Bobby Lim Joseph, a pillar of the local travel and tourism industry, trailblazer, cancer survivor and one of PeopleAsia’s “Men Who Matter” awardees for 2015, has died. Joseph leaves behind wife Ida and their children. He was 72.
In a more recent article written by PeopleAsia editor-in-chief Joanne Rae Ramirez for the Philippine STAR last November, she described the late Joseph as a “survivor.”
A survivor not only from Stage 4 renal cancer, which Joseph had dealt with and successfully managed since 2007, but also from the ups and downs of the travel industry, which took a direct hit with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
Back when he was first diagnosed with renal cancer in the mid-2000s, Joseph was given by his doctors 18 months to live. He revealed to Ramirez how he managed to survive what practically was a death sentence.
“The secret to my survival is the miracle of hope from Mama Mary, the support and love of my family, living life one day at a time and doing my best in Jesus’ name,” he said.
He also shared with Ramirez’s readers ways of fighting illness, including pandemic-induced stress and anxiety. “Break down problems to solvable parts. One’s outlook should be focused on one’s goals. Discard self-created difficulties that have no basis for one’s concern. Work one step at a time to get things done with a projected timeline.”
Responsibilities come with every endeavor or career we choose to embrace. As an industry leader, Joseph never shirked from responsibilities, but through the years he had also learned to delegate. “(I) accept the challenges, but pass them on to expert networks to relieve me of stress and tension,” Joseph, who was also president of the Rotary Club of Manila, the first Rotary Club in Asia, shared with Ramirez.
Joseph’s career in the travel and tourism industry dated back to the 1960s when he was named top salesman for Egypt Air from 1965 to 1979. Long before the world got hooked on Korean food and entertainment, Joseph also did well as part of Korean Air Lines, receiving a citation from its president for sales and marketing in Asia.
As a trailblazer in aviation marketing, he once collaborated with Asia’s “Fashion Czar” Pitoy Moreno in mounting a fashion show in the sky — onboard a KAL 747 flying from Seoul to New York with the 747’s aisles as the catwalk.
Neither could a national crisis that nearly brought the nation to its knees faze him. Despite the fallout from the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in August 1983, Ramirez further wrote, Joseph recalled spearheading the Philippines’ hosting of the 17th Annual World Airline Clubs Association (WACA) Convention in 1984. The country clinched the hosting despite the uncertainty at the time.
Looking back, Joseph told Ramirez that he viewed the experience like a half glass full. “We had 427 foreign delegates instead of 800,” he said. But the show went on.
Sales and marketing has always been Joseph’s forte, and he made good use of them.
Joseph held the post of Kuwait Airways district sales manager for passenger and cargo for the Philippines from 1983 to 1992 and was a recipient of Kuwait Airways’ “Best Productivity” recognition.
He also started the Skål Tourism Personality Awards in the country.
Cancer or no cancer, he seemed unstoppable even during his sunset years. His carried his love for the industry even after officially leaving sales and marketing. After his retirement in the airline business, Joseph continued to be active in strengthening the industry.
According to Ramirez’s article, he founded the first travel cooperative in the Philippines for micro travel agencies. According to him, this has been accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). He is president of the Network of Independent Travel Agencies (NITAS) as well as of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (NAITAS), with chapters all over the country.
He attributed his “can-do” attitude to “optimism and positive thinking.” And to his beautiful ever-supportive wife, the former Ida Manalo, and their children.
