Both India and Sri Lanka are seeing a huge boost in Tuk Tuk tourism as people from all over the world flock to their countries to experience the Tuk Tuk.
Tourists seem to love Tuk Tuks so much that they are prepared to spend thousands of dollars on Tuk Tuk adventures in Sri Lanka and India.
This could happen in LTO but it would require LTO to stop the restrictions they place on the Tuk Tuk
The Rickshaw Run has become a world-famous event, with people flying to India from all over the world to take part and it has now spread to Sri Lanka.
Both events raise a huge amount of money for charities and much of goes to local charities.
Income from Tuk Tuk Tourism
Each team has to pay £1,845 (123,814 peso) per Tuk Tuk to enter. They are also required to raise a minimum of £500 (33,541 peso) per team for charity, most teams make far more than this.
Each team spends about £250 1(6,770 peso)
Per person, they spend around £500 16,770 peso on food so for a team of 3 that £1,500 (100,620 peso)
On accommodation, they spend anything up to £3000 (201,294 peso) depending on where they stay but the average is about £1,500 (100,620 peso).
On Spares and repairs, they spend an average of £125 (8,383 peso)
There are about 70 teams in each event and they hold 3 events a year.
There is also the tourists that would come to the Philippines to watch the event.
What Tuk Tuk Tourism Could do for the Philippines
The Rickshaw run has also had a knock-on effect of people hearing about it and wanting to experience Tuk Tuks but not in a race.
These people flock to Sri Lanka and India every week of the year to hire out tuk-tuks to explore the country they choose.
They return home with their stories of their adventure and that encourages more people to visit, so it encourages, even more, to visit without the need for advertising.
A major advantage of Tuk Tuk tourism over conventional tourism it takes tourists to areas that normally sees hardly any tourists. This, in turn, helps local communities as the Tuk Tuk tourist spend money in the places they pass through on their adventure. It also creates jobs.
Some of the Tuk Tuk tourists hire drivers so again it creates jobs, but the vast majority will want to drive themselves.
LTO Needs to Make Changes
We can only hope that LTO will change their mind and stop treating these fun little cars tricycles, so the Philippines can also benefit from the tourism they can bring to the country.
Boost to Areas that do not Normally Earn From Tourists
Because Tuk Tuks have an ability to fit down narrow roads and go off the beaten track Tuk Tuk Tourism in the Philippines would bring income and jobs to areas that normally see little or no income from Tourism.
Tourists in Tuk Tuks while at times would be using National Highways mush of their journey would be on small roads that normally see little traffic, this means people coming in to these areas buying in shops, eating in cafes and looking for accommodation for the night.
Local Mechanics and tyre shops would also benefit as they would sometimes need repairs.
This extra income from Tuk Tuk Tourism would be spread over the whole country not limited to one place.
But what about the drivers that earn money from driving for tourists? The type of people that would come are not the type to hire a driver so it would take no earnings of them. In fact westerners really do not want to be driven they prefer to drive themselves.
There is no doubt that Tuk Tuk Tourism could bring a huge amount of income to the Philippines and benefit areas that do not normally benefit from tourism.
