Travel and Tourism Industry [Archive] - Page 3

Skyblade

October 15th, 2005, 04:20 PM

Here's something that's in a more regional theme:

BIMP-EAGA COMES UP WITH 5 YEAR ROADMAP TO BOOST TOURISM, TRADE
Tuesday October 11, 2005, 6:01 pm
Link to the article (http://au.biz.yahoo.com/051011/17/axc0.html)

DAVAO CITY, Oct 11 Asia Pulse - Top leaders of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) crafted a five-year roadmap to boost tourism, agri-business and security in a unified BIMP-EAGA economic cooperation.

Mindanao Affairs Secretary Jesus Dureza said the BIMP-EAGA Roadmap to Development 2006-2010, crafted during the 13th Senior Officials Meeting and 10th Ministerial Meeting in Brunei last month, will guide EAGA's economic growth direction.
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Dureza said the roadmap was endorsed by over a hundred BIMP-EAGA senior officials, signing ministers, and government and private sector stakeholders.

"The ultimate goal is to narrow the development gaps across and within the EAGA member countries as well as across the Asean-6 countries," Dureza said.

Under the five-year roadmap, the BIMP-EAGA aims to achieve a 10 per cent increase in intra-trade and investments for the priority sectors namely: palm oil, seaweeds, halal products and small business and enterprise.

Also, a 20 per cent increase in tourism movement within the sub-region through coordination and strengthened planning and implementation of infrastructure support to economic integration.

"Hopes are high for BIMP-EAGA to accelerate growth over the next medium term through this roadmap that provides a clear path in our concerted effort for sub-regional development," Dureza said.

In support for the roadmap, the BIMP-EAGA priority sector clusters are also crafting action plans for their respective flagship programs and projects.

The action plans will be presented during the BIMP-EAGA Leaders Summit in Malaysia on December 11 this year.

Dureza said the roadmap is supported by economic partners from the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Governments of Northern Territory in Australia and the Asian Development Bank.

(PNA)

richard fischer

October 15th, 2005, 06:58 PM

well you did hit a button and i responded like a typical Chicago Forumer. I'll watch my mouth next time and if you have a bone to pick send me a message instead. We'll clear it up there.

thank you fellows, salamat.......

slerz

October 16th, 2005, 08:02 AM

I think Philippines' tourism indutry is still weak , comparing to its neigbor . The tourism unit should develop a more cohesive and more informative sector and presenting and promoting to the world . And besides beaches , should also develop something else while preserving local culture . After all , Philippines is competing against the worlds best ( Bali , Phuket , Langkawi )

As of now, Langkawi is not that going far... Cebu is now penetrating the same tourism market of Bali and Phuket... BALI, PHUKET and CEBU are now the choices of island resort destinations by east Asians specifically Koreans and so with the Japanese. DOT and the Cebu local government is doing its best for Cebu to come out to the open and to become Asias major tourist destination... and it is doing very well... thanks to them... :okay:

chymera00

October 16th, 2005, 04:55 PM

@ bustero, i have brought 3 people from US here since i got here this May. One of them, Pam, didn't want to go back to the US anymore. She said and i quote, "who fuckin' knew i'd fall in love with a country other than my own."

This January i'm bringing my entire barkada here, not a single one pinoy, cause the pinoys were here already. All 5 of them.

wow good for you ... kulng lang talaga sa Tourism ng pinas ang advertising

Mango

October 16th, 2005, 05:41 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/esl.gif (http://www.tourism.gov.ph/Special/esl3.asp)

Well, I printed out some of this and distributed them to some Koreans in my univ. here inquiring about learning English in Phil.(for their relatives in Korea) last summer.

stephencua

October 17th, 2005, 03:39 AM

have you seen their website ? cannot find anything about the philippines in their september issue.....

really? i dont know.. i just saw the article in the mb.com.ph website.. sori

bustero

October 17th, 2005, 04:19 AM

@ bustero, i have brought 3 people from US here since i got here this May. One of them, Pam, didn't want to go back to the US anymore. She said and i quote, "who fuckin' knew i'd fall in love with a country other than my own."

This January i'm bringing my entire barkada here, not a single one pinoy, cause the pinoys were here already. All 5 of them.

Good for you :tyty:

See the power of one, just doing simple things, imagine if just 10 percent of ofw's were able to convince 1 person to go for a vacation here rather than elsewhere for a change! That's a lot. Great job:)

richard fischer

October 17th, 2005, 09:17 PM

really? i dont know.. i just saw the article in the mb.com.ph website.. sori

strange huh, not a word about the philippines. and they said it was a 23 page story !

tigidig14

October 17th, 2005, 11:49 PM

shouldnt it be for novermber issue, next month

richard fischer

October 18th, 2005, 03:19 PM

well in the papers it said september issue, let´s check the next month then....ok ? would be great to post it here !

Skyblade

October 18th, 2005, 05:04 PM

Island Paradise Adventure Race Visayas Leg launched
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Link to the article (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ilo/2005/10/18/sports/island.paradise.adventure.race.visayas.leg.launched.html)

TOURISM officials announced the Visayas Leg of the Island Paradise Adventure Race (IPAR), the biggest adventure race ever in the Philippines, in terms of prize money and number of destinations.

In keeping with the adventure-racing trend popularized by reality television shows such as The Amazing Race, the Department of Tourism saw the opportunity to promote the Philippines as an adventure tourism destination. The country's diversity offers a wide range of exciting and unique experiences to jaded travelers who are looking for something out of the ordinary, and the Ipar program is set to showcase these unique destinations.

The Visayas Leg, set to run for nine days from Dec. 10 to 18, 2005, will take the participants from Manila through the southern Luzon provinces of Laguna, Batangas and Puerto Gallera then cross over Mindoro down to Boracay, Capiz and Iloilo, crossing the Guimaras strait through Negros to Bohol, finally finishing in Cebu. In all, the teams are expected to stop at around 50 destinations where they will perform challenges highlighting the local attractions. Since this is an inter-island adventure, teams are expected to traverse the Strong Republic Nautical Highway using the ro-ro shipping facilities, which are still something of a novelty.

According to Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, "Ipar is our way of positioning the Philippines as an ideal tourism destination, particularly for adventure enthusiasts as we believe our 7,100 islands have something to appeal to everyone. For the long term, we hope the Ipar program will be institutionalized as an ongoing tourism program, which will attract not only local but foreign adventure enthusiasts as well."

Unlike other adventure sports activities which are limited to adventure or extreme sports enthusiasts, tourism officials insist that the IPAR Visayas Leg is open to everyone interested in traveling across the Visayas and discovering the natural beauty, local traditions, and cultural offerings. Of course, competitors have to be physically and mentally fit for the rigors and challenges of a cross-country trek.

The Island Paradise Adventure Race - Visayas Leg is open to teams consisting of 2 members, who should be at least 18 years of age. One million pesos is at stake for the winning team. The second and third place finishers will be taking home P200,000 and P100,000 in prize money, respectively. The contest organizers are targeting at least 30 participating teams.

The application period is from October 17 to November 30, 2005. Interested participants may contact the Event Secretariat for the entry forms (Ask for Hussein or Pepe at tel. 5241997, mobile (928) 7977904, or email ipar_dot@yahoo.com). An entry fee of P3,000 will be charged per team. (PR)

kiretoce

October 18th, 2005, 05:27 PM

^^ Will that race be televised on Philippine TV?

Skyblade

October 18th, 2005, 05:33 PM

^^ Will that race be televised on Philippine TV?
I really don't know, though it'd be great to have it televised. :D

KulasKusgan

October 19th, 2005, 11:34 AM

Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Inter-agency body created for tourism forum

VARIOUS government offices in Davao City are tapped to assist the Department of Tourism (DOT) in preparation for the most important tourism event in the Asean region to be hosted by Davao City on January 2006.

Representatives of government offices were called to form part of the task force convened for the first time Monday along with the organizers and discussed salient issues of the said event.

DOT Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab led the team in explaining to the body how each agency is expected to contribute to the preparation of the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF).

The Department of Interior and Local Government, in coordination with the Davao Host Council, is tasked to provide security arrangements for the ATF delegates.

The Department of Public Works and Highways committed assistance to construct and install arches, billboards announcing the event.

The Bureau of Immigration is tasked to provide special entry and exit arrangements for ATF delegates in Davao, Manila, and Mactan.

These are but few of the list of government agencies working together with the DOT to prepare and implement the activities and programs for ATF 2006.

Palabyab grouped the different agencies through committees to oversee similar functions and responsibilities.

One of the reported concerns of the group is security, which led the body to come up with a crisis management plan including communication, safety, and security, as well as emergency.

Palabyab clarified that the host country is not building fear among the foreign participants.

"In any big activity, there is always a contingency plan prepared for worst scenarios, the host country is said to be prepared if incase an emergency takes place securing safety of the visitors," Palabyab said.

Nevertheless, Palabyab explained that the plan is not a tool to steer fear and cause withdrawal of the expected 3,000 foreign participants and some 400 foreign buyers and over 150 international media practitioners.

At the moment, the ATF Philippine Host Committee is conducting a dry run in the various areas where the participants are expected to pass through.

"We now inspecting the airport and the venues where the big activities will take place," he said.

With the good number of government agency representatives present in the meeting expressing their commitment of support and assistance, Palabyab is confident that the preparation stage has become lighter on the DOT's part.

Mango

October 20th, 2005, 02:51 AM

Susan Calo Medina’s favorite destinations
STARBYTES By Butch Francisco
The Philippine Star 10/20/2005

(First of two parts)
Nineteen years ago today, Travel Time aired its very first episode on IBC-13. Since then, this program has moved to GMA 7 – until it found its present home on Studio 23 where it is aired every Monday at 11:30 p.m.

Nineteen years is a long time to be on television – especially for a travel show because the price of gasoline (how can they travel without gas?) continues to gallop (especially these days!).

Travel Time host-producer Susan Calo Medina, however, just forges on and I believe that one reason why her show has lasted this long is the fact that she continues to give viewers quality products.

"A painless way to learn geography" was how one university professor described Travel Time sometime in the late ’80s.

Susan Calo Medina herself surely got a lot of lessons in geography during all those 19 years she has been doing Travel Time. By now she must know every nook and cranny of this country (and some places abroad). Below, I asked her to enumerate 19 of her favorite places to mark 19 good years of Travel Time.

1. Butuan City – Of course! That’s where I was born. My roots are there. Besides, the oldest boat extant in Southeast Asia is in Butuan City. In the 10th century, the Kingdom of Poh-Tuan was already trading with China – that’s according to the Sung annals. Despite the fact that it’s not the city my father had envisioned it to be, still, it’s home to me.

2. Pampanga – That’s my other province – My husband is from Arayat and so my children are half Kapampangan. I suppose that explains why we are an eating family. Pampanga is one province where the food approaches cuisine – in its variety and refinement. The simplest fried fish becomes a feast with four different kinds of sauces. And every town has its own specialty – the empanaditas of La Moderna in Guagua, the turon of Sta. Rita, the tibok-tibok and mochi of Susie’s (Go to the original!) in Angeles, the pastilles and plantanilla of Magalang, the halo-halo of Arayat, and espasol in San Fernando – the list goes on.

3. Surigao Norte – From Butuan, it’s only one-and-a-half hours to Surigao City. So, when I’m in Butuan, we go to Surigao City to buy seafood. Having breakfast in the market is a must – you buy your pick of the freshest seafood and have it cooked by the carinderias surrounding the market at indecently low prices. Besides the seafood, there’s the adventure – Silop Cave which is within the city limits, an exciting experience because you go up and down the huge boulders that are always wet and slippery; the beaches and surfing waves of Siargao and the outlying islets, the Sohotan cave which is actually a lagoon enclosed by limestone cliffs. You can enter only at low tide and once inside, it’s a totally different world. By the way, the orange jelly fish do not sting.

4. Bohol – The complete destination. You have heritage – the colonial churches and their plazas, one in every town, the major ones being Baclayon, Loon, Loay, Anda, Panglao and Dauis. You have beaches – in Panglao, in Anda Peninsula; you have eco-tourism – the caves where Dagohoy hid, in Danao, the Cambuhat River tour, the Loboc River cruise, the Chocolate Hills, the tarsier, the diving of Balicasag; and you have food – ube jam made from local kinampay, the broas of Baclayon, the bibingka of Loay, the kalamay of Jagna. And I’m sure there’s more that I haven’t seen.

5. Cebu – Actually, the best of Cebu is not in the city. It’s away from Cebu City – in Olango Island, the island sanctuary for migratory birds with its fine white sand, 15 minutes from Mactan; Malapascua Island, in the north, also with fine white sand beaches; Bantayan Island and its gorgeous Kota beach and colonial church, the only place in the Philippines where you are allowed to eat lechon on Good Friday; the heritage town of Carcar; the ornate Boljoon and Argao churches, though Bambi Harper says the Argao church carvings have been painted over with gold (yuck!) and of course, lechon from Talisay and bibingka from Mandaue.

6. Boracay – What can I say about Boracay that hasn’t yet been said? Boracay waters make you want to jump in, even if you can’t swim!

7. Cagayan de Oro – It has the only canopy walk adventure in the country in the Magbais rainforest in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. There are seven ledges up on top of trees, looking down on a forest. A pulley brings you to the first ledge and you cross from ledge to ledge over narrow hanging bridges made of metal slats hanging from metal ropes. The bridge, of course, shakes as you walk and you feel you’ll fall into the ravines. But of course, you won’t fall – because you are strapped on to a harness.

The other adventure is the white water rafting on Mambuaya River. The course for beginners, which I took, is a 12 1/2 kilometer stretch, with 14 rapids. It‘s great fun, especially for someone who can’t swim.

8. Batanes – It’s not a sweet tropical island like the rest of the Philippines. It’s stark and dramatic and isolated. From afar, the clusters of stone houses remind you of Arthurian villages. You can visit the ruins of the Idyangs – stone fortresses built by the sea-fairing Ivatan ancestors. You can go around Batan Island and revel in the gorgeous scenery. You can cross over to Sabtang and see more picturesque clusters of stone houses. From the top of the highest hill in Basco, you can hear the jeep coming and children below playing. There’s really nothing to do in Batanes – but it’s a great place to do nothing in.

9. Sulu – It’s a real pity that more people don’t visit Sulu. It has beautiful white sand beaches – like Quezon Beach in Patikul. Their crafts are exquisite – the piz which is woven like tapestry in Parang, the habul tiyahe which is the hand embroidered cloth the Tausugs wear as part of their dress, brought back from China by the returning Tausug court, the luhul which is appliquéd tree-of-life tapestries.

The best time to go to Sulu is in September, October and November when the durian and mangosteen are in season – then it’s dirt cheap. The best durian in the world is from Sulu – it is durian from connoisseurs. When we were last there, I had durian that had just fallen from the tree – the best I’ve ever had – rich, buttery, tangy, with a clean sparkling sweetness – unforgettable.

(To be concluded)

tigidig14

October 20th, 2005, 07:24 PM

good stuff happening, this might end-up to be the lasvegas of southeast asia

Subic International Hotel beefs up for guest influx

By ARLENE DABU-FOZ

The Subic International Hotel (SIH), located at Sta. Rita Road, Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) in Olongapo City recently opened its newly spruced-up Delta building in response to the demands of its discerning and growing clientele.

The major nip-and-tuck project complements SIH’s newly opened Subic Diamond Casino, a high-end, one-of-its-kind in the region Las Vegas-style gaming club that made the deluxe property more popular especially with high rollers from all over.

Subic can be reached in about two hours from Manila and has direct flights from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.

Aside from its natural and man-made attractions like lush rainforests, water theme park zoos, among others, the former US military and naval base is also well known for its accessibility, secure and peaceful community and well laidout roads and infrastructures.

SIH caters to both leisure and corporate markets that are perennially fascinated with Subic Bay as one of the country’s top travel and trade hubs. The timely and pricey makeover is SIH management’s way of supporting the Department of Tourism’s (DoT) drive to beef up inbound travel and strengthen domestic tourism.

Present during the ribbon cutting rites were Olongapo City matriarch Mrs. Amelia Gordon, Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon, SIH chairman Dr. James Dy, SIH president and lawyer Alejandra C. Clemente, the SIH management and sales team, some local travel and trade executives and other guests.

Capped with a seven-month renovation, the Delta building is one of the three guestroom properties of SIH that include Alpha and Bravo buildings with a total of 295 rooms. Guests will be impressed with its new spacious, Zen-style and high-ceilinged lobby that exudes a very warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Chicly fitted with new beddings and furnishings and sporting a fresh-look interiors, the Delta structure proudly offers 63 family-friendly superior rooms and four one-bedroom suites with king-size or double beds.

Tailored for the convenience of business travelers, the Delta building’s second floor houses a well-equipped and efficiently staffed business center and club lounge where in-house guests can chill out or carry out small meetings outside of the boardroom or function rooms.

SIH’s dining facilities and other services include the Golden Dragon restaurant for authentic Chinese cuisine, Terrace Café for international fares, Subic Fiesta for an all-time favorite native dishes, the 24-hour dining Café Subic, Diamond Villa and Bar for Western and Asian specialties, Seafront restaurant for al fresco dining with the calming backdrop of Grande Island, Golden Tea House for light Chinese chows like congee, dim sum and noodles, Videoke with 12 private karaoke rooms, Health Club with a fully equipped gym and sauna/massage rooms, swimming pool, laundry, valet and shuttle services.

SIH’s trusty staff can very well manage trainings, seminars, conferences and other social affairs, and the property has various sized function and meeting rooms and banquet facilities for different events from 12 to 600 persons.

Espma

October 22nd, 2005, 05:48 PM

hehe great news for my hometown Subic/Olongapo!!..Olongapo should definitely be a model city for the Philippines..its quite clean!!! And the number of tourists are increasing as well....Taiwanese and Koreans..haha so cute when they tour those tourists outside Subic and into Olongapo City in those mini buses..lol

marites4

October 22nd, 2005, 06:54 PM

good job olongapo for keeping it clean

dancethingy

October 24th, 2005, 10:38 AM

Okay, so i think this is the right forum to share what just happened to me today

So i was taking the jeep to the MRT today and when i stepped into the jeep, hurriedly trying to find an open seat, and sat down, i was shocked. There in front of me was a group of Canadian tourists taking a tour on our historic jeepneys. They were very happy and very nice. Of course I welcomed them and thanked them for coming to Manila. I also urged them to go to Intramuros or Tagaytay. I offered as much as I could. I was just so elated to see tourists visiting our country and exploring our culture. I hope i was able to instill enough positivity about our country for them to come back. YAY!!!!

My experience however was ruined when i got home and my neighbor was ranting and raving about how the Philippines has NO CULTURE and how we are incapable of preserving it. This comes from a guy who refuses to ride a jeepney or a tricycle. It really hurts me when people, especially Filipinos themselves, say things like that, because we are trying to be proud of our culture and gain a better appreciation of the life around us, and when people of such negative mindset pour water over our brightly burning light of fire, it just makes it twice harder to set our hearts on fire about our culture, our way of life. It just sucks. They suck for being so bitter and narrow minded.

daDJ

October 24th, 2005, 02:25 PM

Dvorak

October 24th, 2005, 02:28 PM

naks.. yan si DadJ!!! :carrot:

This happened a month ago. Coming from Petron gasoline station along Macapagal highway, I was heading to the Mall of Asia site to check on its progress and I noticed a Japanese tourist walking in the direction of MoA. He was in his 20s, walking leisurely and listening to his iPod. I had this perception that somehow he was headed in the wrong direction. I stopped my car and asked him where he was going. True enough he was going in the wrong direction - he intended to go to the PAL ticketing office at the Century Park Hotel. Unfortunately, the man he asked for direction didn't give him the correct one or maybe got confused himself thus ending up giving the wrong route. To my surprise, he spoke good English. It turned out he was an English student at UP Baguio. It was only his 2nd time in Manila and he thought that the metro is small and never realized that Metro Manila is huge - comprising several cities and municipalities!
I volunteered to drive him to Century. He told me that he would be staying with his Japanese friend in QC. Worrying too much that he might get lost along the way, I volunteered to drive him to QC (taga dun din lang naman ako) but he politely declined telling that his friend knew Manila better than himself and that he had with him his friend's mobile number. Nonetheless, I gave him my residential and mobile numbers just in case he'd need some help.
He was somehow surprised by the kindness extended to him by a fellow stranger. I, on the other hand, was too happy to help him in any way I can. Somehow it made me feel good that in my own l'l way I was able to instill in him a positive image of the Philippines and the Filipino people in general.

kiretoce

October 24th, 2005, 02:42 PM

You should get a "Citizenship Award" or something! :applause:

kiretoce

October 24th, 2005, 05:12 PM

Manila picks travel ambassadors; Philippine tourism minister to attend Taipei international travel exhibition
2005-10-23 / Taiwan News, Staff Reporter / By Marie Feliciano

http://www.etaiwannews.com/spaw_images/d_1130039003_88948_57baf0ac33d5b8cf_141130040308.jpg
Brian Chou, right, and Hsiang Ma-chen are the Philippines' tourism ambassadors to Taiwan.

Manila's tourism offensive is netting positive results for the Philippines' leading holiday destinations, a top Philippine official said yesterday.

According to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, Taiwanese arrivals in the Philippines reached 12,598 in August, up 28.5 percent compared with year-ago figures. The Southeast Asian nation drew more than 11,000 Taiwanese tourists in September, a month-on-month increase of more than 42 percent.

In September, the Philippines posted the highest growth rate in Taiwanese arrivals, outshining rival destinations in the region.

"The increase in arrivals did not come easy for the Philippines," MECO Resident Representative Antonio Basilio said.

"(The Philippines was) initially affected when Taiwanese visitors (avoided Southeast Asia) due to last December's killer tsunamis."

The Philippines' arrival growth rate exceeded Taiwan's outbound travel performance which stood at 7.03 percent in July, 3.97 percent in August, and 6.33 percent in September.

Taiwanese arrivals in the Philippines fell 32.5 percent in January. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam also sustained losses, with Taiwanese arrivals falling 68.64 percent, 56 percent, 37.79 percent, and 23 percent respectively.

"Subsequent confidence-building and market-responsive measures were implemented by MECO and the Philippine Department of Tourism to assure the Taiwanese traveling public that the Philippines was tsunami-safe, and was an ideal beach holiday destination," MECO-Tourism Representative Gerry Panga said.

The Southeast Asian country also readily accepted diverted tour groups following massive tour cancellations in December 2004.

"We also launched marketing programs in the second quarter in line with the summer holiday season," Panga continued.

Product presentations and media briefings were conducted in Taiwan's major outbound travel hubs to win the support of tourism industry players and the media, he said.

"New" travel agents, particularly those who were selling destinations directly hit by the tsunamis, were also invited to the Philippines for a series of inspection tours.

"The Philippines generated more than P10 million-worth of publicity from those visits," the tourism promoter said.

MECO and PDOT also launched high-profile programs such as the WoW Philippines bus ads and a Chinese travel Web site (www.wowphilippines.com.tw) to reach more consumers. A monthly online newsletter, WoW Philippines eNews, was also sent to more than 4,000 travel industry members.

MECO and PDOT also flew in cultural groups to Taiwan including the world-renowned Bayanihan Dance Troupe, Madrigal Singers, and the Barangay Filipino Dance Troupe. WoW Philippines summer and autumn tour specials with partner agents and airlines were also held these past few months, added Panga.

Recently, MECO introduced the Philippines' celebrity tourism endorsers - actress and model Hsiang Ma-chen, and model Brian Chou.

MECO and PDOT would be rolling out several more tourism programs in the coming months.

Next month, Philippine Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano - the country's top tourism salesman - will be gracing the Taipei International Travel Fair.

The Southeast Asian country is hoping to attract 2.5 million international tourists this year, Durano said. From January to August of this year, Taiwanese arrivals in the Philippines totaled 83,083 or up 4.5 percent compared with 2004 figures. According to the tourism department, Taiwan is now the Philippines' fourth biggest source of travelers just behind the U.S., Korea, and Japan.

The Philippines drew 115,182 Taiwanese visitors in 2004, up 24 percent compared with the previous year. This year, Taiwanese arrivals in the Philippines are expected to grow five to seven percent or 120,000 to 122,000 visitors.

dancethingy

October 24th, 2005, 06:35 PM

GOOD JOB daDJ!

Skyblade

October 25th, 2005, 06:59 AM

This happened a month ago. Coming from Petron gasoline station along Macapagal highway, I was heading to the Mall of Asia site to check on its progress and I noticed a Japanese tourist walking in the direction of MoA. He was in his 20s, walking leisurely and listening to his iPod. I had this perception that somehow he was headed in the wrong direction. I stopped my car and asked him where he was going. True enough he was going in the wrong direction - he intended to go to the PAL ticketing office at the Century Park Hotel. Unfortunately, the man he asked for direction didn't give him the correct one or maybe got confused himself thus ending up giving the wrong route. To my surprise, he spoke good English. It turned out he was an English student at UP Baguio. It was only his 2nd time in Manila and he thought that the metro is small and never realized that Metro Manila is huge - comprising several cities and municipalities!
I volunteered to drive him to Century. He told me that he would be staying with his Japanese friend in QC. Worrying too much that he might get lost along the way, I volunteered to drive him to QC (taga dun din lang naman ako) but he politely declined telling that his friend knew Manila better than himself and that he had with him his friend's mobile number. Nonetheless, I gave him my residential and mobile numbers just in case he'd need some help.
He was somehow surprised by the kindness extended to him by a fellow stranger. I, on the other hand, was too happy to help him in any way I can. Somehow it made me feel good that in my own l'l way I was able to instill in him a positive image of the Philippines and the Filipino people in general.
A job well done, daDJ! Hopefully this would inspire more to reach out in and assist tourists visiting the Philippines. :D

ARROYO CITES NEED FOR MORE TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
Wednesday October 19, 2005, 5:58 pm

MAMBAJAO, Camiguin, Oct 19 Asia Pulse - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said here this morning there is a need to build more tourism infrastructure and strengthen the transport system to fast-track economic development in the countryside.

In a statement at the opening of the 26th Lanzones Festival at the Benigno Aquino Park in Barangay Poblacion here, the President said the government would now be able to build infrastructure necessary to promote tourism in the country, particularly in primary tourist destinations which now include the island province of Camiguin.

She was referring to Tuesday's decision of the Supreme Court lifting the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) law which now paves the way for the implementation shortly of the revenue measure.

President Arroyo, who spoke in Ilonggo, said there is also a need to improve the public transport system, particularly in Camiguin so its sweet lanzones pride could be transported faster directly to its primary markets like Cebu City.

"There should be more lanzones and more transport so we could grow the economy of Camiguin faster," the President stressed.

She also urged Camiguin Governor Pedro Romualdo to work with concerned state agencies on how to improve and strengthen the roll on-roll off transport system so the province's lanzones and other farm produce could be transported from Mambajao to Jagna in Bohol and then to Cebu instead of the present circuitous route.

Presently, Camiguins agricultural produce are transported first to Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental, before being shipped to Cebu.

The President noted that tourism could propel the economic growth of Camiguin which is considered a paradise island because of its many beautiful natural attractions and friendly and hospital people.

She noted that foreign tourists visiting the country have increased with the Chinese and South Koreans contributing significantly to the bulk of visitors.

The Chief Executive said she wants Camiguin to share in the benefits the tourism industry offers.

President Arroyo said that under the Philippine Development Plan, the Visayas and the Bicol regions have been identified as areas that would be developed for tourism.

Tourism has been among the top dollar earners and the Arroyo administration has identified it as one of the sources of the 10 million jobs that have to be created before 2010, a key goal of her 10-point pro-poor legacy agenda aimed at eradicating poverty in the Philippines and as fulfillment of the country's commitment to the United Nations Millennium Agenda.

She also said she had ordered the complete release of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of Camiguins local government units, part of which could be used for tourism-related micro-finance projects.

marites4

October 25th, 2005, 08:12 AM

pGMA seems like she can speak just about any dialect and languages.

tigidig14

October 25th, 2005, 08:50 AM

^she must be a mutt

_zner_

October 25th, 2005, 09:03 AM

OUST gloria.. i hate her now... rallies sucks.. its all her fault!

bustero

October 25th, 2005, 09:49 AM

Who the heck are those guys, are they famous in Taiwan or something???

dancethingy

October 25th, 2005, 10:07 AM

They're both hot!

ThisFire

October 26th, 2005, 05:23 AM

@ bustero, i have brought 3 people from US here since i got here this May. One of them, Pam, didn't want to go back to the US anymore. She said and i quote, "who fuckin' knew i'd fall in love with a country other than my own."

This January i'm bringing my entire barkada here, not a single one pinoy, cause the pinoys were here already. All 5 of them.

I'm completely impressed by not only what you're doing to help promote the Philippines, but the fact that this is another story of foreigners falling in love with those islands. This never fails to happen. It always puts a smile on my face.

kiretoce

October 26th, 2005, 06:34 PM

Filipino travel operators join World Travel Congress in Canada
By RACHEL C. BARAWID

Ten of the country’s top travel agents will join the 75th World Travel Congress (WTC) in Montreal, Canada from Nov. 6 to 11 in an effort to maximize the Philippines’ exposure in the global tourism map, attract more foreign tourists as well as boost their own businesses.

Organized by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the international congress in Quebec will bring together the leading travel agency owners and managers from more than 170 countries, travel professionals including frontline agents, independent contractors and home-based agents, and even tourism students.

ASTA-Philippine Chapter president Sony Lopez-Gonzales will lead the delegation in the prestigious congress which is expected to have over 400 exhibitors.

According to Gonzales, the annual congress has been a much-awaited event for travel agents all over the globe particularly for ASTA members because of the many benefits and opportunities that they reap from this rare occasion.

Focused on the business of selling travel, WTC provides cutting-edge information on the latest in travel technology and in the industry, the leading destinations and travel products in the market, and the chance to network with hundreds of travel suppliers who are prospective business partners.

Participants in the congress can also choose to attend in various seminars to be conducted by experts in the field of travel and tourism and in various sightseeing tours of the beautiful city of Montreal and its tourist sites.

Gonzales said all these aim not just to increase the profits of each travel agent but also guarantee to boost tourism in the countries of the participants.

She added that being a member of ASTA is itself very rewarding. The most important benefit members get is, perhaps, the effective representation in the industry and government affairs for the global concerns and problems affecting their businesses.

Since its inception 74 years ago, it has been ASTA’s mission to protect and promote the mutual interests of its members, maintain a dignified code of ethics, combat unfair competition, stimulate the public’s desire to travel and promote the use of ASTA members’ services.

The local ASTA Chapter under the leadership of Gonzales is also anchored on the same mission. To further strengthen it as well as the organization and the relationship between co-members, she is determined to fulfill some objectives for the duration of her term as president. These include adding more members and changing the organization’s dull and stiff format for general membership meetings into more social and educational affairs.

Gonzales and her officers are also planning to hold seminars on travel and business-related issues for the members. In the near future, she would also like to see the successful integration of the local chapter with the main organization where Filipino members can correlate and work closely with their international counterparts.

Although the local chapter still has a long way to go, Gonzales was already able to attract more travel professionals to join the organization. Since she assumed office in April, she helped it grow from only 19 members to its present 43 who are all confident on her leadership.

Founded on April 20, 1931, the US-based ASTA has become the world’s largest association of travel professionals with over 27,000 members from the travel trade.

c0kelitr0

October 27th, 2005, 03:17 AM

President Arroyo, who spoke in Ilonggo, said there is also a need to improve the public transport system, particularly in Camiguin so its sweet lanzones pride could be transported faster directly to its primary markets like Cebu City.

this report is erroneous. i watched the news on tv about this and she spoke in cebuano!

Lili

October 27th, 2005, 03:27 AM

^ Another worthy subject for an engaging and fiery debate!

bustero

October 27th, 2005, 04:55 AM

do you mean the debate about whether the lanzones is sweet or not? :)

I think the tourist who go there just want to party :dance:
they won't mind if it's cebuano or ilongo as it's all french to them

tigidig14

October 27th, 2005, 06:36 AM

this report is erroneous. i watched the news on tv about this and she spoke in cebuano!

kala ko ilocana sya, what she speaks cebuano too

marites4

October 27th, 2005, 06:38 AM

She's kapangpangan. But she speaks multitudes of languages.

tigidig14

October 27th, 2005, 06:40 AM

wow, i didnt that shes that smart, or only in here speech, she spoke in different dialect.

dancethingy

October 27th, 2005, 09:52 AM

Ladies and gentlemen, the ILOCOS CUISINE. You've all been asking for a cuisine that's unique, so here it is

Everything is edible in parched corner of northern Philippines
10/27 11:09:05 AM

BATAC (AFP) - Bile stew, buffalo brains, termites and raw grasshoppers -- even by adventurous Asian tastes the cuisine of the Philippines' Ilocos region makes some visitors balk.

Over centuries such delicacies have blended by necessity into the gastronomic traditions of this parched northwestern corner of the Philippines, where a brief rainy season heralds a time of plenty.

The tamarind trees on its scraggly hills shake violently as children come to pluck the slumbering June beetles, while termites fly out at night at their peril to shed their wings into large vats filled with water.

Frogs are caught on the rice paddies, as are crickets and snails of various shapes, all of which take pride of place as entrees on dinner tables alongside young bamboo shoots, mushrooms and various vegetable shoots all smothered in cane vinegar and fish paste.

"Subtlety is not found in their gastronomic dictionary. Reflecting the difficult conditions of the land, most of the dishes are either salty or bitter," says the official tourist guidebook of the cuisine of Ilocos Norte province.

"The Ilocanos' penchant for whipping up dishes from ingredients which others would consider inedible gives Ilocano cuisine its distinct edge," it adds.

At the weekly livestock fair on the outskirts of Batac, spouses Franklin Calacal and Minda Tan serve water buffalo meat and tripe cooked in bile, ginger and black pepper and served in a scalding soup.

The diner used to cater to farmers and other livestock traders who haggle over water buffalo, cattle and other draft animals beneath the shade of spiny monkeypod trees. But locals say the 35-peso (62.5 US cents) dish has turned it into the most popular restaurant in the province.

Local officials, doctors, and other professionals from across Ilocos Norte and other nearby provinces as well as increasing numbers of tourists from elsewhere take the long drive every Sunday to dine al fresco on long communal tables on a dirt floor.

"They eat breakfast here, snacks, and then lunch," eating the same dish, Calacal tells AFP. Many of the diners are in their Sunday finery, having just attended mass at the Batac church.

For those averse to bile stew, there is buffalo brains and a pork dish made of minced pig ears mixed with chopped onions and lime.

"The peak periods are Lent and the Christmas season," says Calacal, a former tricycle driver who gets the wood-burning stoves fired up at dawn.

"After a week, they cannot wait to eat water buffalo meat. They say it is tastier and juicier than beef," says his wife.

Western-style fast food restaurants are mushrooming across the region, "but I still go for Ilocano food", says Jocelyn Corpuz, who helps her mother run a 40 year-old meat pie business beside the Batac Roman Catholic church.

She says Ilocos food is different -- the meat pie is made from papaya shavings, bean sprouts, and egg wrapped in tangerine-colored rice dough then deep-fried. To non-Ilocanos, "they think all we eat are weeds", she tells AFP.

An Ilocos-born Filipino senator once famously blew his top when his staff threw out the contents of his lunch box -- nalta jute herb leaves that they mistook for garbage.

When Ilocanos butcher a pig, nothing goes to waste with innards and pig's blood sauteed and cooked in vinegar, crushed garlic, ground pepper.

It's the same story for goats, a regional favorite. The animal is force-fed with vinegar then butchered and hauled over an open fire to burn off the hair. Thin slices of meat and liver are then served up, marinated in vinegar and mixed with chopped garlic and mixed with partly digested juices from the tripe.

Tina Bayden hawks frog meat for 150 pesos (2.68 dollars) a kilogram (2.2 pounds) on Wednesdays and Sundays in the public market of nearby Laoag, the provincial capital.

The white meat is marinated in vinegar or lime and deep-fried, or seasoned with vinegar, garlic, and soy sauce like a pork dish.

She keeps a few frogs alive in a small sack, just in case the buyers want to prepare the dish differently. Fishermen catch the croakers from rice paddies in nearby villages around Batac, using ordinary baited fishing rods.

The dry season brings a new set of delicacies, including certain types of grasshoppers that are eaten raw in situ as farmers harvest the rice crop.

The leaves, shoots or flowers of many vegetables, and even trees, are considered edible, including the crescent-shaped white flowers of the corkwood tree.

It is also the time when giant red tree ants build nests atop trees to breed their young. The large white eggs of these ants, which faintly taste sweet and sour, are among the most expensive of Ilocano delicacies.

For the less adventurous, the less starling faces of Ilocano cuisine are the homemade sausages made from ground pork, pork fat, chopped garlic, ground pepper and marinated with cane vinegar, and deep-fried slabs of pork.

The latter is the garnish of choice for the region's most popular dish -- eggplant, bittergourd, gumbo, and string beans cooked in fish paste.

normandb

October 27th, 2005, 10:05 AM

this report is erroneous. i watched the news on tv about this and she spoke in cebuano!

she is multi-lingual aside from english, spanish, italian and french she also speaks almost all major local dialects like kapampangan, ilocano, cebuano, ilonggo. Don't forget that she is a former daughter of the president and married to miguel arroyo who is really rich. Most affluent filipinos are multi-lingual. Magulat kayo pag si "erap" ang nagsalita ng mga ito pero pag kay PGMA don't be surprise.

amigo32

October 27th, 2005, 04:04 PM

strange huh, not a word about the philippines. and they said it was a 23 page story !

I got a copy this morning, with Philippine supplement.

Hawayano

October 27th, 2005, 04:54 PM

dancethingy--
where did you find that article? it explains why so many people in Hawaii make fun of Filipino food, since the majority here are from Kailukuan. those rumors are so widespread that Filipino food never gets to go mainstream here--instead it's Thai and Vietnamese that make it big with the non-pinoy population.

paulkrps

October 27th, 2005, 05:18 PM

richard fischer

October 27th, 2005, 07:09 PM

I got a copy this morning, with Philippine supplement.

CAN YOU POST IT FOR ALL OF US TO ENJOY PLEASE ?

richard fischer

October 27th, 2005, 07:14 PM

ThisFire

October 28th, 2005, 03:55 AM

Filipino food is always amazing but the problem with it is that it doesn't have a base to it like something natural or authentic, at least in what people perceive it to be. It's too much made up of different cultures and influences and sometimes too spanish/latin. But I think there's still chances that it can get out there although not like chinese, thai or italian food. We'd have to present the food in a more native state with native touches, even if it's one of our spanish/hispanic filipino dishes.

tigidig14

October 28th, 2005, 04:57 AM

^the onli thing they know from us, is diniguan or everyknows it as a blood soup, the pansit, and they even know lumpia eventhough we usually buy our version from chinatwon. what seems to happen to our delicasy unlike thai food is they have commercialize it for the middle class and rich people. ours we just intend to sell it to our own kababayan. from my observation people in general actually knows more vietnamese food than ours.

xDieselJockx

October 28th, 2005, 04:07 PM

dancethingy

October 29th, 2005, 04:04 AM

I don't give a hot damn what people all over the world think of our cuisine. I LURVE PINOY food. I lurve my dinuguan extra bloody and my sisig extra brainy!

@ Hawayano, I found that article on Philstar.com

@ Paulkrps, Chinese fast food joints scare me. I don't get the Filipino love affair with everything Chinese cuisine. It always sends me running to the toilet. Pinoy food is just as good as Vietnamese and Thai, its just not advertised as well. All my co-workers at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago absolutely LURVE, as in they freakin crave, adobo and pancit all the time.

ThisFire

October 29th, 2005, 05:14 AM

Well, Asian foods that are being offered in north america or in the US alone are not really authentic, they actually americanized the flavors of it so the comon american pallate would appreciate the taste, i'm sure in Cali or NY area, there are authentic asian cuisine but elsewhere, it's pretty much americanized.

That's true. Most of the real and authentic foods of ethnicities tend to be found in populated areas or cities. The others are watered down or fake. But just like what I had mentioned, they are still known because they are a "base" culture or "old culture" that started so long ago or had great impacts in world history. But they can have it. Filipino food is the best!

Hawayano

October 29th, 2005, 09:24 AM

That's true. Most of the real and authentic foods of ethnicities tend to be found in populated areas or cities. The others are watered down or fake. But just like what I had mentioned, they are still known because they are a "base" culture or "old culture" that started so long ago or had great impacts in world history. But they can have it. Filipino food is the best!

Gan'on! Our cuisine offers a little bit of something for everyone: Spanish, Chinese, tropical Malay and even our Bikol chilies! Back in the 1970s, I recall tourist guidebooks advertising the Phils. as a "gourmet's paradise"...too bad it didn't catch on internationally. By the way, does anyone in here know the origins of powdered milk as an ingredient for polvoron? I didn't think powdered milk existed in Spanish colonial days--seems very norteamericano.

OtAkAw

October 29th, 2005, 10:32 AM

Capampangan food is simply the best! Kaming mga Pampango magaling daw magluto...hehehe.

dancethingy

October 29th, 2005, 08:59 PM

OtAkAw, that is so true. My boyfriend is kampangpangan and yesterday he made me kilawin. YUM. Kampangpangans are great chefs!

marites4

October 29th, 2005, 09:31 PM

Otakaw kaya ka ba matakaw? hehe . What i like from Kapangkangan food is tamales.

slerz

October 30th, 2005, 07:17 AM

Time to create own brand,
Hilton president tells Cebu
Oct. 28, 2005

Now CEBU is competing Internationally together with top tourist destinations in the world such as Phuket and Bali.

CEBU has to take advantage of its present popularity to position itself as an international tourist destination, Koos Klein, president of Hilton International for Middle East and Asia Pacific, said.

However, Cebu has to make sure it projects the right image by pricing its accommodations according to the quality of experience for tourists.

Many properties appear to be pricing themselves quite low, he said.

"If we look at the rates, the destination is very much underselling itself," Klein said.

While Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort and Hilton Cebu are priced over US$100 a night for a room, he said, many comparable hotels here charge US$50 to US$60.

"I think it's a pity. It's not necessary at all. Why sell yourselves cheap?" he said.

He urged hotels to take a close look at their room rates and put a premium on the quality of Cebu as a destination, which is comparable to other tourist destinations.

"You are in the process of building the brand Cebu. If you position yourself as a cheaper destination, the image will stay. Since, there is so much interest in Cebu, there is an opportunity (for Cebu) to be somewhat less modest," he said.

Since Cebu is becoming popular among tourists, he said, the tourism industry should identify the image it wants to develop.

"Cebu seems to be an area where tourism has grown very fast. It is considerably a safe area. It has everything, from a resort point of view, to offer," Klein said.

He also cited Cebu's proximity to its primary target markets.

"Cebu is only a few hours flying time from some of Asia's great metropolises. With the hotel just 10 minutes from Mactan Airport, it means that an expanding catchment of affluent travelers, particularly from Korea and Japan, can fly from congested cities to a relaxed and laid back paradise in a matter of hours," Klein said during the opening ceremony of Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa held Wednesday afternoon.

Aside from these factors, he said, Cebu's manpower is also an asset for the industry.

The feedback Hilton Cebu got from guests showed that they experienced the warmth and friendly service that comes in a natural way 'because that's the way the people (here) are,' he said.

He also urged the industry to participate in major travel exhibitions to improve awareness of Cebu as a destination since it could still match the funding for advertising and marketing of other destinations, such as Hong Kong.

While Cebu's tourism industry is still in the infancy stage, Klein said, it could be at par with that of other destinations such as Bali and Phuket.

He also cited the significance of the opening of Hilton Cebu, which is operated under Hilton Worldwide Resort, for both the hotel chain and Cebu.

"Today marks a milestone for Hilton. It not only sees the return of the Hilton brand to the Philippines after 17 years, it also signifies the launch of the very first Hilton Worldwide Resort in one of Asia's preferred destination," Klein said in his opening ceremony statement.

"If you look at the tourism numbers, Cebu is the place where you would want to be," he said.

President Arroyo said Cebu will bring in 75 percent of the projected 2.7 million foreign tourists to the country this year.

OtAkAw

October 30th, 2005, 07:27 AM

Otakaw kaya ka ba matakaw? hehe . What i like from Kapangkangan food is tamales.

Yep,! Tamales is really great you can buy it here anywhere. Especially in churches after an early Mass.

Espma

October 30th, 2005, 01:40 PM

whoa 2.7 million tourists?!! I thought they are only expecting 2.5 million this year?!..thats so great!

Lili

October 30th, 2005, 10:06 PM

Am I in the Pagkain thread? -- turistang naliligaw.

_zner_

November 1st, 2005, 04:50 AM

^^^^

2.7million tourist is still low compared to our neighboring countries... thats bad..

ThisFire

November 1st, 2005, 06:48 AM

Lili

November 1st, 2005, 06:59 AM

^ So much for gustatory delights.

Mango

November 1st, 2005, 07:03 AM

^It started out with tamales huh!

Lili

November 1st, 2005, 07:53 AM

^ :lol:

tigidig14

November 1st, 2005, 08:08 AM

^It started out with tamales huh!
they have tamales in tokio, i tot wasabi

slerz

November 1st, 2005, 02:02 PM

Yes, some aren't even there to see some site or landmark, but they're there to get their cock sucked.

Oh! my Devil :gunz:

Sinjin P.

November 1st, 2005, 02:11 PM

tigidig14

November 1st, 2005, 03:40 PM

i cant wait to be there, i hope more action will reveal ;)

chymera00

November 1st, 2005, 04:04 PM

Sorry to the Hilton company, but with their trashiness (like that slut Paris), I don't choose Hilton hotels.

As for our number of tourists being low compared to neighboring countries, that's okay. Remember, we're separated from the mainland. We're almost like one of those pacific island/polynesian countries out there in the ocean. And besides, a big part of why those other countries have higher tourist numbers is because of their degrading sex trade industry. Yes, some aren't even there to see some site or landmark, but they're there to get their cock sucked.
That not very nice :) Sure there might be people who go there for the sex trade, but I dont think its a considerable amount ... like in the millions level
The more probably and obvious reason would be that tourists go there because they can go across the border more easily (by land). Its much more appealing for tourists to have a trip that includes a lot of countries than just one, like the Philippines, a guy who drives to Malaysia for gas and returns to Thailand 15 min. after is considered a tourist (right?). Also, our mainland neighbors are also neighbors with India and China, two of the most populated country.

bustero

November 1st, 2005, 04:30 PM

xDieselJockx

November 1st, 2005, 05:44 PM

Sorry to the Hilton company, but with their trashiness (like that slut Paris), I don't choose Hilton hotels.

As for our number of tourists being low compared to neighboring countries, that's okay. Remember, we're separated from the mainland. We're almost like one of those pacific island/polynesian countries out there in the ocean. And besides, a big part of why those other countries have higher tourist numbers is because of their degrading sex trade industry. Yes, some aren't even there to see some site or landmark, but they're there to get their cock sucked.

Well, there is some truth to that but it's just not entirely just getting their pickle nibbled on, there are alot of westerners there who wanted to meet asian women there to be their partner in life regardless if they already knew that these women are just looking for a way to escape from their economic situations, i've witnessed these in thailand and even read an article in a magazine called "claires", true story ...

tigidig14

November 1st, 2005, 07:12 PM

^thats true but if u really wanna get that groove on, i dont think u need to go in the other side of the world. Those people were just sex addict, pedophile and so forth. Probably, those magazine were propaganda to allow the masses to think that its not actually affecting its society yet enhancing its economy.

slerz

November 2nd, 2005, 03:09 AM

The sex trade is alive and well and even with our measly 2.7 million , just as substantial a part. It actually goes down lower in percentage when you have more tourist, it's just that the absolute number goes up.

Sabah is actually a good example. Used to be part of the Philippines. This place gets 1 million people a year. Tiny place and a very strict muslim country at that. There is hardly a sex trade there. Even Cebu does not get 1 million tourist. And this is a more substantial place, yet somehow the malaysians have done a good job of attracting tourist. It's one of the largest ecotoursist areas in the world.

haven't you read tourism articles about Cebu? Of the 2.3 million foreign tourists that visited the Philippines last year.... half of them went to Cebu or about more than a million. And this year, of the expected 2.5 million foreign tourists, 75% or approximately 1.8 million is also expected to visit Cebu. Officials here in Cebu either government and non government organizations are crazy of promoting this small island anywhere they may go around the world and lately some Cebu officials went to Germany to sell CEBU to the Germans... If you are living in Manila, you have no single idea how Cebu is optimistic regarding its tourism industry....coz you can't hear a single good news in Manila media that's why cguro TV Patrol Cebu won the best news program vs TV Patrol Manila, Saksi, 24oras, insider sa CMMA awards.... Local Media here in Cebu gives big attention to our tourism industry here and to all the good news thats why it's one reason why Cebuanos don't think that our country is going down coz we are hearing goodnews that gives us more courage to work for a better and brighter future...
I do not argue here with Manila and Cebu media but I really hate Manila Media...You know, when Jed Madela(Cahampoin of the World WINNER in the US) arrived @ Naia, no one welcomed him and even in news programs he never went out...sucks!!! and also the boxer (Boom Boom Bautista) who won in Pacquiaos fight, no one welcomed him @ NAIA even Manila media but when he arrived here in Cebu, a red carpet welcome welcomed him with all TV, Radio and News Paper in headline even if he's not a Cebuano... People will become courageous when all he's seing and hearing are positive...

marites4

November 2nd, 2005, 04:27 AM

slerz

November 2nd, 2005, 06:49 AM

Well we can't really blame foreigners for sex tourism when Filipino men do it themselves so openly and blatant. You would even hear foreigners how it's being offered to them and children too. It's sad because it gives a bad image to the Phils. and Filipinas.

yup but it is not considered...it is illegal...we can't deny that even in Rome there are act like this...act of Satan indeed...

bad image to the Phils but not to Thailand... Philippine girls in the internet are not labeled as Filipinas but they are labeled as Thais coz mas mabili daw ang Thai girls kysa sa Filipinas, mas pinipili ang Thai girls dahil cguro sa tingin nila pag Thai ay kagat kaagad coz its already part of their tourism industry and they don't deny it....Here in the Philippines may ganun din but patago and it's illegal....... I saw it from a documentary of Maria Ressa of CNN... IMO, it's better for the foreigners to see the beauty of our country "not the beauty of Filipinas" but the Filipinos hospitaliy...

Sinjin P.

November 2nd, 2005, 07:07 AM

Skyblade

November 5th, 2005, 02:25 PM

Candaba swamp eyed as world-class eco-tourism hub
Friday, November 04, 2005
By Joel P. Mapiles
Link to the article (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2005/11/04/bus/candaba.swamp.eyed.as.world.class.eco.tourism.hub.html)

THE Candaba swamp--an extremely important staging and wintering area for thousands of migratory birds from October to April of every year--is now ready for physical and ecological development.

This holds true as the Sta. Lucia Realty Development Corporation led by Exequiel Robles, one of the biggest land developers in the country, and Mayor Jerry Pelayo are scheduled to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) this month to develop the 200-hectare Candaba Swamp Wildlife Reserve in Sitio Simang, Barangay Vizal San Pablo in the town.

Sta. Lucia, it was learned, has agreed to install first-class cottages, restaurants, view decks, information centers, roads connecting to the reserve area and other facilities that would enhance the physical development of the swamp.

The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) has already signified their intention to help promote the town's swamp as one of the few places in the country with unique features that could be conserved for eco-tourism purposes.

The Reserve, a 72-hectare swamp, is a privately initiated protected area where migratory and endemic birds flock and thrive. It has an observatory deck and information center and has a 4-kilometer perimeter-dike walk trail.

Based on the agreement, Sta. Lucia Realty will fully develop the Reserve area into a world class eco-tourism spot inclined for the need of wildlife tourists, researchers and bird watchers.

Pelayo said the project would be a great opportunity for the town to develop its eco-tourism potential despite the possible threat of bird flu.

He noted that as long as the government and the people of Candaba are united in doing precautionary control measures that would prevent the entry of any virus, the people have nothing to worry about because the town would remain free from the bird flu virus.

The town, Pelayo said, is becoming a model for bird flu prevention as they would also launch an information caravan in some provinces of Luzon to educate the people on how to keep off the entry of the virus.

The Reserve, it was learned, has a complex of freshwater ponds, swamps and marshes with surrounding areas of seasonally flooded grass and arable lands on a vast alluvial plain, which supports around 5,000 to 10,000 birds every year.

The mayor said the Reserve is usually flooded in the wet season, but most of it dries out during the dry season and is converted into rice fields and plantations of watermelons and corn.

Pelayo said the Reserve is a favorite spot for local and visiting bird-watchers and naturalists as it is a significant part of the East Asia-Australiasian Migratory Flyway.

"Migratory birds spend winter in the Philippines or pass through the islands on their way to south, and north on their return. Traditionally, these migratory birds come from China, Japan, Siberia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore," he said.

The swamp has recorded 43 species of migratory birds since 1940 while the there are 49 species of resident birds.

"In 1982, about 100,000 ducks were observed in a single day. No other site in the Philippines has been known to support such large concentrations of Anatidae. The swamp is the only known regular wintering population of Streaked Reed-warbler in the world," he said.

Pelayo also revealed that a workshop intended to develop an action plan for the conservation of the swamp and its water birds was held by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Haribon Foundation and the Wild Bird Society of Japan in 1994.

ThisFire

November 6th, 2005, 02:55 PM

^ i think we have to go this route with our islands having this environment so naturally. Eco-tourism can be good because not only is it a source of tourism, but it also creates preservation and awareness along with it.

Jimbu

November 6th, 2005, 06:20 PM

RP needs infra dev't to overtake Thailand
By Ehda M. Dago-oc
The Freeman 11/07/2005

Unless the Philippines will adopt "marathon" infrastructure development platform, it cannot overtake Thailand as a destination.

"Infrastructure in the Philippines is needed. You have to find ways and means for people to travel comfortably and destinations should be 'family friendly," said David de Jesus marketing representative for the Philippines-Tourism Authority of Thailand.

According to de Jesus enough government support for the tourism sector must be done in the Philippines, although the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led administration is doing its best to highlight the tourism advantage of the country.

"The Philippines has to be more disciplined," de Jesus said referring to overall governance and implementation of development programs.

Thailand, although recently hit by the Tsunami calamity in December of 2004, was able to recover very quickly, because the government spent huge amount of money to get back on its feet, as they recognized the importance of tourism to their economy.

Unlike Filipinos, Thais are united, and very submissive to their government. Thus, development can easily be achieved.

While the Philippines, or Cebu for instance is trying very hard to lure huge high-spender European tourists, Thailand, on the other hand has become a "household" name in Europe, when it comes to destination.

In an earlier interview with Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary Joseph Ace Durano, he said that the Philippines is confident to overtake Thailand as favored destination especially for Koreans.

"We are already 5,000 tourists (Korean) away from Thailand, by the end of this year. We are expecting to be the number one destination for Korean tourists in Southeast Asia," Durano said.

Durano mentioned that Thailand at present is suffering from a 15 percent decline of Korean tourist arrivals, while the Philippines is enjoying a whooping 27 percent increase of Korean arrivals.

Durano said that the Philippines has a very limited budget for international marketing, compared to Thailand, which is spending US$500 million for tourism promotions.

The Philippines on the other hand, can only afford to spend US$5 million for this purpose, he added.

He admitted however that the Philippines is facing some bottlenecks especially in infrastructure set up especially in transportation access, in land, sea and air.

"The Philippines is seeing some bottleneck in tourism supply chain, like international flight access, and accommodation supply, especially in Cebu," Durano said.

stephencua

November 7th, 2005, 01:36 AM

^^ what a big disparity in spending.. and yet we are neck in neck in tourist visits.. just goes to show that the product is the best advertisement there is.. ;)

jrevalde

November 7th, 2005, 03:09 AM

^^ we are neck and neck only on number of Korean tourists, overall we are still a world away.

xXx carlos xXx

November 7th, 2005, 03:34 AM

but still koreans are koreans... they also spend a big amount of money here in our country... besides, some koreans come to our country for education and business not pure leisure... if you'll go to cebu doctors university, you'll see a lot of korean students majoring in dentistry,pt, etc... you'll also see a lot of middle eastern... heheh ;)

jrevalde

November 7th, 2005, 03:53 AM

xXx carlos xXx

November 7th, 2005, 04:07 AM

yeah your right... we still need tourist from around the world to achieve that 12 million...

***sigh***

le Reine

November 7th, 2005, 09:21 AM

im not questioning the importance of korean tourists, im just saying that in terms of total number of tourist arrivals our 2.5 million is still a bit far from their 12 million....but yes Koreans have been sending a lot of their money our way.....Cebu for example owes much of its growth and development from our Korean friends

Yep, and that 2.5 million tourists is the highest we got so far. The normal range really is 1-2 million tourists annually. And that is a far cry compared to our Asian neighbors which averages from 7-12 million visitors a year! We really have to spend much on tourism and infrastructure. I hope that politicians would stop bickering and just start to work. Well, I think it would just end as a hope... Goodluck Philippines. :sleepy:

bustero

November 7th, 2005, 09:55 AM

haven't you read tourism articles about Cebu? Of the 2.3 million foreign tourists that visited the Philippines last year.... half of them went to Cebu or about more than a million. And this year, of the expected 2.5 million foreign tourists, 75% or approximately 1.8 million is also expected to visit Cebu. Officials here in Cebu either government and non government organizations are crazy of promoting this small island anywhere they may go around the world and lately some Cebu officials went to Germany to sell CEBU to the Germans... If you are living in Manila, you have no single idea how Cebu is optimistic regarding its tourism industry....coz you can't hear a single good news in Manila media that's why cguro TV Patrol Cebu won the best news program vs TV Patrol Manila, Saksi, 24oras, insider sa CMMA awards.... Local Media here in Cebu gives big attention to our tourism industry here and to all the good news thats why it's one reason why Cebuanos don't think that our country is going down coz we are hearing goodnews that gives us more courage to work for a better and brighter future...
I do not argue here with Manila and Cebu media but I really hate Manila Media...You know, when Jed Madela(Cahampoin of the World WINNER in the US) arrived @ Naia, no one welcomed him and even in news programs he never went out...sucks!!! and also the boxer (Boom Boom Bautista) who won in Pacquiaos fight, no one welcomed him @ NAIA even Manila media but when he arrived here in Cebu, a red carpet welcome welcomed him with all TV, Radio and News Paper in headline even if he's not a Cebuano... People will become courageous when all he's seing and hearing are positive...

Well you seem to ranting more about the press than tourism but contrary to what you say my source of information is not only the popular press in general. Whether you dislike the Manila bulletin or business world or philstar etc as llocal papers as being manila biased or not is another topic altogether. But the fact is the CEBU SUNSTAR reports differently as can be seen below. ( you may need to interpolate the data as it's not complete) There is a difference between 1 million foreign visitors and 1 million visitors, which include domestic tourism, which is a bigger part of the tourism pie right now. Now compare this to Sabah which is far smaller ( in population not area) than Cebu but gets 1 million foreign visitors.

My point is not to denigrate Cebu as you seem to imply. I would not have any reason to do this. But I would like to point out that we really need to do a lot more if we want to get more visitors. One reason (aside from political debt) that GMA put the DOT and a cebuano as Sec in cebu is the realization that it would be too difficult and expensive to market the whole Philippines and better to build on it's strongest points of which Cebu is one. But as you can also see in the other articles above, we need to invest a lot more in marketing and infrastructure to do this. Definitely the increase flight by PR to Cebu will help. In any case while it is nice that Cebu is taking off in terms of tourism, Cebu in particular and the country in general obviously will always need and welcome more.

Saturday, August 27, 2005
DOT: tourists in Cebu, entire CV over 700T

Tourist arrivals in Central Visayas grew by eight percent to over 700,000 during the first half this year, with Cebu accounting for 75 percent of the total number of foreign and domestic guests, Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 records show.

Of the more than 200,000 foreign arrivals in Central Visayas from January to June this year, over 186,000 visited Cebu. Over 350,000 domestic tourists also came to Cebu during the same period, the DOT reported.

During the first half of last year, the number of tourists reached only 659,311, which included over 400,000 foreigners.

Koreans and Japanese appear to have the biggest attraction for Cebu since they comprise about 110,000 of the province’s 186,617 foreign arrivals during the first half of this year.

Visitors from the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, China and Canada were also included in the top ten.

However, there was a drop of nearly 50 percent in the number of tourists from Hong Kong compared to last year’s figures of about 8,400.

There were also fewer travelers from Germany to Cebu this year with records showing that there were only 3,980 arrivals compared to last year’s 3,998.

However, the number of Korean and Japanese tourists this year increased by 23.6 and 21.03 percent, respectively. The number of guests from Korea reached 56,692 during the first half, while Japanese travelers totaled 54,357.

The highest increases recorded, though, were in the number of tourists from the United Kingdom (UK), which grew by 39 percent to 4,168 in the first half of this year, and those from Taiwan, which increased by 29 percent to 4,822.

Tourist arrivals from Japan, Australia and Canada grew by about 20 percent during the first half.

Visitors from other Southeast Asian countries reached 4,324, an increase of 30 percent from last year’s figures. But there was a drop of about 30 percent in the number of tourists from Brunei.

Travelers from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany and UK reached 16,852, an increase of nine percent from last year’s figures.

The DOT also reported that only 654 tourists from the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia, came to Cebu. Their numbers dropped by 15 percent from last year’s total arrivals.

DOT 7 records also show that Bohol is the second most preferred destination in the region with over 78,000 domestic tourists and 17,841 foreign guests during the period. (CYR)

dancethingy

November 7th, 2005, 03:01 PM

PATIENCE PATIENCE my friends!!!! that 12million or more will come someday, it helps not to think about it but act on it. Tell anyone you know abroad that if they don't visit the Philippines then they are missing out.

jrevalde

November 8th, 2005, 04:08 AM

Lili

November 8th, 2005, 04:10 AM

Great promotional efforts @dancethingy (Ben) and @jrevalde. :)

normandb

November 8th, 2005, 04:15 AM

^^agreed, so far ive convinced 3 of my kiwi friends here in new zealand to go to siargiao instead of bali (theyre surfers), and i walk around my university wearing cebu and bohol t-shirts. youd be surprised how many people have stopped and asked me about cebu and the philippines

thats good. imagine if all filipino expat abroad and ofw/ocw will wear philippines printed shirts showing the beautiful islands will be a good alternative for advertising our tourism. London Cabs were printed by WOW Philippines Destinations why not in T-Shirts di ba?

Lili

November 8th, 2005, 04:26 AM

I've been wearing my Palawan and Mindoro T-shirts. :)

slerz

November 8th, 2005, 04:33 AM

Philippine eyes sizable chunk of Korea's booming market

by: The Korea Times
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200506/kt2005060418435311860.htm

http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=1993

slerz

November 8th, 2005, 04:50 AM

Now compare this to Sabah which is far smaller ( in population not area) than Cebu but gets 1 million foreign visitors.

My point is not to denigrate Cebu as you seem to imply. I would not have any reason to do this. But I would like to point out that we really need to do a lot more if we want to get more visitors. One reason (aside from political debt) that GMA put the DOT and a cebuano as Sec in cebu is the realization that it would be too difficult and expensive to market the whole Philippines and better to build on it's strongest points of which Cebu is one. But as you can also see in the other articles above, we need to invest a lot more in marketing and infrastructure to do this. Definitely the increase flight by PR to Cebu will help. In any case while it is nice that Cebu is taking off in terms of tourism, Cebu in particular and the country in general obviously will always need and welcome more.

Well, for Sabah has more than Cebu...
we're not saddened of that, to know Sabah has already gone a long way together with Bali and Phuket but it didn't gone far compared to Bali and Phuket... 1 million is very low for Sabah if we talk about the height of time of its being famous and to think that Malaysia has more bling blings to promote Sabah than the Philippines but Cebu is only a starter, still less known by foreign tourists but it has already drawn a considerable amount of foreign tourists.
I'm just thinking positively....

marites4

November 8th, 2005, 05:45 AM

I think it's good. We don't want to attract too much tourists. Middle range is ok. Look at what happened to thailand' s beaches and parts of Bali. Given the govt. track record we wouldn't know how to handle massive tourism.

dancethingy

November 8th, 2005, 06:22 AM

@ ate lili, i want a mindoro shirt. You know Enrigue Iglesias was once on MTV and he was wearing this really cool Philippines 3/4th sleeved T-shirt, it was great because it didn't look so touristy and looked more boutique-ish. I wonder where he got that. I WANT IT!

Also, just for the sake of conversation. Do any of you think that the lack of tourism all these years have been a positive thing for the environment of all our must see places considering that tourists haven't been leaving their crap on them?

tigidig14

November 8th, 2005, 06:35 AM

^ i saw that in MTV too then I went to pnas looking for the same shirt, flesh in color and muscular type of shirt :lol:. ey dance have you ever seen that commercial, here, where they've shown the Mayon Volcano and the commercial was reffering about geothermal power or something with new type of power..

rustyboi

November 8th, 2005, 06:51 AM

WOW Philippines TV ad showcasing Manila has been regularly shown in Travel&Living channel. if only our govt has enough money to buy more time slots in CNN, it will greatly help our country's exposure to the world :D

daDJ

November 8th, 2005, 10:42 AM

OtAkAw

November 8th, 2005, 02:28 PM

CNN almost always show Malaysia and Thailand and now, Cambodia is catching up! Darn! They only have the Angkor Wat, why cant we compete seriously!!!!

richpol

November 8th, 2005, 02:37 PM

Cambodia still has a long way to go. From 2004 figures, it only had around 1M arrivals

sista

November 8th, 2005, 03:06 PM

^^agreed, so far ive convinced 3 of my kiwi friends here in new zealand to go to siargiao instead of bali (theyre surfers), and i walk around my university wearing cebu and bohol t-shirts. youd be surprised how many people have stopped and asked me about cebu and the philippines

Good advertising tactic there! I will ask my friends who migrated to Canada and Australia to do the same too :cheers:

dancethingy

November 8th, 2005, 03:57 PM

Hey Tigs i've seen that too. When i saw it, I was like, WHAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a Mayon Volcano.

I would also like to announce everyone that I learned last week that I passed my NCLEX exam and am now officially a registered nurse of Illinois. HELLZ YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Anyways, as a reward my family is taking me to the place i've always wanted to visit in the Philippines. No, its not Boracay, this weekend i'm going to take a trip the grand Banaue Rice Terraces. I'm giddy with excitment. I've already propped up my Photobucket website to host the pics i will take. I'll make sure to share the pics with y'allz.

kiretoce

November 8th, 2005, 05:20 PM

^^ Congratulations Ben! And we're all eagerly anticipating the photos from Banaue! :okay:

le Reine

November 8th, 2005, 05:49 PM

Cambodia still has a long way to go. From 2004 figures, it only had around 1M arrivals

YES Cambodia attracted 1,055,202 tourists last year. This was a 50.53% leap from the year 2003. They had 701,104 tourists on 2003 to 1M in 2004! What a great leap indeed!

Cambodia used to be a 'closed' country almost ten years ago. They are still recovering from their traumatic experience of the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot and then they had this civil war and was occupied by Vietnam. Peace was only restored in 1989 and 1991 by the help of the UN and two international conferences in Paris. Cambodian Government only started operating in 1993 after an election sponsored by UN.

So IMAGINE, they've managed to get half the number of tourists we have here in almost 10 years? They've done it pretty fast. We've been in this tourism business for how many dacades? And we've only managed to get 2.5M tourists. Imagine, that's the highest we've gotten so far... While Cambodia got 1M in just a decade? C'mon guys, if we would continue to work in this pace, then we would be the tailender in the ASEAN region in terms of tourism. :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :runaway:

tyronne

November 8th, 2005, 07:11 PM

Congratulations, ben :cheers: enjoy your trip to Banaue :okay:

mysaong03

November 8th, 2005, 08:41 PM

Cambodia, Rwanda or Lebanon is an example of what they call ‘phoenix tourism’, referring to cities or countries rising from the ashes of war, destruction recasting themselves now as vacation destinations

kiretoce

November 8th, 2005, 11:03 PM

^^ Rwanda? What's there to see in that war-ravaged nation that will attract tourists?

Skyblade

November 8th, 2005, 11:34 PM

ThisFire

November 9th, 2005, 05:44 AM

Good advertising tactic there! I will ask my friends who migrated to Canada and Australia to do the same too :cheers:

Good job! We need to promote the country ourselves. And absolutely NO so-called bad stories or bad mouthing that are probably just made up junk.

sista

November 9th, 2005, 12:53 PM

Good job! We need to promote the country ourselves. And absolutely NO so-called bad stories or bad mouthing that are probably just made up junk.

oo nga, I highly doubt that any Filipino would bad mouth his own birthplace/ land of ancestry. If he did, he ought to be ashamed of himself because it's somewhat a part of him.

dancethingy: congratulations! hope you enjoy your trip and take tons of pics!!!!

chymera00

November 9th, 2005, 01:06 PM

CNN almost always show Malaysia and Thailand and now, Cambodia is catching up! Darn! They only have the Angkor Wat, why cant we compete seriously!!!!
Don't be selfish ... Cambodia needs those extra money from tourism just as much as we do ... Plus, 1M isn't that much considering they are practically neighbors with billions of people

slerz

November 9th, 2005, 04:23 PM

YES Cambodia attracted 1,055,202 tourists last year. This was a 50.53% leap from the year 2003. They had 701,104 tourists on 2003 to 1M in 2004! What a great leap indeed!

Cambodia used to be a 'closed' country almost ten years ago. They are still recovering from their traumatic experience of the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot and then they had this civil war and was occupied by Vietnam. Peace was only restored in 1989 and 1991 by the help of the UN and two international conferences in Paris. Cambodian Government only started operating in 1993 after an election sponsored by UN.

So IMAGINE, they've managed to get half the number of tourists we have here in almost 10 years? They've done it pretty fast. We've been in this tourism business for how many dacades? And we've only managed to get 2.5M tourists. Imagine, that's the highest we've gotten so far... While Cambodia got 1M in just a decade? C'mon guys, if we would continue to work in this pace, then we would be the tailender in the ASEAN region in terms of tourism. :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :runaway:

So right now, we should stop these comments that they've got this in a year compared to ours for 10 years blah blah blah... we already know that and these comments are repetitions. We said this and that but you haven't done something... I mean we should post comments for our fellowmen to be urged and give them courage for our tourism industry to grow... if everyone of us here hears news and comments that are nice to hear, for sure everyone will be courageous in finding ways to promote and do something for our country's tourism industry...

le Reine

November 9th, 2005, 05:39 PM

We said this and that but you haven't done something... I mean we should post comments for our fellowmen to be urged and give them courage for our tourism industry to grow... if everyone of us here hears news and comments that are nice to hear, for sure everyone will be courageous in finding ways to promote and do something for our country's tourism industry...

WHAT??? So how sure are you that I haven't
done anything for our country esp. in terms of tourism?
I know what you are trying to say. I'm not discouraging the readers by giving negative remarks. I'm just reacting to the previous post. That's why it sounds like a repetition. If people really want to help the country, they would not be discouraged even if they hear negative news. Instead, they would do better. If people really want to help their country, there's no need for persuation or inspiration. And they would not also be discouraged by negative things. They would do it on their own, voluntarily, without compensation. If you really want to help your country, there are no "if's" and "buts."

Lili

November 9th, 2005, 05:59 PM

Maybe because Cambodia and Vietnam are still curiosities as of the moment having been 'closed' countries for decades. Hence, there are more tourists clamoring to see what happened to these nations to satisfy their respective curiosities as well as to go on nostalgia, historical as well as learning/exposure trips.

The Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge years are fairly recent historical incidents of which there are certain psychic wounds that Americans and Westerners need to have palliative salve. To be able to visit these places nowadays and to see how these countries have survived and progressed, notwithstanding the ravages of war and upheaval they underwent, hold a certain attraction to these countries' tourists and visitors.

By the same token, there is also an increase in the clamor to be able to travel to Cuba and observe its systems and locale.

slerz

November 10th, 2005, 01:00 AM

WHAT??? So how sure are you that I haven't
done anything for our country esp. in terms of tourism?
I know what you are trying to say. I'm not discouraging the readers by giving negative remarks. I'm just reacting to the previous post. That's why it sounds like a repetition. If people really want to help the country, they would not be discouraged even if they hear negative news. Instead, they would do better. If people really want to help their country, there's no need for persuation or inspiration. And they would not also be discouraged by negative things. They would do it on their own, voluntarily, without compensation. If you really want to help your country, there are no "if's" and "buts."

I've said it coz the way you've said it, it's like you're uncourageous but if you have done some achievements, so tell us so that we can duplicate it...
And you know, we have different attitudes, there are some people that if they hears discouraging news, they're also be discouraged.... good for you and me that can't be bothered by those negative news... yes I believe that they are very willing to help voluntarily but we should also give them courage and inspiration that we are still better for them to realize that... I'm not saying that they should be urged by individuals but urged by their courageousness...
and I'm not talking of compensation, I'm talking of their adrenalin, their excitement and their sense of pride...

and also inspiration is not necessary but it is better to have an inspiration...:)

Espma

November 10th, 2005, 12:16 PM

BIGGER INFLOW OF TOURISTS FOR PHILIPPINES' MINDANAO SEEN

Thursday November 10, 2005, 11:28 am

DAVAO CITY, Nov 10 Asia Pulse - Tourism officials are optimistic of more foreign tourists visiting Mindanao next year with the holding of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) Tourism Forum (ATF) in January 2006 in this southern Philippine city.

Davao Tourism Association (DATA) president Art Boncato said Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are becoming increasingly interested about Mindanao, particularly Davao. ADVERTISEMENT

"We are getting mounting calls from foreign tourists, particularly Koreans, asking about Davao and what we can offer them," Boncato said.

Boncato said foreign investors are also opening charter flights to new destinations in the four identified countries, which will further boost tourist arrivals in the region.

"The increase in markets will definitely change tourism in Davao City," he said.

Boncato said several airline companies in Korea are already thinking of opening more flights to Mindanao due to the increasing demand they get from Korean tourists.

"The level of interest has gone to certain meetings and possible contract signing," he said adding that there has been noted increase in flights to Davao within the past three years.

Tourists from Korea grow 100 per cent annually, surpassing the arrival of Japanese, the Philippines' major tourism market.

"Mindanao and Davao have products that make them very happy. We have a lot of resorts and golf courses that are very popular with golf enthusiasts and honeymooners from Korea," Boncato said.

On Nov. 10, Boncato said the Philippine Host Council to the ATF will be hosting a media exposure to 14 top media people from Korea, who will be doing special feature stories on Davao for their country's publications.

The ATF 2006 is expected to gather over 3,000 foreign tourism ministers, buyers and sellers from the ten ASEAN-member countries.

HURRAH FOR DAVAO!!!

(PNA)

mysaong03

November 10th, 2005, 09:16 PM

^^ Rwanda? What's there to see in that war-ravaged nation that will attract tourists?

thats exactly what theyre promoting, their lives after the war, the rebuilding of nation. the tourism agency there want to offer both the 'beauty of their parks/wildlife', & the 'mountains of skeletons' or sites of massacres, caused by the genocide of Tutsis, and men, their strategy seems to be working, as tourists increased five-fold since 2000. and tourists say goin there is a life-changing experience. most people dont get it coz theyre so used to think of watch-and-enjoy type of travel but theres a market for this.....

stephencua

November 11th, 2005, 04:28 AM

taken from inq7.net..

UK bullish on RP business, tourism

First posted 10:26am (Mla time) Nov 11, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net

Subscribe to Breaking News alerts, send ON EXTRA BREAKING to 2207 for Globe, or send EXTRA BREAKING to 386 for Smart.

DESPITE the political turbulence, British businessmen are bullish on business and tourism prospects in the Philippines.

British ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham said British businessmen consider increasing investments in the country as “British companies find [the Philippines] an easy market to operate in, easier than some other markets.”

“We really are here to do serious business in the Philippines. The Philippines has much to offer in terms of tourism and openness to foreign investors,” said Beckingham during Thursday's British-focused trade show in Makati City.

With the balance of trade between the United Kingdom and the Philippines always in the latter’s favor, Beckingham said the British business sector is being encouraged to expand investment in the country. “We like to see more opportunities for foreign investments.”

At the same time, he foresees more British tourists traveling in the country, adding to the 50,000 or so who visit the Philippines for its diving spots and golf courses every year.

The Philippines exports electronic products, footwear, coconut products, and garments to the UK.

Dvorak

November 11th, 2005, 04:31 AM

Cebu Pacific cuts ticket prices by half
By Rainier Allan Ronda
The Philippine Star 11/11/2005

Despite the escalating price of jet fuel, the country’s No. 2 domestic carrier Cebu Pacific announced that it was offering, starting today, major price cuts on its air tickets by as much as 50 percent for all domestic routes.

Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei said they expect the greatly reduced fare prices under their "Go" fare discount program to increase travel and boost revenues by up to 20 percent.

"Our new initiative is good for the traveling public, the economy and Cebu Pacific," Gokongwei said in a press conference yesterday at the Crowne Plaza in Ortigas Center, Pasig City to announce the airline’s new marketing program.

Under Cebu Pacific’s Go fare program, their current Manila to Cebu ticket airfare of P2,569 — already about 10 percent lower than the price offered by the competition — will go down to as low as P999, exclusive of the add-on fees such as insurance, fuel surcharges and the 10-percent value-added tax.

Cebu Pacific’s Manila to Davao route ticket price will go as low as P1,499 from the current P3,239; Manila to Zamboanga, P1,499; Manila to Roxas, P699 from P2,149; Manila to Bacolod and Manila to Iloilo at P999 from P2,449; Manila to Butuan, P1,299 from P3,239; Manila to Cagayan de Oro, P1,299 from P3,239; Manila to Tagbilaran, P1,299 from P3,239; Manila to Dumaguete, P1,299 from P2,569; Manila to Cebu, Manila to Tacloban, Manila to Puerto Princesa and Manila to Kalibo will be offered at P999 from P2,569; Cebu to Zamboanga and Davao to Zamboanga will be offered at P999 from the current P2,319; Cebu to Davao, P999 from P2,249; and Cebu to Iloilo, P699 from P1,759.

Gokongwei said that with the low fares, air travel within the country would even be cheaper than taking a ship, which takes more time.

"This is all about getting people to think about flying. For those who fly today, we would like to encourage them to fly more frequently, and for those who haven’t flown before, we want to welcome them on board and introduce them to air travel," he said.

Cebu Pacific general manager Bong Mojica said the Go airfare rates would be offered permanently and that the pricing scheme is not just a seasonal offer.

However, he said there is a catch — to get plane tickets under the Go fare program, one would have to book a flight early since it is offered under a pre-selling concept.

"These reduced fares will be available year round, for 365 days," Mojica emphasized.

He said there will be five "fare buckets" or fare levels with about P200 to P300 added per fare bucket if a passenger could not get tickets under the "Go" program first, and so forth until it reaches their regular ticket price which is still five to 15 percent lower than the competition.

"The secret is to book early and to also be flexible with your travel plans. If you are willing to plan a month or two ahead and to travel midweek or on an early midnight flight, then chances are you will get yourself a real bargain," Mojica said.

He said the implementation of the fare discount program fulfills two of the airline’s four main objectives: increased market stimulation and increased fleet utilization. The other two objectives are fleet simplification and on-line distribution.

"We have set aside more than a million seats at fare levels below today’s fare levels — that’s about 30 percent of our total overall capacity over the coming year. Of the one million seats, more than 300,000 seats will be available at the lowest advertised fare levels," Gokongwei said, meaning the Go fare rates.

He added that the new program is based on "studies that pre-selling seats at lower prices would generate higher revenues" and make Cebu Pacific "financially stronger."

By selling discounted seats that otherwise would not be sold, especially during the lean months, the airline believes it would maximize its revenues and "smooth" out some of the demand peaks and valleys of the seasonal airline business.

"This is the revenue model that made many foreign airlines, especially Southwest Airlines, on which (Cebu Pacific) was patterned, successful," Mojica said.

Cebu Pacific pioneered low fares in the country when it started operations in March 1996, forcing other airlines to also lower their fares. It was also the first to introduce on-time service, e-ticketing, fun games on flights, and flight booking through text messages.

chymera00

November 11th, 2005, 05:14 AM

dancethingy

November 11th, 2005, 10:29 AM

Those prices make me want to travel just for kicks and giggles. But, i'm broke regardless so whatever.

amigo32

November 11th, 2005, 11:44 AM

That's really good news. Reservation na para sa December vacation! Yahooooo!

KulasKusgan

November 11th, 2005, 02:01 PM

sus di magamit mabuhay miles.

le Reine

November 11th, 2005, 02:57 PM

thats exactly what theyre promoting, their lives after the war, the rebuilding of nation. the tourism agency there want to offer both the 'beauty of their parks/wildlife', & the 'mountains of skeletons' or sites of massacres, caused by the genocide of Tutsis, and men, their strategy seems to be working, as tourists increased five-fold since 2000. and tourists say goin there is a life-changing experience. most people dont get it coz theyre so used to think of watch-and-enjoy type of travel but theres a market for this.....

Yup. I've watched this on CNN a couple of months ago. They've made a very effective policy towards tourism. Imagine, 5-fold increase...

marites4

November 11th, 2005, 04:42 PM

Kailangan din nateng maglinis linis. Lalo na sa Manila manila area. Yung mga bansang yan malilines paliged. Mga tourists ayaw makita mga dumi hindi sanay mata nila. It's good BF is spearheading the campaign pero mga tao kailangan den tumulong. Magwales wales tayong lahat at itapon ang basura sa tamang lugar.

kiretoce

November 11th, 2005, 05:37 PM

All-China Youth leaders wowed by Hundred Islands
By Venus May H. Sarmiento

Alaminos City (11 November) -- Nineteen young leaders and entrepreneurs from China received a warm reception during their visit to the city Wednesday.

The All-Chinese Youth Federation is in the country from November 6-10 to take part in the observance of the 30th Anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China.

The Chinese delagation is headed by Mr. Li Haoyan, vice president of Heilongjiang Provincial Youth Federation and Mr. Zheng Zhiqiang, deputy director-International Department of All-China Youth Federation.

The group will be in Pangasinan for four days and three nights.

The city government lined-up various activities for the delegates starting with a welcome reception and ceremony at the city hall grounds led by City Mayor Hernani Braganza.

Braganza said the city will not only showcase its pride---the famous Hundred Islands National Park--- but likewise reveal the vast potentials of the city in areas of tourism, agricultures and infrastructure development, business and environmental protection.

The reception was followed by the signing of an Agreement of Mutual Cooperation and Friendship between the city government and the All China Youth Federation. This was followed by a briefing on the city profile and the Braganza Administration's 10-point agenda.

The group also had a chance to tour the city's economic sites like the Proton economic zone in barangay Alos which is the proposed airport site; the high value commercial crops, green house and hybrid rice plantation at the Techno Demo Farm in barangay Tangcarang; the goat commercialization program at the Bolante residence and the organic fertilizer production at the materials recovery facility in barangay Bisocol.

National Youth Commission provincial coordinator for Pangasinan Andrew Mendoza said the delegates were touched and happy with the "warm, romantic and grand welcome" that greeted them everywhere they went. The streets are filled with schoolchildren waving flags of the Philippines and smiling at them.

Later, the group proceeded to enjoy the famous Hundred Islands,taking a 40-minute boat ride.

The group initially preferred the kayak activities but after testing the engagingly calm water of the hundred islands, the delegates soon plunged into the waters for a great swim.

Now being winter in China, the group's Hundred Islands experience under a fairly hot sun was a welcome change of climate for them.

Few months ago, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and President Hu Jintao signed an agreement on Strengthening Youth Affairs Cooperation at Malacanan palace. One of the key provisions of the said accord is the exchange of youth leaders, entrepreneurs to foster enduring friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation and at the same time, strengthen the economy

Mendoza said the program started in July. The Philippine government sent its delegates to the first Filipino Chinese program where they visited three major cities Beijing, Shanghai and HangZhou.

In response, China sent 106 delegates to the Philippines who were divided into seven groups to visit seven provinces namely Cebu, Davao, Panay, Capiz, Laguna, Iloilo and Pangasinan.

Skyblade

November 13th, 2005, 03:01 AM

Score one for hilot. :D

Hilot, a big hit in Russia
http://www.malaya.com.ph/nov12/images/livi.jpg
Link to the article (http://www.malaya.com.ph/nov12/livi1.htm)

The global community can now experience the Filipino brand of spa. Hilot, the Philippine’s signature massage, was recently introduced in Russia to an international travel audience during the last Leisure Fair in Moscow.

Leisure Fair, the biggest international trade fair for tourism in Russia and the CIS, was attended by 930 exhibitors from 60 countries and visited by over 54,000 travel buyers and tourists.

After 70 years of travel restriction, Russians are now more excited to explore the world. Russia, with a population of 278 million, has been identified by the Department of Tourism as a major tourism target. More than 19 million people from the CIS travel abroad every year.

The Department of Tourism, in cooperation with the Spa Association of the Philippines, is bent on getting a good slice of the Russian market by positioning the country as a wellness destination with the introduction of the Filipino Brand of Spa, a collection of the various techniques of hilot.

The Filipino Brand of Spa, which was conceived as part of the DOT’s plan to develop and promote health tourism in the country, has already been introduced in other international travel marts in Berlin, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur.

The department and the spa industry agreed to pursue this objective by promoting hilot. In fact, all DOT-accredited spas have been instructed to include hilot in their menu of services.

Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, executive director of the National Institute of Health and former secretary of the Department of Health, explained the history and metaphysical framework of hilot to a huge crowd that attended the Spa & Health Moscow 2005 International Workshop and Conference for Health Tourism, Resorts and Spas.

According to Dr. Tan, hilot has been a Filipino traditional healing modality since pre-written history of the Philippines. It is considered to be in existence for more than a thousand years.

While there are many forms of indigenous therapeutic massages in each of the ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines, an eclectic mix of massage techniques from these language/cultural areas has been developed now to be known as the Filipino Hilot.

The Filipino Hilot, as Filipino traditional healers view it, takes its positive effects and outcome on the human body and his environment.

Humankind and the environment are interrelated and interconnected through energy channels in the universe and in the human body. Thus, the focus of the hilot is not just the body (by muscle or tissue manipulation), but also by harnessing the bio-energies from the universe (cosmic, spiritual, ethereal), the environment (earth, wind, fire and water), the botanicals (leaves, flowers, aromatic oils), and the healers themselves.

The Filipino healer or hilot massage therapist becomes the medium for harnessing all these bio-energies to bring about balance, harmony, health and wellness.

To provide a better appreciation of the hilot, Jomar Fleras, owner of Sanctuario Spa, gave a demonstration of the hilot during the conference.

According to Fleras, "What we have to do is to demystify hilot. The Russians have to understand that it is not faith healing."

Experience the healing power of hilot at Sanctuario Spa, located at 1829 Jorge Bocobo st., Malate, Manila. For reservations, call 450 1127 or e-mail spa@sanctuario.com.ph. For more information, visit www.sanctuario.com.ph.

tyronne

November 13th, 2005, 03:25 AM

^^good one.

when i went home for a vacation in 2003, i twisted my left ankle while playing tennis. i then went to a hilot for cure. after a week, ok na sya.

daDJ

November 13th, 2005, 11:54 AM

I know where to buy that shirt.. in a shop located at Astoria Hotel Ortigas.

Team Manila is another manufacturer of cool Manila/Philippine shirts. Its shop is located in Ecoville Makati. Search the net for Team Manila to see sample shirts and store location.

Edmundtanso

November 14th, 2005, 04:23 AM

95% of RP reefs ruined, says group

First posted 00:10am (Mla time) Nov 14, 2005
By Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on Page A1 of the November 14, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

ANILAO, BATANGAS-Philippine coral reefs, renowned for being home to amazing marine resources, are in terrible condition, according to the world's biggest reef conservation organization.

Blast fishing and an unregulated marine aquarium trade have destroyed much of the country's coral reefs over the years, said Reef Check, an international organization assessing the health of reefs in 82 countries.

"Despite its high biodiversity, the Philippines' reefs are very badly damaged. It's one of the worst damaged in the world, on the average. Most of the reefs are very badly overfished," California-based Reef Check founder George Hodgson said at a press conference here on Saturday.

He said the growing population of the Philippines had put pressure on marine resources as coastal communities continued to resort to cyanide fishing to meet the demand for fish.

"The human demand for fish is just way beyond the supply," Hodgson said. has also put pressure on the coral reefs, which are destroyed by blast fishing to catch the most popular aquarium fish species.

The Philippines and Indonesia supply about 85 percent of the world's aquarium fishes, Reef Check-Philippine country director Domingo Ochavillo said.

Hot spots

The two countries are among the 18 megadiversity nations in the world, which together account for 80 percent of the earth's biodiversity. They are also among the top biodiversity hot spots, with the Philippines ranked fifth in the world last year.

"About 95 percent of the reefs in the Philippines have been badly damaged, but with just a little bit of effort, you can allow them to recover," Hodgson said.

The Philippines has more than 400 of some 500 known species of corals all over the world, but more than 90 percent of these are considered "highly threatened," according to the World Bank environment monitor.

Ochavillo said climate change would also significantly affect the recovery of the country's coral reefs, citing the death of 10 percent of the world's reefs in 1998, the hottest year since 1880.

"Reefs that are really devastated may not recover because of natural disturbances," he said.

Reef Check is pushing for the protection and conservation of 20 to 30 percent of coral reef areas to allow the corals to grow and repair themselves.

Sustainable fishing

Ochavillo said Hilutungan Island off Mactan was a good example that sustainable fishing could be done. The island had allotted 500 square meters of its reefs as an off-limits area two years ago to allow the reefs to recover.

Conservation has yielded fruit. The reefs have recovered and have become a major source of income for the barangay, which charges divers $1 each for exploring the reef. The island made $80,000 from tourism last year, boosting the fishermen's income.

"The key is offering them alternative livelihood. You can't just tell the fishermen that they can't fish anymore because you want to conserve the area," Ochavillo said.

Reef Check is eyeing other popular tourist areas in the country for reef conservation. The group said developing the tourism potential of reef-rich areas would encourage the fishermen to participate in reef conservation.

While fishing for food and the marine aquarium trade would not be halted, the fishing habits would have to change if coastal communities are to harvest more resources from the coral reefs in the coming years.

"We are transforming the trade. They are doing it in a damaging way, and we want to teach them how to do it sustainably and without harming the coral reefs," Hodgson said.

He said numerous marine protected parks in the country had hardly helped in reef conservation because only five out of about 100 marine parks were actually working.

These are the Tubbataha marine park in Palawan, Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Apo Reef in Oriental Mindoro, Hilutungan, and Anilao in Batangas.

"Unfortunately there are marine parks in paper but not in effect," Hodgson said.

He said the Philippines, which he described as "a very important country because diversity is high," should focus on conservation.

Edmundtanso

November 14th, 2005, 04:26 AM

how can our tourism people advertise the philippines as a major diving spot in the world? this makes me really depressed and angry at the same time....

i an a scuba diver and i have to say i've seem so much garbage floating on the water of anilao while diving, and it's funny how the master divers and bangkero seem not to just ignore it like it is part of the ocean....

ThisFire

November 14th, 2005, 05:00 AM

^ that last sentence you said is funny because that attitude is also found within locals as well. it starts somewhere.

marites4

November 14th, 2005, 06:44 AM

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 04:52 PM

bagel

November 14th, 2005, 05:16 PM

Wow... he could tell you were telling half truths.

If you're interested in going to a manghihilot that doesn't sideline in palmistry, I discovered some good places to go.

There's this place next to the Magic Mic store on Annapolis in Greenhills that specializes in Chinese reflexology. Not as inexpensive as Quiapo but they are a good midday stop and relax kind of place. You get tea and have a big scren TV and someone works on your feet and back. You can do this as a group activity too with your cachica-chica.

And I'm a big fan of The Spa. They have several branches. The one I went to is in Acropolis in the Libis area. Make sure somebody drives you around because sayang lang ang masahe kung magmamaneho ka.

I go to get massages all the time in Manila because it's so cheap and I like the idea the luxurious idea that everyday, I can get reflexology at the end of the day at a whim.

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 06:31 PM

I am into spas and reflexology, too. Quite addictive. Thanks for the tip!

That Quiapo thing was for kicks.

Here in NY, I tried this Korean place where this big Korean woman stepped on my small back. Although she was holding on a horizontal pole on the ceiling to support her weight, she was twice my size. I was afraid she will break my back. Then the sauna was so hot, I thought I will pass out. So much for my spa adventurism.

I usually go for Chinese Tuina or accupressure or Japanese Shiatsu. I am not a big fan of Swedish. With Tuina or Shiatsu, I can have the massage with my shirt on or with a blanket covering my body while in Swedish they put oils and liniments so sometimes I feel uncomfortable. I always request for a female attendant (masseuse) even if they have a 'star' masseur. I just don't feel at ease.

bagel

November 14th, 2005, 06:45 PM

Ok yung reflexology sa Greenhills. Great location. Shopping ka muna sa tiangge buong araw. Magpapagod ka muna. Lakarin mo buong Greenhills shopping center, pati pa yung pasikot sikot sa Shoppesville Plus.

Tapos lakad ka patungong reflexology at magpa hilot ka ng paa. (pero punta muna ng Magic Mic store para testingin ang bago nilang model. Kanta kanta ng demo karaoke)

Tapos punta ka sa Promenade para kumain ng hapunan tapos manuod ng sine.

Sige... yan na ang schedule mo ng December 21.

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 06:47 PM

Galing. Buti may itinerary na ako. Ok talaga.

bagel

November 14th, 2005, 06:56 PM

Ayoko masyado Swedish... bugbog ang resulto.

Sometimes massages at these legit places make good presents. They're really thoughtful, especially for busy people.

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 07:00 PM

Yes, I agree. There has been a spate of these spa destinations all over the world that are made part of tourism packages. Even in India, they do Ayurvedic spas; in the Mediterranean, mud spas, etc. What unique thing has the Philippines to offer? Perhaps this manghuhula/manghihilot thing is something unique to the Philippines. Almost akin to faith healing.

bagel

November 14th, 2005, 07:01 PM

Well, when I went there a couple of years ago and took a trip to Mindoro, to Puerta Galera, we hired a bankero to take us to an undeveloped beach. While we were there, we also hired him to get us some freshly caught fish to barbecue for us. And then these three women came from out of nowhere to offer us a massage on the beach. So we hired them to do that. It was nice... my own private beach, with my own private freshly caught fish, and massages.

So I see the potential for spa/tourism in the Philippines. They already have it at an informal level.

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 07:05 PM

We can talk about therapeutic massages.

mysaong03

November 14th, 2005, 08:46 PM

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 09:04 PM

Exactly, baka mamaya anu-ano na ang pinipindot-pindot dyan. :lol:

No, these are licensed accredited reflexology and spas in NY. Acupuncture has already been accepted as a medically covered procedure here in the US so you can ask your health insurance to cover this procedure if you are seeking this as treatment for a medical condition. I have not tried acupuncture, however.

bagel

November 14th, 2005, 09:47 PM

I do acupuncture to relieve different stress-related ailments, covered by my employer's health insurance plan. The nice thing is that my acupuncturist is the partner of one of my good friends so it's comfortable to work with them and I also, through my insurance, support independent practicioners.

Lili

November 14th, 2005, 10:17 PM

There is another called moxibustion where they put heated suction cups on some points on your back and you end up with round bruises and welts all over your back. I have not tried that either. It's like an ancient process. I think this should be part of the Medical Tourism thread.

Espma

November 15th, 2005, 12:52 AM

^^ are u talking about the one where they, like pierce ur skin or something and let the blood come out using suction cups?

bagel

November 15th, 2005, 12:55 AM

Lili

November 15th, 2005, 01:01 AM

Yes, just as boybaha (Mike) described. No oozing of blood, please. That's another medieval bloodletting method with leeches.

bustero

November 15th, 2005, 01:54 AM

Actually there are quite a lot of foot spas and massage parlors (the regular kind not the one with "happy ending" around. There are some small chains in fact Like neo spa or foot r us, foot zone etc. not as ubiquitous as Thailand but still not hard to find specially in the major commercial centers and populated places! There's even a number of company based home services like vibes (the blind masseuses in the airport) and dial a massage. On of the little luxuries being in a third world nation so we can easily afford these things because it's cheap:)

Lili

November 15th, 2005, 02:16 AM

Dial-a-massage is good during lunch breaks at the office especially when you have a long day ahead of you.

OtAkAw

November 15th, 2005, 09:11 AM

I am not really into massages, it feels awkward when someone touches you like this and like that.

The Philippines really has alot to offer especially in the massage sector, Ive read Shangri-la Mactan is adding hilot to their specialties, i hope they spread hilot to all their CHI spas.

Espma

November 15th, 2005, 11:49 AM

I think she's talking about these things that are sometimes called "dragon balls" or "heat cups" or "heat bowls." My acupuncturist does that as well.

She puts something in the cup, lights it on fire (and it's a flash of a fire), then immediately sticks it on the skin and then it kind of gets stuck there like a suction cup. No blood. Acupuncture has no blood-letting involved.

ah ok im not talking about acupuncture..there's one that involves letting blood come out in different areas of the body, then it will coagulate so it can be removed without much mess..lol a little barbaric i thought....I think its a Scandinivian thing...

dancethingy

November 15th, 2005, 12:21 PM

I heard those dragonball suction thingys hurt. A friend of mine has tried it. She said it does more harm than good. Those spots, big red spots, stay for a week. hahahahahahahaha.

bagel

November 15th, 2005, 06:06 PM

I found them kind of soothing. I don't know how long the hickies stayed there because they were on my back and I normally don't look at my back.

sugbuanon

November 16th, 2005, 02:44 PM

RP spa bests over 200 Asian rivals

The Farm at San Benito gleamed with high distinction when it bagged the awards of Spa of the Philippines, Best Holistic Program, and Best Wellness Center, besting over 200 other competitors from nine Asian countries, during the recently concluded Spa Crystal Awards at the Wellness Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand. In 2004, The Farm at San Benito also won the Best Retreat, Best Holistic Healing Program, and Best New Age Program awards from the said Asia-wide tilt.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said that "This only goes to prove that the Philippines’ wellness programs are of world-class quality. Our style of hale and hearty living is aggressively promoted to officially showcase the country as an ideal health and wellness holiday destination." In addition to the aforementioned honors, Philippine spas have likewise received nominations for the 2006 Baccarat Asia Spa Awards. The Farm at San Benito, Mandala Spa, and the Chi Spa Village of Shangri-La Mactan are contenders for its Destination Spa of the Year category.

The Farm has also been nominated for three other categories namely, Medi Spa of the Year, Spa Retreat of the Year, and Spa Cuisine of the Year. Mandala Spa, on the other hand, is a finalist, as well, for the Spa Retreat of the Year, In-Spa Training of the Year, and Spa Cuisine of the Year. Furthermore, Sanctuario Spa’s hilot and Mandala Spa’s watsu are included in the Spa Treatment of the Year selection, while the Philippines’ very own "pythomer" is a frontrunner in the Spa Product of the Year division. The Spa Association of the Philippines, Inc. has also been selected as a candidate for the Spa Association of the Year award.

"We are definitely going global and we are welcoming the world to our shores to experience our traditional healing techniques. These merits we have been gaining are valuable to intensify the campaign for the Philippines’ healing modalities," remarked Durano. The Department of Tourism (DoT) has implemented various programs for the continuous education and training of Filipino workers on the latest trends in the spa industry, in addition to developing and advocating the Island’s unique brand of spa and wellness.

The Philippines’ distinctive kind of massage has been getting tremendous exposure in the international travel and trade fairs that the Department participates in. During the Otdykh-Leisure International Autumn Trade Fair held in Russia, guests had their first taste of the country’s therapeutic methods through the auxiliary event Spa and Health Moscow 2005, which was the first international Workshop and Conference for Health Tourism, Resorts, and Spa.

Moreover, demonstrations on hilot and dagdagay, a foot massage using two sticks and exotic island concoctions of the Philippine virgin coconut oil, were given to visitors of the Philippine pavilion in Hong Kong’s biggest travel show, the International Tourism Expo 2005. "Their interest in our remedial modalities has been truly overwhelming. The DoT is pushing an assertive drive with the private sector to further our promotions for the Philippines’ health and wellness industry," ended Secretary Durano.

dancethingy

November 16th, 2005, 05:49 PM

@ boybaha, if you have a special someone (wink wink) that you had with you after the dragonball thingys why don't u ask that special someone how long it was there for??? wink wink. J/ks lang. Did it hurt? I heard it hurt??

bagel

November 16th, 2005, 05:54 PM

The last time I had those heat bowls done I didn't have a girlfriend. I just remember that it felt warm.

stephencua

November 18th, 2005, 02:03 AM

taken from philstar.com..

Russian invasion looming
BIZLINKS By Rey Gamboa
The Philippine Star 11/18/2005

Lest this piece be mistaken as has-been news from the Cold War era, allow me to clarify that while a Russian invasion is looming, I am referring to Russian tourists, who are the newest target of the tourism department.

Yes, following the early success of the mission to crack the lucrative Chinese market two years back, the Department of Tourism (DoT) recently bared plans to further intensify tourism promotions in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the previous constituent republics of the former Soviet Union.

Considering these countries’ steady rise in economic status, getting through their huge outbound tourism market — a market of about 5.9 million tourists spending an average of US$4 billion a year — is indeed a step in the right direction. Imagine getting 10, or even an initial five percent, of the Russian outbound tourism market. That would be 300,000 additional dollar-carrying visitors.

Russians are now one of the world’s top spenders on tourism, chipping in some US$12 billion in the last three years. Records reveal that Russian tourists’ favorite destinations are Turkey (1.4 million), China (650,000), and Egypt (400,000).

Tourism dollars from traditional markets such as Japan, Korea and the United States, plus the big potential posed by China and Russia, is what this cash-strapped country needs to get back on its feet. A tourism boom may even compel thousands of Filipinos to stay with their families while earning a decent living here.
Only about 2,000 tourists, but …
The Philippine Embassy in Moscow says it issued a total of 1,534 tourist visas to citizens of Russia and CIS last year. During the first half of 2005, the embassy already issued 1,197 tourist visas, compared to a mere 682 over the same period last year.

This is still a meager number, especially since Thailand leads all other Southeast Asian countries in having lured some 80,000 Russian travelers in 2004. Such incremental figures however can quickly grow, as what the tourism department gained after focusing on the China tourist market.

Prior to the establishment of a Philippine Tourism office in Beijing, mainland Chinese travelers to the country numbered in the vicinity of only 2,000 a year. Last year, due to the relentless promotion and marketing strategies, 3,742 Chinese tourists visited the country. So far, 9,637 mainland holiday-makers were documented to have visited the Philippines this year. And the numbers are increasing.
A surprisingly helpful Congress
Often ridiculed and despised for engaging in eternal rhetoric and debates that go neither here nor there but aims merely at generating publicity, the House of Representatives — at least in terms of tourism — is apparently charting the right path for this sector.

The DoT recently submitted to Congress a budget if P731million for international promotions campaigns next year. While Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. of the House committee on Appropriations warns that the proposal would be scrutinized, he acknowledges that tourism is indeed one of the most cost-effective sector in terms of generating employment and income.

In fact, Congress is considering increasing the tourism promotion budget by 50 percent, from P600million last year to P900 next year. At least, a House of Representatives subscribing to the quintessential role portrayed by tourism in the national economy is a big plus to the industry. We just hope the Senate is as tourism-friendly as Congress. What say thou, Dick?
Warmth for winter-weary tourists
With winter approaching, the WOW Philippines campaign has come up with catchy slogans that are most useful and timely in attracting Russians and Chinese to our tropical islands. Our world class beaches, brightened by what is considered to be the longest (and most festive) celebration of Christmas in the world, is indeed something tourists can look forward to.

Again, if I may go back to what the DoT did with China, all it takes is some diligent effort to promote the country and make it a by-word among international holiday makers.

I gathered that an initial batch of 14 Russian travel and tour operators have been invited and sent on familiarization tours to Boracay, Bohol, Cebu and El Nido in Palawan — paradise-like destinations that would definitely whet the appetite of winter-weary Russian travelers.

The challenge for those located in our wonderful destinations is to locally develop a culture of tourism, which means to take care not only of the tourist attractions in one’s vicinity, but making sure that the tourists that visit them are made to feel welcome, comfortable and safe. Let’s treat them right, lest others will — and pocket the income that could have been ours.
WTO takes notice
The positive stance taken by the DoT, and the successes it has reaped of late, has caught the attention of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), which vowed to further boost our tourism industry. Because of the intensive promotion and marketing efforts carried out, the WTO predicted that tourist arrivals to the country would hit 2.6 million.

The WTO technical cooperation division, in recognition of the country’s tourism initiatives, will also extend assistance to the DoT in identifying and exploring other potential markets in Europe other than Russia, including Spain, Germany, France, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

A sustained and zealous effort by the DoT and the national government and development of a culture of tourism, plus commitment of the WTO to extend assistance can one day lead to Deutsche, Scandinavian and French invasion of our shores — an invasion that would be most welcome.

marites4

November 18th, 2005, 03:29 AM

^this is good coz I don't think Russian will complain too much about the food. Their diet relies mostly on cabbage.

sugbuanon

November 19th, 2005, 02:13 AM

Philippine spots a big hit in European dive trade show

By Lito Cinco

The Philippines attracted a lot of attention in its first ever participation in the recent Birmingham Dive Trade Show in England that had over a hundred countries represented to show off their natural diving attractions. Led by Cynthia Norton Carreon, Executive director of the newly-revived Philippine Commission of Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), the RP delegation showed its numerous dive sites and marine sanctuaries, some of which are already known all over the world including the Tubbataha Reef in Sulu Sea, the Apo Reef in the Visayas, and Puerto Galera in Mindoro. "The Philippines is located right in the middle of what is considered as the world’s diving triangle, 25 percent of the world’s fish species are found in our waters, there are more marine species here than in other parts of the world, and the trade show visitors were impressed in what we have to offer in terms of dive spots, their response was simply fantastic" said Norton.

The PCSSD, which actually has been established since the Marcos years but has been inert for a long time, was revived by Pres. Arroyo to address the country’s need to conserve, promote, and regulate diving in the Philippines, more so that diving is considered as one of the major sports tourism attractions that the Philippines has to offer, aside from golf. The Commission is composed of representatives from the Department of Tourism (DoT), the Department of National Defense (DND), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for an integrated approach towards achieving the Commission’s three-pronged mandate. "We need to make the Philippines more visible in the world market as far as our natural attractions are concerned and our participation in this European dive show was a big step towards that direction, the Commission will be meeting soon to finalize a more detailed program of its activities for next year but we will definitely be a very active group," added Norton.

rowell_sk

November 19th, 2005, 01:05 PM

here's a stats of tourist arrival in southeast asian region.
http://www.aseansec.org/tour_stat/Total%20International%20Visitor%20Arrivals%20to%20ASEAN%202004.htm

marites4

November 19th, 2005, 07:02 PM

ramvingar

November 19th, 2005, 10:04 PM

Subic Bay opens P160-M seaport passenger terminal
By Bebot Sison Jr.
The Philippine Star 11/20/2005

Global Terminal and Development, Inc. (GTDI) has opened a P160-million world-class seaport passenger terminal at the Alava Pier in Subic Bay to accommodate international cruise ships traveling around the Asia-Pacific region.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano G. Salonga, administrator Armand C. Arreza and Olongapo City Mayor James L. Gordon Jr. led the ribbon cutting ceremony and unveiling of the P160-million world-class seaport passenger terminal inside the premier freeport.

GTDI has infused another P150 million worth of investments to transform the 18 hectares of the former US Navy port facility into a one-stop cruise ship facility complemented with a passenger and tourist park, a warehouse, and even a grain storage facility and ship repair yard," Salonga told The STAR.

"The project will serve as the catalyst for harbor renewal of Rivera Wharf from a former US Navy seaport to become Asia’s premier luxury cruise ship destination in the region," Arreza told The STAR in an interview.

GTDI has been in the international ship handling and port operation business for almost two decades. The project would be marketed among luxury cruise ship operators in Asian countries, Europe and United States.

"We have actually received business partnership proposals with international cruise ship operators and this project is among its tour packages," a GTDI official said.

The project will have three phases that includes the construction of elegantly designed entry-exit gates and the P36-million rehabilitation of the Alava Pier considered as the future gateway of luxury ships and foreign tourists.

The second phase involves the clearing, clean-up and fencing of the whole area and setting up passenger terminals for both cruise and cargo ships while the final phase will be the construction of the "one-stop-shop" commercial buildings for port-related businesses.

The northern part of the Alava Pier will be for the setting-up of a ship repair facility and the opposite side will be allocated for locators doing port-related business such as warehousing, storage and stevedoring.

Mango

November 20th, 2005, 01:08 AM

Wow I thought Thailand would definitely beat Malaysia's stats. If felt like there were more foreigners in Thailand than Malaysia. The only thing Malaysia got going is the good infrastructure ,orderliness.

Me, too. So Malaysia pala ang number one destination in SEA region.
Philippines' number of tourists is growing slowly but surely...go go go!

and that good news from ranvingar will certainly help.

xXx carlos xXx

November 20th, 2005, 02:07 AM

here's a stats of tourist arrival in southeast asian region.
http://www.aseansec.org/tour_stat/Total%20International%20Visitor%20Arrivals%20to%20ASEAN%202004.htm

thanks for the info... bbut,i thought that the philippines attracts more tourists than vietnam... this is bad... were not even in the upper half... weve got to do better this year..

dancethingy

November 20th, 2005, 03:03 AM

Here's a toast to our food

RP delicacies a big hit at Russian expo
By Pia Lee-Brago
The Philippine Star 11/20/2005

Signature Philippine dishes, such as tinolang manok, lumpiang sariwa, ginataang sugpo and halo-halo, took center stage at a cultural expo held at Russia’s cultural capital St. Petersburg recently, and the response was so good that the menu may be presented to the lower chamber of the Russian bicameral parliament next year.

The Philippine Embassy in Moscow reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that residents of St. Petersburg were recently given an unusual culinary treat when Filipino chef Geronimo Reduta held a master class of Philippine cuisine and presented a full-course Filipino meal.

Reduta gave his unusual culinary treat at the Expo Vitrina Professional Assembly held in the Corinthia Nevsky Palace Hotel along the world-famous Nevsky Prospekt avenue in St. Petersburg, Russia’s former imperial capital.

The culinary event was co-sponsored by Sergey Alexeev, Philippine honorary consul to St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region.

Reduta, who started his career in 1980 as a cook in Saudi Arabia and at the Aristocrat restaurant in Manila, whipped up tinolang manok (ginger chicken soup) as a starter, lumpiang sariwa (fresh vegetable rolls) as the appetizer, ginataang sugpo (prawns in coconut milk) as the main entrée served with rice, and halo-halo (a fruity ice mix) for the dessert. For drinks, he prepared papaya shakee and barako coffee using mascovado brown sugar.

The resident Filipino chef, who single-handedly prepared a banquet for 600 guests at the reception celebrating the 25th anniversary of Philippine-Russian ties in 2001, demonstrated his skills before an audience of 50 exhibition participants and guests.

Natalia Zabolotnaya, a Philippines historian and one of the embassy"s staff interpreters, meanwhile, presented aspects of Philippine culture linked to food and culinary practices through a presentation of slides and traditional ethnic music.

Ambassador to Moscow Ernest Llamas said the embassy organized the second Philippine cooking demonstration, billed as "The Exotica of Philippine Cuisine."

The first cooking event was held at the Radisson SAS Slavyanskaya Hotel in Moscow last April. Just as in St. Petersburg, the Philippines represented the Asian region in the maiden version of the national cuisine master classes at the Moscow Assembly.

Llamas said that as a direct result of the Vitrina master class, Manana Kandareli, owner and franchiser of the Porto Maltese chain of upscale seafood restaurants in Moscow and Kiev, decided to ask Reduta to design a special Philippine menu for the first branch she is planning to open in the Northern Capital at the end of this month.

If the plan pushes through, it will be the first authentic Philippine food to be served in a restaurant in Russian since 1994, when The Manila restaurant closed.

Reduta, a Moscow resident for 15 years, was one of the former chefs of the Filipino restaurant before becoming a cook and was also the executive chef for the US Embassy cafeteria there.

Llamas added that the Philippine presentation, which also received the assistance of Emirates airlines in the transport of Philippine ingredients to Moscow, has proven itself to be one of the most popular and applauded seminars by exhibition participants and organizers.

Immediately, after the presentation in Moscow, the embassy was approached by several food business entrepreneurs and restaurateurs from different regions in Russia and from Kharkov, Ukraine.

Llamas said this effort led directly to discussions on a project to demonstrate Philippine cuisine before the State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian bicameral parliament) next year in collaboration with The Best Restaurants of the 21st Century, a group known for the annual Golden Crane Award given to the year’s best restaurants listed in the Golden Crane Guide, the Russian equivalent to the famous Michelin Guide of France.

The embassy is also discussing the possibility of opening a new Filipino cuisine restaurant in Moscow.

slerz

November 20th, 2005, 03:49 AM

Me, too. So Malaysia pala ang number one destination in SEA region.
Philippines' number of tourists is growing slowly but surely...go go go!

and that good news from ranvingar will certainly help.

yup, the growth of our tourism is growing fast... we're already starting, they have already realized that the Philippines is an undoubted haven, they already found the hidden paradise.... go go go isla de Filipinas.... Mabuhay!!!

slerz

November 20th, 2005, 04:11 AM

I think some countries excel in tourism coz of some reasons, they offer something that we don't offer...
http://www.thaianxiety.com/liindust.asp

_zner_

November 20th, 2005, 04:24 AM

i thought thailand got 10-12million tourists last year while malaysia has 8million tourists followed by indonesia 6M, singapore 3.3M, vietnam 2M+ and philippines 2M+..

marites4

November 20th, 2005, 06:16 AM

I think some countries excel in tourism coz of some reasons, they offer something that we don't offer...
http://www.thaianxiety.com/liindust.asp
Oh my god, that's so sad. It says thai beaches and natural resources are spoiled from over tourism and majority of tourists are male coming for sex tours. I hope we don't try to emulate this. Already those sextourists take side tours to the PHils. I think Malaysia is a better example of a country who controlled their tourism industry by better management.

Mango

November 20th, 2005, 07:46 AM

Yeah, Malaysia does not have the reputation for attracting the sleazy tourists and yet they are the biggest in SEAs tourism!

dancethingy

November 21st, 2005, 12:44 AM

I think we can beat 12 million. Hell we can beat Honk Kong. We'll just have to wait i guess.
I would also like to concur with ate Marites. I don't know why we look up so much to Thailand's tourist industry when we all know that most tourists go there just for SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX. HOT SLEAZY SEX. wait not even hot, desperate i mean.

Espma

November 21st, 2005, 12:57 AM

^^true ayy?! BUT try typing Thailand vs Philippines in google or yahoo and some interesting websites will come up comparing the two countries as sex spots..Philippines being an alternative....

cHemon

November 21st, 2005, 01:58 AM

:fart:

slerz

November 21st, 2005, 12:40 PM

^^true ayy?! BUT try typing Thailand vs Philippines in google or yahoo and some interesting websites will come up comparing the two countries as sex spots..Philippines being an alternative....

even in Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and other countries have sex tourism but the question is? Is their government permit it to be legal?

If I'm a tourist who wants sex for sure I will go to Thailand coz it's legal, why would I go to the Philippines where sex tourism is illegal...???

OtAkAw

November 21st, 2005, 01:39 PM

Netherlands and Thailand are the same right? They are called Disneyland for sex-lovers.

le Reine

November 21st, 2005, 01:44 PM

cheers for Philippine tourism. I've read in the newspapers that our tourism is in the uptrend... Hmmm...
:dance: :grouphug: :cheer: :hug: :runaway:

kiretoce

November 21st, 2005, 04:17 PM

On safari - in the Philippines
E-Taiwan News, Monday, November 21, 2005

A safari trip to the Philippines? I never would have thought of that one on my own, but once the idea was planted it didn't seem so far fetched, considering that the country is comprised of more than 7,000 islands. That one of those islands has been designated a natural reserve and is home to several species of indigenous and imported animals is really not that surprising, after all. Mind you, getting there takes some doing, but that only heightens the safari experience, as it might seem something of an anti-climax if one could get on a plane in Taipei and less than two hours later wind up in the company of wild giraffes and zebras. That kind of experience seems to beg more of an effort.

The antiquated 19-seater turbo-prop aircraft sitting on the tarmac at Manila's domestic airport had just the right look to suggest a trip to the wilds. We took off into an overcast sky and flew south, over countless cays to the southern island of Busuanga. The pilot set us down gently - all things considered - on a dirt strip on the northeastern side of the island. As soon as we got off the plane, stepping around several puddles from the early-morning showers, my travel companions from Taipei rushed to record on camera the novelty of an airport terminal the size of a small restaurant in Taiwan and a couple of restaurants that surely gave new meaning to the word basic. This was exactly what we had come for.

We piled into the waiting jeepney and rattled along a narrow dirt road that took us past gently rolling green hills and open pastures, slowing down occasionally for the odd cow that had wandered onto the track. The touch of humans seemed very light on this part of the island. Near the end of the 30-minute ride a few buildings came into sight. Tiny bamboo huts seemed to serve every purpose, from shops and community buildings to family homes. The hobie cat anchored in the bay on the island's northeast coast was without doubt the most sophisticated structure in sight.

Nature at its best

The early morning clouds had cleared and we made the half-an-hour boat trip to Dimakya Island under a cobalt sky. Bracketed by a seemingly unbroken string of distant islands on one side and the green peaks of Busuanga on the other, we drank in the sight of nature at its purest.

Dimakya, part of the Calamian group of islands, lies off the northeastern coast of Busuanga and is home to the Club Paradise resort. This would be our base for the next couple of days as we went in search of the wildlife in the area.

For all its fine dining and service, Club Paradise fits right into the picture of a rustic hideaway in the heart of the wilds. The resort's cottages are built mainly of bamboo and other native wood, while the dining room and administration buildings incorporate some stonework. This is not a place for those visitors who experience withdrawal symptoms when separated from their TV sets, computers and cell phones.

Three sisters, Hye, Chea and Hyun Jung from South Korea who were there on a 5-day vacation, described it as a refuge from the hustle, bustle and pressures of modern city life.

They had been snorkeling close to the reefs around the island three times in search of dugong, or sea cows, which are indigenous to the area. They had had no sightings of the large endangered mammal, which is known for eating up the seabed vegetation at a blistering rate. However, they had seen lots of other marine life and Hye was taking diving lessons from the hotel's dive instructor in hopes of seeing other rare indigenous species such as sea turtle and giant clam. They also had a day trip booked for the following day that would take them to the nearby resort of El Rio y Mar on Busuanga where they planned to go kayaking and banana boating in the bay.

"So, I guess you're going to tell all your friends about this place when you get back to Korea," I said to them.

"No, no," they said in unison.

Now I was confounded.

"But I thought you guys loved it here," I said.

"We do. That's why we're not going to tell anyone, except our very closest friends, about it," Hye explained. "We'd hate to see lots and lots of people coming here and spoiling it."

The next day we set off on our own day trip to the Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary.

Calauit, one hour by boat from Dimayka, is a 3,700-hectare island where the flora and topography are every bit as fascinating as the fauna.

On the western side of the island is dense mangrove swamp, on the eastern side a wide bay and narrow coastal plains that give way gradually to grasslands further inland. Mountain ranges stretch from the northeast to the southeast and interspersed in all this are wide savannahs where the animals roam.

We approached by sea on the eastern side and kayaked from the boat across the shallow bay to the beach.

A safari truck took us inland through bamboo thickets and over streams and small rivers, climbing slowly to a higher elevation. From there, we could see riparian woodlands and a thick forest in the distance. I later learned that this is a secondary regenerating forest.

Running wild

Soon we were on the savannah, eyes peeled for the animals. Our tour guide, Banito Sario, pointed to the left and sure enough there was a herd of zebras grazing unconcernedly as the truck stopped and we inched closer on foot to get photographs.

"No closer than 10 meters," Sario warned softly.

In the far distance we could see what looked like a pair of giraffes but Sario assured us that there would be no problem getting close to those.

"Be patient," he said. So we boarded the truck again and headed further inland.

The wildlife project was started in 1976 with the importation of giraffe, zebra, eland, impala, bushbuck and waterbuck from Kenya, Sario explained. A number of indigenous species, including the Palawan bearcat, Calamian deer, mouse deer, and crocodile, were also included in the sanctuary.

On our many stops that day, we saw several of these animals, though not all of them.

Indigenous species

The Palawan bearcat is an exotic-looking furry creature that resembles a raccoon without the eye rings. It lives mostly in trees and eats mainly fruit. The Calamian deer, which keeps to the taller grass on the savannah and seems to favor shaded areas, is a pretty regular-looking cervidae, though not very large, as deer go. The mouse deer is perfectly named, as it is indeed a deer but very tiny, with a sharp nose and mouse-like ears.

"There are only three species of mouse deer in the world," Sario said. "This one is indigenous to the Philippines and the population right now is only about 100."

The timid creature to which he pointed was almost invisible in the tall grass. He explained that the mouse deer had to be kept in an enclosure because they were easy prey for eagles, pythons and bearcats.

"In the past, we have even had a problem with locals who hunted the mouse deer for meat, which they like cooked in coconut milk," he said.

I looked at him closely to see if he was kidding. He wasn't.

This seemed like the perfect time to go in search of the giraffes. I was in need of some uplifting sights.

We drove across the open savannah and the truck parked under the shade of a large tree. Not a single giraffe in sight. I can't go home without seeing the giraffes, I was thinking, but as if he'd read my mind, Sario said, "Don't worry. Watch this."

He climbed down from the truck, moved a few meters away and began whistling.

I heard them before I saw them. Hooves pounding on the savannah, four giraffes loped toward the truck from behind a stand of trees. They are such beautiful creatures. Graceful and gangly all at once, like teenagers. Sario, in a further display of his Tarzan-like skills, broke off a branch from a nearby tree and held it aloft. One of the giraffes stepped closer on its seemingly delicate legs and reached down to nibble on the leaves. At first we were all absorbed with getting as close as we could for photos, but it was only a matter of time before someone in the group asked if they could take a turn at feeding the giraffes. Under Sario's watchful eye, we all took turns.

There's something vastly satisfying in standing within touching distance of a wild animal over five meters tall, no protection between you both, and have him practically eating from your hand.

Perhaps the wild really does call to us all.

cHemon

November 21st, 2005, 04:19 PM

even in Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and other countries have sex tourism but the question is? Is their government permit it to be legal?

If I'm a tourist who wants sex for sure I will go to Thailand coz it's legal, why would I go to the Philippines where sex tourism is illegal...???

Sorry, it's also illegal in Thailand.

That's the problem!

kiretoce

November 21st, 2005, 04:19 PM

Past the 500 posts allowed. Check out and continue discussions on Philippine Tourism....Part II Thread! (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=6291558#post6291558) :colgate:

kiretoce

November 22nd, 2005, 07:13 PM

Pinoy Kasi : Naked sabotage
By Michael Tan Inquirer News Service Nov 23, 2005

Back in the days of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, Imelda Marcos "beautified" her City of Man (Metro Manila) by building perimeter walls around squatter colonies.

Life's become more complicated since then. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is pouring in P100 million to "beautify" what they call an "investor's route," improving and cleaning up roads leading to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in an attempt to impress foreign visitors.

And for us the natives, we get billboards with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo smiling sternly and warning: "Pook na Bulok, Negosyo di Papasok" .

[b]Economic sabotage

The signs have been up a few months now, and I've wondered what government's definition is of "rotten." Now we have the answer in the form of an MMDA directive, banning the public display of laundry, shirtless men and public drinking sprees. "Sabotage," MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando is quoted as describing these forms of rotten behavior.

Hmmm ... that's a really new take on economic sabotage, this business of naked drinking men and dirty laundry.

Let's look first at this business of drinking in public. A few weeks back, I wrote about a Chinese regional magazine (the Chinese Asiaweek) featuring Filipinos as the happiest people on earth. One "proof" they presented? There was a photograph accompanying that story showing a bunch of men drinking ... yes, out in the street, while floodwaters swirled around reaching almost up to their knees.

The Asiaweek photographer and writer, presumably Chinese, probably saw this as quaint. The MMDA recoils, calling it economic sabotage. I see it as the result, rather than a cause of economic sabotage: a country that can't generate enough jobs for its people, with the result the women have to slave away with all kinds of informal jobs, while the men toast their woes away.

The laundry out in the streets? I see that, too, as the result of economic sabotage. All around Asia I see governments pouring in money to low-cost housing. Just last week, I was in Malaysia where people earning less than 1,500 ringgit (P22,500) a month can avail themselves of government housing units at the equivalent of P3,000 a month.

Yes, that would make many professors of the University of the Philippines (UP) eligible, but that's another story. My point is that in the Philippines, government money for housing has been pilfered, so people have to live in shanties. When there's hardly enough living space in the first place, where do you think people are going to hang out their laundry?

"Bastos"

We go now to the shirtless machos. The MMDA ordinance is directed against men who are not just strutting around in the streets but even in construction sites, presumably offending the sensibilities of would-be investors.

All over the world, you see shirtless men out in the streets. In cold countries, the slightest hint of a sunny day brings out men who will bask, shirtless, on park benches. As for construction workers, many countries have safety regulations requiring a whole bunch of protective gear, which means the workers will keep their shirts on while working, but during breaks, especially on a summer day, the shirts will come off.

Offensive? I know my slip's showing, but I think the shirtless men can be quite delightful, even a tourist attraction. Brazil's a notorious example, where women and men, young and old, have no qualms about standing around in public half-naked. The foreigners stare, but for the Brazilians -- well, it's all as normal as having a shirt on.

It's all in the eye of the beholder, whether we interpret these scenes as "bastos" [obscene] or not, as I wrote in a column a few months back. In many parts of Asia, we allow different degrees of nakedness. In Tagalog, we even distinguish between "hubo" and "hubad," the former referring to the Oblation statues on UP campuses, and the latter to being exposed from the waist up.

Obscenity isn't related so much to the square inches of skin that's exposed than the context of exposure. A shirtless man out in the streets, often someone scratching away at his beer belly, is about as sensuous as "hubad na lumpia" (a spring roll with vegetables "exposed"), but in a dimly lit bedroom -- now, that's another matter.

A few years ago, there was a Hong Kong woman who went to court over the matter of shirtless construction workers, claiming she found them offensive. The court ruled against her. Freudian psychologists will probably speculate about the sexually repressed feelings behind the woman's lawsuit, as well as the beautification campaigns of Imelda Marcos and the MMDA.

Eyes and Heart

Conscious about the eyes of the beholder, let's review that MMDA ordinance on naked economic sabotage.

The dirty laundry in public? I'd worry more about potential investors seeing the long queues of urban poor women and children trying to get water for their laundry and other household needs.

The half-naked men? I had an American woman visitor recently, and she was, to say the least, awed by Bench's larger-than-life billboard ads for men's underwear, the models precariously teasing the boundaries between "hubad" and "hubo."

Potential investors will marvel at the market for underwear, but will also look for signs of economic activity in construction sites and infrastructure projects. And as they catch glimpses of the workers, it won't matter whether they have shirts on or not. I worry more about the visitors seeing workers -- often completely clothed -- just sitting by chatting or ogling women passersby, a billboard behind them proclaiming the site as a government project, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo beaming away and promising the project completion date -- sometime back in 2004.

The drinking sessions? What matters isn't whether it's done in private or public, with shirts on or off. What's obscene is when the men are jobless and perpetually idle, using their wives' or mothers' hard-earned money and the government having nothing to offer them, except promises of more overseas jobs.

All said, shouldn't we be asking why government is cracking down on the shirtless drinking men while busing in tourists to the bars of Pasay City and Angeles City where they can go on drinking sprees while gawking at our women as they strip -- and more?

Nothing, too, can be more obscene, more symptomatic of our social rot, than the droves of children sent out to the streets to sell sampaguita at midnight and, these days, knocking on car windows with a "Meri Krismas," an ill-disguised way of begging even as their President claims, in a speech before the UN General Assembly, that we don't need family planning, that development will eventually eradicate poverty.

We worry too much about what's public, what's visible to the eye. Let's worry a bit more, as a nation, about what's in our heart -- if we still have it.

dancethingy

November 23rd, 2005, 05:00 AM

Kiretoce thanks for that article on Busuanga, was that written by a Taiwanese. It's interesting for them to view what we have as unique, while we view them as backwards, i mean our "little" airports and all.

marites4

November 23rd, 2005, 06:06 AM

shouldn't that article be in the Gwapo program. Anyway I don't agree with the author of the article. You don't need to be rich to be presentable, clean ,descent and disciplined. Look at Vietnam a very poor country with very clean streets. Our govt. can't possibly provide free mass housing for everyone if people keep multiplying like cockroaches. THis urban renewal program doesn't try to hide the problems it is just a start and one of the many fronts to solve and tackle the country's problems. YOu think better with a clean mind and a clean surrounding.

kiretoce

November 23rd, 2005, 02:08 PM

Islandre

November 23rd, 2005, 05:49 PM

Oh, so if the posts reaches 500 already the thread must be closed.

kiretoce

November 23rd, 2005, 06:32 PM

^^ Yep! :lock:

Islandre

November 25th, 2005, 08:13 PM

^It should be closed then after this post :)

yam_spitfire

November 26th, 2005, 12:34 AM

my classmates aunt has been to manila,, guess ano lng nagustuhan nya

JOhnson's baby cologne.... hahahaha,,,

sad though

but in fairness some of my mums colleagues like cebu.. wala raw traffic masyado...

tigidig14

November 26th, 2005, 12:38 AM

^yam theyre closing the thread its more than 500 post na, u can continue that in part 2

pls another thread of this pls., waiter, waiter :D

wher's sinjin!!!

amigo32

November 26th, 2005, 02:16 AM

my classmates aunt has been to manila,, guess ano lng nagustuhan nya

JOhnson's baby cologne.... hahahaha,,,

.

Ganun? :ohno:

slerz

November 26th, 2005, 05:33 AM

Guys, what do they mean by the headline news of ABS CBN... "PILIPINAS, HUMATAW SA TURISMO"... can anyone give us some updates of this?

slerz

November 26th, 2005, 05:34 AM

So this is the new Tourism Philippines thread...

Guys, what do they mean by the headline news of ABS CBN... "PILIPINAS, HUMATAW SA TURISMO"... can anyone give us some updates of this?

Islandre

November 26th, 2005, 06:06 AM

Good to know na humataw pala sa tourism ang Pinas :)

slerz

November 26th, 2005, 02:28 PM

Lumalakas na rin pala ang surfing tourism sa Pilipinas... So what does this mean, are we the next hottest tourist destination to be?

le Reine

November 26th, 2005, 03:20 PM

slerz

November 26th, 2005, 03:29 PM

^maybe. Anyway that's not a surprise to me. We should be one of the hottest tourist destinations in asia. With all these natural wonders, we could make it to the top. Our political uncertainties and financial crisis makes it unfavorable to tourists. But in general, they know that the Philippines is a great place to visit.

It's not the political uncertainties and financial crisis...
Yes! we are one of the hottest destination is Asia but it is only now that we've started... We have our specified time to shine, you know... :)
Terrosrism, politics, economc crisis is nothing if we speak of it's effects to every countires tourism industry...

le Reine

November 26th, 2005, 03:41 PM

^Philippine tourism is in the uptrend? I'm not sure, but I've read the newspaper and it said that tourism is really in the uptrend.

slerz

November 26th, 2005, 03:46 PM

yup, confidence should be our tool... believing that we can do it...:okay:

sandrin

November 27th, 2005, 12:11 AM

Domo Arigatu!!!

Japanese arrivals seen to exceed 400,000 in ’05

The Department of Tourism (DoT) is upbeat on surpassing its target of 400,000 Japanese arrivals for 2005.

DoT Secretary Joseph Ace H. Durano expressed this optimism after receiving a report from Tourism Attaché Benito Bengzon, Jr. that the growth rate of 7.75 percent in Japanese arrivals to the Philippines for January-September 2005 even exceeded the overall Japan outbound rate of 4.95 percent.

Reporting from his base in Tokyo, Bengzon indicated the great significance of the country’s tourism performance since Japanese arrivals in Thailand and Singapore were on the decline.

The Philippines were among the only four Southeast Asian countries that posted a positive growth rate in Japanese arrivals in that nine-month period. The other three were Vietnam, Bali (Indonesia), and Malaysia.

Bengzon added, though, that "it remains unclear at this point if Japan will reach its target of 17.4 million outbound travelers this year because of decreasing traffic to China, Korea, and the US mainland."

While projecting Japan’s overseas travel bookings to become sluggish for the last quarter of the year, Bengzon said the Philippines "will be able to hold its own and remain strong."

A total of 36,589 Japanese tourists came to the Philippines last September, topping the list of foreign arrivals in that month.

That number, according to the DoT, surpassed the 30,481 arrivals from Korea and the 30,040 from the United States, and helped push the January-September total to 1,907,405 for a 13.1-percent increase over the 1,685,853 posted in the same period last year.

"Based on current trends, the Philippines is likely to surpass its target of 400,000 Japanese visitors this year," Bengzon said.

The DoT’s 2005 target is quite conservative in the light of a visible uptrend in Japanese arrivals in recent months, coming on the heels of a highly successful marketing campaign by its Team Japan.

"This is especially so in 2006, the Philippines-Japan Friendship Year, when both countries will have year-round activities to celebrate the occasion," Durano said.

"The activities that will be held in Japan will enable us to directly promote our tourism destinations to the Japanese outbound market, while the events that will be held in the Philippines will bring in Japanese participants and tourists," Durano added.

The Philippines-Japan Friendship Year kicks off with a "showdown" between the friendship drummers of the Yamato Taiko of Japan and the Pasasalamat Drumbeaters of Negros Occidental at the CCP Main Theater on Jan. 11, 2006.

Dubbed "Taiko Tambol," this show forms part of Yamato’s concert tour in the Philippines, with subsequent performances slated at the PETA Theater Center in Manila on Jan. 12, Riverbanks Shopping Mall in Marikina on Jan. 13, and Ayala Center in Cebu City on Jan. 14.

A Yamato concert is not simply a drum performance, but a blending of theater and musical arts, according to artistic director Masa Ogawa.

"We put our very souls into these unusual instruments, whose sounds stir the hearts of people everywhere, and our performances are infused with the idea that the drumbeat, like the heartbeat, is the very pulse of life," Ogawa explains.

Complementing the percussive sound of the Yamato drums are traditional Japanese instruments that include cymbals, gongs, flutes, zithers (koto), and lutes (shamisen).

mysaong03

November 27th, 2005, 10:05 PM

after billeting the vips & athletes to the diff hotels, i felt kinda disappointed that MM terribly lacks good DECENT hotels!!! thais, malaysians, singaporeans, even poorer cambodians are complaining of the hotels they were billeted at, they lack basic amenities & when i inspected them myself, madumi at luma na

ex. Westin, Manila Pavillion, Grand Blvd, Bayview Park, Century, -> imagine these are large hotels, akala ko pa naman 5-star ang quazlity. they even prefer to be billeted at 3-star hotels kase mas bago sila at malamig...

so, is there really a clear vision on promoting tourism??????????????

marites4

November 27th, 2005, 10:18 PM

they need to lower the prices too. those five stars are very expensive compared to regional counterpart. they need to generate income by mass and bulk instead of high prices.

sugbuanon

November 28th, 2005, 02:24 AM

that would be a big slap to our tourism industry...

sugbuanon

November 28th, 2005, 02:25 AM

DoT bares added attractions for Chinese travelers

The Department of Tourism (DoT) further intensifies its campaigns in China with its added tourist attractions in line for next year. China is the Philippines’ fastest-growing market, with an average increase hitting almost 200 percent over recent months. China has consistently recorded a growth rate of almost ten times than its usual average and six times faster than any of Philippines’ other source markets. Soon to be included in the list of tourist destinations advertised to Chinese travelers are Subic, Clark, Davao, and the new Manila with its new upbeat look.

In addition to putting up marketing offices in two of China’s key cities Beijing and Shanghai; familiarization trips for tour operators and the media; and extensive broadcast and print ads, the Philippines has participated in numerous travel fairs, wherein diving and golf; wellness and spa; and incentive travel and tourism-related investments were showcased and have recorded an overwhelming response from the Chinese.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano disclosed, "China has become our fastest-growing market. In latest arrivals statistics, it has posted a growth rate of 186.4 percent for the month of September 2005 as compared to same period last year. This impressive improvement has roused our spirits in our incessant pursuit of acquiring a sizeable portion of their outbound travelers." "With the department continuously developing new tour packages and marketing schemes to capture the awareness of the Chinese, we aspire to make the Philippines one of the preferred choices in South East Asia for their leisure vacationers," he said.

Meanwhile, Durano, together with DoT China Team Head/Assistant Secretary Eduardo Jarque, Jr., and members Director Rolando Cañizal and Rene Reyes joined the recently concluded 7th China International Travel Mart (CITM) held at the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center. Prior to the CITM, the Philippine Tourism Conference and Travel Mart was also held at the Regal International East Asia Hotel. DoT officials convened with Shanghai-based Filipino-Chinese entrepreneurs to finalize possible joint promotions.

"The Department has been vigorously carrying out plans to beef-up our marketing promotions in China. It is good that we have participated the travel fairs and consumer events as this will definitely be very favorable for the Philippine tourism industry and will signify continuation of the success we have been achieving in the East Asian market" added Durano.

slerz

November 28th, 2005, 02:31 AM

so, is there really a clear vision on promoting tourism??????????????

Yup... there is a very clear vision in promoting the Philippines.
I think it's a lapse on the Philippine Sport Commitees not by the DOT...

tigidig14

November 28th, 2005, 08:59 PM

this has been over 500 for a while

bagel

November 28th, 2005, 09:06 PM

Maybe we should call Sinjin to start the next part of this thread. ;)

normandb

November 29th, 2005, 01:49 AM

ano ba naman kayo. kayo na mag-start. nagkahiyaan pa.

Lili

November 29th, 2005, 02:02 AM

^ There is already a new one created by Kiretoce entitled Philippine Tourism. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=284564. This can be locked now.

normandb

November 29th, 2005, 04:24 AM

wala sa akin ang kandado. Susi lang ang meron sa akin. I'm the "key keeper". Kaya lahat ng puerta na nag-sasara kaya kong buksan. Walang maliit na butas na hindi ko kayang palakihin. Ay, ay, ay ano ba mga pinagsasabi ko dito. paki lock na nga ang thread na ito.

mysaong03

November 29th, 2005, 09:18 PM

Yup... there is a very clear vision in promoting the Philippines.
I think it's a lapse on the Philippine Sport Commitees not by the DOT...

sorry, but im thinkin otherwise...its not clear to me at all, & dot should also share the blame, its a coordinated effort, & marites, check out those hotels, masusuka ka....

sandrin

November 30th, 2005, 12:38 AM

RP may lack tour facilities next year

THE Philippines may lack tourism facilities to accommodate the expected hike in foreign visitors next year, according to global investment consultant CB Richard Ellis Philippines Inc. (CBRE). The firm pointed out that as early as November, local hotels, especially those located in Makati, have already been fully booked until the year-end.

“There is a significant need for more hotel- and tourism-related infrastructure, such as airports. This creates opportunity for investors,” CBRE said, adding that current occupancy rates for hotels and other similar establishments have gone up to 90 percent, which is true for serviced apartments Oakwood and Fraser Place in Makati.

The firm also said that international arrivals are expected to increase by 15 percent in 2006 and reach an estimated five million tourists by 2010, despite a slump in tourism arrivals this year.

From January to September, nearly two million tourists visited the country, down from 2.29 million foreign visitors during the same period last year.

Trent M. Frankum, CBRE investment and corporate services director, remains optimistic that the Philippines can attract more tourists this year than last.

Besides seeing a 16-percent hike in foreign visitors to 2.66 million until year-end, Frankum said the industry is expected to increase its total revenues by 13.6 percent to $2.26 billion this year, from $1.52 billion in 2004.

Frankum said that these arrivals would come from tourists in key Asian markets, such as South Korea and China, explaining that during the first nine months, Korean and Chinese tourists went up by 28.5 and 146.7 percent, respectively. Rick Santos, CBRE chair and president, said that these trends indicate a renewed investor confidence in the Philippines’ hospitality and leisure sectors.
--Cai U. Ordinario

slerz

November 30th, 2005, 05:11 AM

sorry, but im thinkin otherwise...its not clear to me at all, & dot should also share the blame, its a coordinated effort, & marites, check out those hotels, masusuka ka....

but if you're in Manila, I can understand if it's not clear to you...

richard fischer

November 30th, 2005, 08:59 AM

From January to September, nearly two million tourists visited the country, down from 2.29 million foreign visitors during the same period last year.

someone got something wrong here, it is the other way around !

Espma

November 30th, 2005, 02:46 PM

^^is it?? thats what i thought..so many news about how tourists arrivals this year will surpass last years...whats with this that news?!!

mysaong03

November 30th, 2005, 07:08 PM

^^ thanx, but theres no need to make a distinction, there also some athletes who arrived in cebu, but failed to be billeted by accom committee of cebusoc, whose personnel mostly come from dot.... and some already billeted there were also raising the same sanitary complaints, pati sa bacolod...

mysaong03

November 30th, 2005, 07:21 PM

assuming there are 2.5m arrivals this year, bout 1.5-1.7M are phil passport holders, check the BI figures if u want...im not exactly sure where the dot is gettin their stats, but i believe they arent padded :)

xXx carlos xXx

November 30th, 2005, 09:39 PM

aaaayyyy.... ganun ba? sayang, kala ko pa naman mga TUNAY na foreigners ung pumupunta dito... pero ok na rin yun...

richard fischer

November 30th, 2005, 09:48 PM

what are BI figures and how do you get them mysaong ? (what website) ?

thewreckoning88

December 1st, 2005, 08:56 AM

philippines is doing very well here in sydney i think the percentage of people going back to philz this christmas is an all time high according the recent figures i read in the paper.

le Reine

December 1st, 2005, 06:30 PM

Visit this site: http://shortstork.com/philippinesmanila.html

le Reine

December 1st, 2005, 06:33 PM

Try to visit this site: http://shortstork.com/philippinesmanila.html

sandrin

December 1st, 2005, 06:37 PM

1999 was the year of the Erap eh.

le Reine

December 1st, 2005, 06:45 PM

yeah...But the problems postd there are still here. Anyway, I posted it because I'm interested in your comments... And what if our visitors would see these things? These are the problems that we must solve not only because of tourism but in other aspects as well.

sandrin

December 1st, 2005, 07:02 PM

^ Yeah, the reason why there is a dire need to build lowcost housing for the masses that insist on squatting in Manila and then multiply logarithmically.
I think it would be best if we create a separate thread for that.

tigidig14

December 1st, 2005, 07:22 PM

this 1 too, close it, close it

dancethingy

December 1st, 2005, 07:48 PM

multiply logarithmically

How telling is this description??????
That was a good description ate Sandrin

xXx carlos xXx

December 1st, 2005, 07:49 PM

^^ kaya nga eh... tagal na tong nakalampas sa 500 posts... close it close it

marites4

December 1st, 2005, 09:50 PM

Unfortunately alot of those images are seen by first time foreign visitors and some can get downright cruel and nasty specially if they've never been to a "third world country." Anyways those images must not deter us but use it as a challenge for us and the govt. to make things better and raise the bar of what is an accepted PHil. society. The rich are content in living in their separate world . For those poor who have never been outside the country and their eyes are used to their surroundings they must be enlightened by the more fortunate ones and some of the more socially responsible officials like Bayani Fernando. I don't think things will change drasticallly unless more people show concern and care.

normandb

December 1st, 2005, 09:59 PM

^^ kaya nga eh... tagal na tong nakalampas sa 500 posts... close it close it

baka di na siguro i-cloclose ito kasi magandang tong thread na to pag continuos. exempted na dapat to sa 500 posts limit.

tigidig14

December 1st, 2005, 10:21 PM

^^ katulad dun sa mga porn forum mga 4000+ na nde pa rin kino-close :lol:

bulakenyo

December 1st, 2005, 10:59 PM

I don't know if this has been posted here already but I'd like to share these articles with you.

http://www.dfa.gov.ph/news/pr/pr2005/oct/photo/london2.htm

http://www.dfa.gov.ph/news/pr/pr2005/oct/photo/london3.htm

http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=club&t=364434

Sinjin P.

December 3rd, 2005, 04:41 AM

I guess uunlad ang Philippine Tourism if our Tourist Spots get developed and get more attention.

Magagawa lang yan pag walang CORRUPTION. :D

slerz

December 3rd, 2005, 04:43 AM

UUnlad ang Philippine tourism because of us:)

Sinjin P.

December 3rd, 2005, 05:12 AM

This thread isn't closed yet.

:lock: :lock: So, I'll unofficially close a thread once again. :lock: :lock:

For the meantime, please stop posting here

and Continue discussions

here: The 2nd Philippine Tourism Thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=284564)

Sinjin P.

December 3rd, 2005, 05:16 AM

WOWPhilippines.
Biyahe Tayo.
Lyrics by Rene Nieva

Ikaw ba'y nalulungkot
Naiinip, nababagot?
Ikaw ba'y napapagod
Araw gabi'y puro kayod?

Buhay mo ba'y walang saysay
Walang sigla, walang kulay?
Bawa't araw ba'y pareho
Parang walang pagbabago?

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Kasama ang pamilya
Barkada at buong grupo
Para mag-enjoy nang todo.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Napasyal ka na ba
Sa Intramuros at Luneta
Palawan, Vigan at Batanes
Subic, Baguio at Rice Terraces?

Namasdan mo na ba
Ang mga vinta ng Zamboanga
Bulkang Taal, Bulkang Mayon
Beach ng Boracay at La Union?

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Mula Basco hanggang Jolo
Nang makilala ng husto
Ang ating kapwa-Pilipino.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

From city to city,
Seven thousand and a hundred plus islas
Sa mahal kong Pilipinas
Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao ating puntahan.
Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan!

Nasubukan mo na bang
Mag-rapids sa Pagsanjan
Mag-diving sa Anilao
Mag-surfing sa Siargao?

Natikman mo na ba
Ang sisig ng Pampanga
Duriang Davao, Bangus Dagupan
Bicol Express at Lechong Balayan?

Tara na, biyahe tayo,
Nang makatulong kahit pano
Sa pag-unlad ng kabuhayan
Ng ating mga kababayan.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Nakisaya ka na ba
Sa Pahiyas at Masskara
Moriones at Ati-Atihan
Sinulog at Kadayawan?

Namiesta ka na ba
Sa Peñafrancia sa Naga
Umakyat sa Antipolo
Nagsayaw sa Obando?

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Upang ating matamo
Ligaya at pagkakaibigan
Kaunlaran, kapayapaan.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Upang ating matamo
Ligaya at pagkakaibigan
Kaunlaran, kapayapaan.

Halika, biyahe tayo
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Halika, biyahe tayo...
WOW Philippines...

Skyblade

December 3rd, 2005, 03:21 PM

Region enjoys growth in jobs, tourism
Saturday, December 03, 2005
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Link to the article (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2005/12/03/news/region.enjoys.growth.in.jobs.tourism.html)

Central Visayas’ tourism industry improved during the first nine months of the year while employment figures, especially in economic zones, also grew, the regional economic situationer shows.

However, the double-digit annual growth in exports that the Regional Development Plan projected was not met. Air and water transport services did not expand, and the production of palay and volume of fish catch dropped in the third quarter.

According to Department of Tourism 7 records, visitor arrivals from January to September rose 10.5 percent and reached 1.092 million. Third quarter arrivals increased 14.5 percent, for a total of 376,000.

For the first three quarters of the year, foreign visitor arrivals grew by 17 percent.

The number of domestic tourists rose eight percent to reach almost 750,000 as of September.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport serviced 2.053 million passengers from January to September this year.

However, rising fuel costs hit the operating expenses of sea transport services, so that the number of ship calls dropped by 22.4 percent during the first three quarters.

Aside from tourism, employment figures increased by 111,000 from January to July this year, compared to figures during the same period in 2004.

In Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered economic zones, like the Mactan Economic Zones and Asiatown IT Park, some 2,788 persons were employed, up 3.7 percent from figures in 2004.

The additional figures brought the employment in the zones to 78,109 workers.

A total of 12,325 workers were also deployed for work overseas, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration records show.

Meanwhile, Department of Trade and Industry 7 records show that the exports sector did not experience growth from January to September this year compared to the same period last year.

According to the situationer, prepared by the National Economic and Development Authority 7, the “overall flat performance” during the period can be traced to the 49.8 percent drop in the value of the region’s top 10 exports, which include electronics, electrical equipment and furniture.

The situationer also reported that palay production saw a “severe decline,” since it dropped by 11.4 percent from January to September this year.

The drop was attributed to water stress and the drying up of rice paddies in Argao, Cebu and in some municipalities in Bohol and Oriental Negros.

Corn production also dropped by 2.2 percent due to the long dry spell.

As for fishery, third quarter production slipped by 17.4 percent to 47,615 metric tons from 57,648 metric tons during the same period last year.

However, total production from January to September grew by 32.8 percent since the recorded yield reached 180,638 metric tons. (CYR)

stephencua

December 5th, 2005, 01:57 AM

taken from abs-cbnnews.com.. hope secretary durano will be able to do something about this..

Tour operators ask Durano to come to their rescue

By CORNELIO R. DE GUZMAN

Big tour operators appealed yesterday to Tourism Secretary Ace Durano to use his influence to put an end to the imposition of pre-payment conditions to Japanese travel agents and wholesalers by the hotels and resorts especially in Cebu.

In a formal letter to Secretary Durano, the tour operators, however, lauded him for making the tourism industry "suddenly vibrant," despite of many years of under-development. From less than two million tourist arrivals yearly, it jumps today to 2.6 million international visitors under Durano’s "aggressive and focus leadership."

"Your openness and sincere approach in revitalizing the tourism industry encourage the private sector to join hands with you in embarking on an aggressive sales and marketing campaign in major markets mainly, Japan and North America and the emerging markets, Korea and Mainland China, the letter adds.

"But sad to say however, that in view of the sudden influx of tourist arrival, the hotels and resorts particularly in Cebu have imposed unreasonable if not impossible conditions which eventually might erase the gains we have made and eventually lose these markets," tour operators tell Durano.

The letter complaint then listed what it described "the most serious ones," namely:

1. Prepayment for all room bookings regardless of date of arrival, which more often is more than 3 months away.

2. Cash payment on deposits or prepayments. Company checks not acceptable to them.

3. US dollar payments are being required by some hotels/resorts.

"The prepayment requirement especially for Japanese charter group with an average of three nights stay requires cash financial outlay of between $20,000 or $30,000 for rooms and meals. This we have to advance thus depleting the Tour Operator’s cash flow.

"Most if not all the Japanese wholesalers like JTB, KNT, HIS and others, their credit term with their ground operators is between 30 to 60 days from the time we bill them."

They told Durano that the international hotel policy is one night deposit and full payment that depends on the credit terms specified in their respective agreements.

The tour operators said that this policy of some hotels and resorts has been imposed to take advantage of the situation where "there is now more demand and lack of supply for accommodations."

They warned that this practice might eventually lead to "self-destruction" because the imposition of pre-payment conditions to Japanese travel agents and wholesalers might drive them to look for better alternative destinations in our neighboring countries.

The tour operators, however, expressed their readiness to have a dialogue with the hotels and resorts especially in Cebu, "but this is only possible if you (Durano) can bring us together to define our common objective which is to lift the tourism industry so we can contribute to our economic recovery."

The tour operators also sought the help of Secretary Durano for the BIR to amend its guidelines under paragraph A18, where the 10% VAT will be imposed on gross receipts for domestic tour packages.

"Under paragraph Q-19, basis of the 10% VAT for sale of international tour package by travel agents should be applied on their margin which is the difference between selling price to customer and the purchase price of international air tickets reimbursable expenses including offshore payments to third parties for services rendered abroad, passport and visa fees, hotel room charges, bus and/or car tour charges, etc.

The tour operators said the 10% VAT for domestic tour packages will practically kill domestic tourism because the prices of rooms and meals of the hotels and resorts, restaurants, transportation, tour guides and other businesses catering to tourism will automatically increase and therefore no longer affordable particularly to average income people. This will further add up to the increases that will be effected due to fuel and wage increases.

With the Q-19 provision, most Filipinos will prefer to travel abroad because it will be much cheaper than traveling in the Philippines especially with the entry of Asian Charter Carriers in Clark Field offering as low as R2,000.00 roundtrip for Clark/KL/Clark (Air Asia) and the announced entry of Thai Air flying charters Clark/Macau/Clark with same low fare.

They told Durano that when he embarked an aggressive promotional campaign in the international and local markets, it stimulated the growth of the tourism industry particularly domestic tourism "where our "kababayans" were able to bring their families during weekends and long holidays to the different interesting destinations at a much affordable package price.’’

They said that instead of spending precious dollars abroad, the money is instead used in paying their hotels, resorts, restaurants, transportation and others. Receipts from domestic tourism help pump prime the economy and other resulting benefit is job generation.

"It is therefore unfortunate that the 10% VAT on the gross receipts for domestic tour packages will be imposed under the BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular.

‘’We are therefore seeking your help for the BIR to amend their guidelines and make it the same as the 10% VAT imposed on international travel. We have noted that included among the sale of servcies, bus and/or car tour charges will be included in the 10% VAT. There is already a 4% common carrier tax imposed on transportation and this will therefore be double taxation.