Tourism Planning at El Kabayo
The tour site is a replica of a town of the “old west”. There is a general store, saloon/ restaurant, post office, trading post, hotel, telegraph office, bank, drugstore and of course, the county jail and sheriff’s office. Visitors will definitely feel like they are on a cowboy movie set in tinsel town. No cowboy town would be complete without horses, of which the Clark El Kabayo Western town is proud of.
The stables have the finest mix of quality horses to ride: thoroughbreds, quarter horses, standard bred and others.Whether you’re an experienced horseman or a beginner, there are horses, trails through surrounding greenbelt areas of Clark and trainers to take care of you. Gabby la ‘O, is the “sheriff” of Clark El Kabayo Western town. The inspiration to carry out a dream hit Gabby in 2003 while on a US cross-country trip through western towns and dude ranches with his grown children. At that time Gabby was already the budding “sheriff” of the El Kabayo Riding stables of Subic. From then on, the dream of building a cowboy town was just a matter of time for one who’s Christmas wish list always included the wish for a “real horse”.
II. Tourism Development Goals and Objectives Goal: This tourism development plan adapts the main goal of El Kabayo’s that is to be known as the best Cowboy Themed Park in the Philippines. Objectives: • To develop promotional strategies that would best benefit the tourism destination (Tarpaulins, flyers, brochures, signposts, discounts, promos, activities) • To provide services to Horse lovers and Beginners who can’t afford the expense of having a real one. • To attract more tourist, locals and foreigners, and then turn them into loyal patrons. III.
Tourism System A. Supply Side of Tourism Attractions The attractions available in El Kabayo are the mock-up recreations of an old-west general store, saloon/restaurant, post office, trading post, hotel, telegraph office, bank and drugstore that tourists could take their pictures on.El Kabayo also provides Cowboy or Cowgirl dresses which tourists could use as a costume for their picture-taking sessions. And also one of the attractions of El Kabayo is their mix of quality horses to ride on. They have 24 horses which cost Php200,000 each.
• Services • Horseback Riding Activities The services they offer at El Kabayo are: Horseback Riding ? A riding tour of Western Town ? 30-minute ride (Php350. 00) ? 60-minute ride (Php600. 00) ? Extensions ? Trail Rides with drinks and Snacks ? 2-hour ride ? 2. 5-hour ride ? 3-hour ride ? Carriage and Trail Rides ? 30-minute ride ? 60-minute ride ? Extensions ? Riding Lessons ? Certification granted after a completion of ten (10) supervised riding lessons. ? Wholesale Riding ? Opportunity to avail of a horse lovers’ agreement, which allows a single person to benefit from qualified unlimited riding within a month’s period. • On-Location Activities Day Tours ? Individual Sight-seeing tour in the Western Town ? Free Unlimited Photo opportunities ? Guided group tours (Minimum of 15 persons) ? Photo Opportunities ?With the local Cowboys and Indians in the Western Town ? On horseback (Additional Fee) ? Dressed as Cowboy or Indian in the Town Jail (Additional Fee) ? Team Building Conferences • Amenities ? Horse Boarding and Lodging ? Inclusive of feeds, grooming, training, grazing, vitamins, stall and beddings, farrier, and veterinary care.
? Horseshoe Bar/ Saloon ? Snake Skin Crisps, ? The House Special P99 Steak Baby Back Ribs ? General Store ? Souvenir Items such as Cowboy Hats, Cowboy Boots, Bandanas, Cowboy Figurines, Horse Figurines, Pellet Revolvers, Bows and Arrow. ? Convenience Store ? Variety of items to suit every tourist’s needs. • Promotions The promotional tools that they have are through brochures, flyers and also tarpaulins around Clark Freeport Zone only. They are also part of the interrelated groups in Clark, like Paradise Ranch, Zoocobia and other more establishments which have a promotional tool that promotes the establishments as one. B.
Demand Side of TourismEl Kabayo started year 2003, but unfortunately they do not have a complete record of tourist arrivals in the past years of operation. However, the management has provided an estimate/range of the average arrivals of customers per day. The estimated tourist arrivals each day ranges from 5 to 15 persons. The management cannot give the exact count for the tourist arrivals because there are instances that they organize events and competitions where they invite people to join and be a part. Their Lean season starts when Rainy season comes in (June up to November), and their Peak season starts when summer comes in (March up to May).
But in our case today, because of the change in our weather, people are not enjoying the services that El Kabayo gives, specially the Horseback riding because of the intense heat of the Sun. IV. Environmental Analysis (SWOT or External Factors Analysis) Strengths • It has a unique concept. • Capable of providing theme related activities and supplementary items. • Good customer service is present among all staff.
• Services provided are flexible for modification allowing customized service to customers. Weaknesses • It is expensive to maintain. It can’t operate during rainy season. • The place is not accessible if you don’t have a private car. • Does not have enough promotional tools.
Opportunities • Its membership to the Clark Freeport Tourism Association could provide leverage to their promotional activities. • Partnership with Greater Clark Visitors Bureau for the First Annual Clark Freeport Horse Festival may allow higher public exposure. Threats • Recession; the services offered at El Kabayo could be considered as very elastic. The demand for its services could be not preferred in times of low economy.V.
Recommendation El Kabayo has strengths that could be beneficial to the establishment and that would be their dedication and love for horses, unique concept and amicable manpower. But there are also weaknesses and threats that could be detrimental to the place if not given apt attention. In this regard, the researchers recommend these things for the benefit of the establishment: • Build signposts Providing signposts around Clark and to other parts of Pampanga will increase the awareness of the public that there is a tour site like El Kabayo. Build an In-door Mechanic Rodeo Bull Because of the climate change, the weather now is unpredictable. Comes rainy season, instead of closing the operations, they could use this mechanic rodeo bull as a puller for tourists especially here in Pampanga.
If in case the management will consider the recommendation, they will be the first to provide the mechanic bull as an attraction in Pampanga. And it really is a good idea that beside the restaurant they have the mechanic rodeo bull that tourist can enjoy and that best suits their Cowboy theme. • Provide promotions and toolsAs the global crisis increases people might not consider riding a horse for excursion. But if the management provides promos like “Bring 5 of your Friends and get a 1-hour ride for Free” and “Family FunDay Promo” these could be a good promotional strategy to start off. And by doing this, the management should also consider giving away flyers and posting tarpaulins regarding these promotions not only in Clark but to other parts of Pampanga as well to better increase the awareness of tourists and locals. • Tie-ups with different Schools Tie-ups with schools are also ways of reaching out to the potential market.
Especially now that there are lots of schools popping out, it is a good idea of planning to make a connection with the schools for an educational trip all regards with horses and how to ride them. In this case, more people will be aware of El Kabayo’s offerings, promotions, and other services. And also, it can be a good starting point to host team buildings for organizations (school, work, NGO, etc. ) as it could accommodate 24 persons at a time and its outdoor facilities make it more suitable for team buildings and the like. • Loyalty Cards Provide discounts, freebies and other benefits for those who will avail of the loyalty card.
In this way, the clients or tourists will be motivated to go to El Kabayo because they know that they will be given discounts. It is important in an establishment to take good care of your loyal patrons in this way you will earn more rather than trying to reach out to those who are not your existing or potential market. Word-of-mouth promotions might be present in this case. Because as the loyal patrons are satisfied to what El Kabayo offers, surely they will tell their families, friends and relatives with what they have experienced and these people would surely want to experience the same thing.
