engineering candidates.
This business optimism and El Nido's beauty present some interesting
parallels, and contrasts. Overall, they both are well-positioned
as strong engines for growth. But in the case of non-traditional
business, the engine pushing growth may begin to sputter not for
want of people, but for want of educated people as the Philippines
becomes an increasingly attractive site for value-added e-Services.
El Nido and other tourist destinations, on the other hand, aren't
a new business opportunity. They've always been here, but for the
most part ignored, although tourism could be a wildly attractive
opportunity for growth as it is elsewhere in Southeast Asia. For
whoever does become president, these twin challenges will be assuring
a steady stream of new people resources for business, and beginning
to effectively communicate the Philippines as the incredible vacation
destination it should be.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing
director of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on
Asian economies and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian
Places, of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently
at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian Professionals
into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2003 Michael Alan
Hamlin. All Rights Reserved.
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