Domestic “Eco” 83the Underground River have been materially remade to better resemble broader,
national understandings of what places of nature should look like and how
they should be accessed and experienced. In particular, the “Philippine nature”
produced through ecotourism consumption and media practices often differs
significantly from the lived experiences of local indigenous residents, who are
often simultaneously presented as a tribal fantasy for Filipino tourists, while being
actually excluded from the spaces of increasingly valuable “natures” and their
associated economic benefits.
Methodology
This case study is drawn from more than 20 months of anthropological fieldwork
focusing on the commodity flows of forest resources (primarily between 2010 and
2012, with scoping and follow-up trips during late 2008 and late 2013, respectively).
The bulk of this fieldwork was based in Puerto Princesa City, on Palawan Island,
particularly the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP).
However, more than a month of research was undertaken in Metro Manila and
Los Baños, principally during October-November 2011 and February 2012. The
research is based on a multi-sited ethnographic methodology, with main research
methods including participant observation, qualitative interviews, and business
and livelihood surveys. Interviews and participant observation with domestic
tourists were conducted predominantly on Palawan Island during their visit. The
ethnographic research that this case study is drawn from was undertaken during the
voting, promotion, and aftermath of the PPUR-N7WN campaign (largely between
2011 and 2012). During the campaign, additional research activities included the
compilation and analysis of media reports of the campaign and Internet promotional
content (including travel blogs, social media, and advertisements).
Situating the case study: Domestic ecotourism on Central Palawan
Island
Attracting revenue from international tourists remains a key objective for the
Philippine Department of Tourism and is often articulated as an aspiration of
Philippine local governments and those who work in tourism-related businesses.
However, it is domestic tourism that “serves to realise the potentials” of tourism
within the Philippines—particularly in buffering vulnerabilities to waning
international tourist arrivals after events such as natural disasters, kidnappings,
and disease outbreaks (Rodolfo 2009, p. 235). This was certainly the case when
tourism on Boracay (often considered the national cautionary tale for ecotourism)
suffered a serious decrease in international visitors after a 1997 coliform outbreak
in the waters along the region’s iconic beachfront (Ong, Storey, and Minnery
2011, pp. 551–52). On central Palawan, similar concerns were felt after the May
2001 kidnapping of tourists and employees from the luxury Dos Palmas Resort
(in Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City) by members of the Abu Sayaff Group
(Alampay and Libosada 2005, p. 146; Austin 2003, p. 98). Tourism markets on