anong kilamanan ng condom?
Hehehe joke lang ikaw naman..tingin ko din kasi sa sun condom..marami nagsabi dito..:nuts:

For one thing, one should upgrade their promotional tactics, it's not just about getting rid of any remnants of the previous administration but to adjust and update promotional avenues. You can't use the same promotional slogans and techniques over the years. You would be on losing end if you don't show new things and ways to attract clients, for these matter, foreign tourists. There should be nothing wrong with it. Sadly, what DOT copied failed to impress it's target. I'm assuming they copied it because there is no copy right on Poland's tourism logo and they must have read somewhere it was effective for that country, since the filipinos are good in copying things, they probably thought it would adapt that style. The filipinos or the people in DOT should just learn to be more creative.

yang reason na yan is maybe 30 to 40% lang sa dahilan kung ba't pinalitan... Big percentage of the reason why they changed it is because of POLITICING again! Malinis nga daw ang administrasyon na ito kaya kailangan nilang palitan para hindi mabahiran ng kasamaan ang anumang naiwan ng Arroyo administration...:ohno:

Kase nga malinis ang administrasyon na to eh... kasi nga pagbabago ang administrasyon na to eh... kaya anumang pagkakamali sa loob ng administrasyon na to, kahit 4.8 million ang nasayang, kalimutan nalang natin kase malinis ang administrasyon na to ehhh :bash::bash::bash:



BTW, tanong ko lang... from 2004 to 2010, ilang percentage ba ang ibinagsak ng turismo ng Pilipinas ??? :dunno:

yang reason na yan is maybe 30 to 40% lang sa dahilan kung ba't pinalitan... Big percentage of the reason why they changed it is because of POLITICING again! Malinis nga daw ang administrasyon na ito kaya kailangan nilang palitan para hindi mabahiran ng kasamaan ang anumang naiwan ng Arroyo administration...:ohno:

Kase nga malinis ang administrasyon na to eh... kasi nga pagbabago ang administrasyon na to eh... kaya anumang pagkakamali sa loob ng administrasyon na to, kahit 4.8 million ang nasayang, kalimutan nalang natin kase malinis ang administrasyon na to ehhh :bash::bash::bash:

:lol::lol::lol: ang puso mo pare! di bale nakita naman natin ang preview / di naman daw nila ni lunch..este launch..byebye 4.8M

ano nga ulit ang nagawa ni Mark Lapid sa PTA?

Hehehe joke lang ikaw naman..tingin ko din kasi sa sun condom..marami nagsabi dito..:nuts:

masayado ka atang ma-el :lol: puro condom ang nakikita mo :lol:

ano nga ulit ang nagawa ni Mark Lapid sa PTA?


pinaredecorate nya ang office nya at nagpapicture para ilagay sa mga print ads. :lol:

:lol::lol::lol: ang puso mo pare! di bale nakita naman natin ang preview / di naman daw nila ni lunch..este launch..byebye 4.8M

parang gusto ko nang maging Malaysian :D

^^

go. you wont be missed. :D

^^

go. you wont be missed. :D


Good one. Ang hirap kasi sa mga ibang Pinoy mahirapan lang ng konti bumibigay na. :ohno:

masayado ka atang ma-el :lol: puro condom ang nakikita mo :lol:
Ah di naman masyado..pero thats a better way instead of withdrawal (ika nga ni bald-daddy)

Sa totoo lang during Arroyos term walang masyadong pagbabago ang tourism industry natin puro salita lang.

^^oo nga, I agree... Kaya nga very optimistic ako sa administrasyong ito dahil nga maraming sinabi na mababago na daw ang pamamalakad ng gobyerno... Sa administrasyong ito, maraming salita pero marami ding nagawa... naka pag launch na nga eh, a I mean naka pag preview pala...lol


Good one. Ang hirap kasi sa mga ibang Pinoy mahirapan lang ng konti bumibigay na. :ohno:

me bumibigay? Ba't mo nasabi?... kaya nga I'm fighting. pero hinay hinay lang daaw sabi ni @Junex, kaya joke joke muna...

Maganda man ang bansang to, ni hindi ko naisip ni isang sigundo na tumira dito habang buhay.:yes:

^^oo nga, I agree... Kaya nga very optimistic ako sa administrasyong ito dahil nga maraming sinabi na mababago na daw ang pamamalakad ng gobyerno... Sa administrasyong ito, maraming salita pero marami ding nagawa... naka pag launch na nga eh, a I mean naka pag preview pala...lol




me bumibigay? Ba't mo nasabi?... kaya nga I'm fighting. pero hinay hinay lang daaw sabi ni @Junex, kaya joke joke muna...

Maganda man ang bansang to, ni hindi ko naisip ni isang sigundo na tumira dito habang buhay.:yes:

Sorry my bad joke joke lang pala. Good :lol:

^^lol... I'll pack my things and be back home soon. I missed my homeland badly.
If there are people that is not serious about leading my homeland, I become a monster and wanna eat them all...
Nakita ko na din ang magandang pamamalakad ng mga opisyales ng bansang to sa kanilang bansa lalo na sa turismo kaya nakikita ko ang big contrast ng pangyayari sa atin at dito... kaya anumang pagpapabaya ang ginagawa ng ating mga magagaling na opisyales, mahirap isipin kung ba't ganun sa atin na pabaya at ganun dito na seryoso...

malamang gagastos yan ng mahigit na 4.8M para ibalik ang slogan lang ng WOW PHILIPPINES :lol:

mahilig sa withdrawal ang admin na ito ano.....kaya walang nabubuo....:lol:

^^Let's give Travis the benefit of the doubt. We can't always jump to conclusions that he is spamming the thread. Provided you're not fengrun, you are always welcome to this thread:lol:

After going through his blog, I have the following questions:

I'm getting a notion that a flashpacker is in a level between backpackers and hotel people. Something like the concept/budget tours (http://ph.contiki.com/contikipedia/articles/concept-budget-tours) on www.contiki.com. Or if they are more affluent, the Time Out / Superior / Hotel Tours (http://ph.contiki.com/contikipedia/articles/time-out-superior-hotel-tours) of Contiki.

However they are more FITs rather than tour groups.

Contiki targets 18-35 year old travelers. Most are single and without kids. I would say most flashpackers are not that different.

But just like what xxxriainxxx said, the distinction is the use of technology and gadgets. Which makes flashpackers a fairly recent phenomenon.

Wouldn't you consider flashpacking an evolution of what backpackers used to be in the 70s, 80s and 90s, considering there was no world wide web and GPS was limited only to the military back then?

Hope to read feedback everybody, including Travis as well as sandwindstars, if he's frequenting this thread.

First, thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt! One of my goals is to help get the term "flashpacker" out there, so I've set up a google search notification to let me know when people are using the term. I'm trying to help define what it means, for obvious reasons.

You're sort of right in your "in-between" idea. The way I think about us is that we travel exactly like most backpackers, with a few differences. Instead of dorm rooms at a hostel, we'd probably go for a single/double room. Note though that we'd still prefer hostels over hotels. Also, we'll probably be able to afford to eat out (street food & a few restaurants) as opposed to hitting a supermarket and cooking for ourselves like a backpacker trying to save money might do.

As far as tour companies like contiki, gap adventures or intrepid, that's up to the traveler. Some people prefer organized group tours as opposed to doing things on their own. The trick here is that both backpackers and flashpackers are likely to use these tours if they prefer organized, group things instead of doing things on their own. Personal preference.

This type of travel really started with hippies in the 60s and 70s which turned into the backpacking phenomenon in the 80s through today. I'd look as flashpacking as the evolution of backpackers who've gotten a bit older and have more money to spend, but would rather travel as backpackers instead of tourists. Hence, the more money and more gear (usually SLR Cameras and laptops, etc) turns you into a flashpacker...

Hope you guys realize I'm not trying to spam the list. Just trying to help...

-Travis

Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/1095725/1/.html

Philippines looking for new slogan to attract tourists
By Philippine Correspondent Christine Ong | Posted: 27 November 2010 0002 hrs

MANILA : The Philippines is looking for a new slogan to attract tourists back to the country.

There was an earlier attempt at re-branding, after a botched hostage rescue left eight Hong Kong tourists dead in August. But that campaign was widely criticised as being inappropriate.

After a series of Abu Sayyaf kidnappings involving foreign tourists in 2002, the Philippines launched a campaign called "WOW Philippines" to attract more visitors.

It succeeded in attracting global attention, and even won the "Best International Video Advertising" award in Berlin.

Recently, the new Aquino administration replaced the eight-year-old slogan with a new catchphrase "Pilipinas Kay Ganda", which means "Philippines, What A Beauty".

But instead of creating renewed pride among Filipinos, the new campaign was met with widespread criticism.

People said it copied Poland's tourism logo.

The name of the new tourism website was almost identical to a pornographic website, and many disagreed with the re-branding.

Cesar Cruz from the Philippine Tour Operators Association, said: "Is there really a need to do a new brand? Because for us, we know that WOW Philippines is an effective slogan. I can commend them for their nationalism but (I question) the effectiveness.

"For example, you if you Google Pilipinas, where will it go? Because everything is still Philippines. During our trade shows, we still encounter questions like 'Philippines, where is it?' And then you come up with a new name, Pilipinas? Philippines is just trying to become a byword. You will again just create a situation of 'what's that'?"

Former tourism secretary Richard Gordon said: "Now if you are going to change your brand, you are going to have to put in a lot more money to build that brand again and that is wasting time and money and resources, and especially if you are going to come up with a change of brand, it should be in an international language like 'WOW'. WOW is international. Everybody understands it."

The tourism department points to its measly US$1 million budget for marketing as the reason behind the new campaign.

Alberto Lim, secretary of the Department of Tourism, said: "Since we do not have the budget, we said maybe we should be a little different, maybe we should try a radical approach. Maybe if we use Tagalog, people might be curious. Maybe the visuals are so beautiful, people will relate that tagline with 'so beautiful'."

President Benigno Aquino has already ordered the scrapping of the new tourism slogan.

The tourism department said that it is now forming a panel of experts to help come up with a new logo and slogan for Philippine tourism. With images of the bungled hostage rescue incident last August that killed eight Hong Kong tourists still fresh in the minds of many, the tourism department has to work doubly hard to ensure that not only will the next campaign slogan be better, it should also help the department achieve its target of 3.3 million tourist arrivals next year.

- CNA/ms

http://files.sharenator.com/north_korea_is_best_korea_RE_10_weirdest_things_about_the_world_cup_so_far-s730x537-70876.jpg
Our Tourism slogan should be something like this:lol:

http://files.sharenator.com/north_korea_is_best_korea_RE_10_weirdest_things_about_the_world_cup_so_far-s730x537-70876.jpg
Our Tourism slogan should be something like this:lol:

Ask ko lang po, kaninong mukha ang ilagay sa horizon?

we should borrow this line from the PTA head:

K6cufhldqSU

Guys I was traveling Ayala Avenue's underpasses and guess what, there were tourism posters all over! Parang bago lang na nalagay malapit sa may Manila Peninsula Underpass at Insular Life Underpass. Wala na yung Pilipinas Kay Ganda na tagline. Di naman DOT ang gumawa.

http://files.sharenator.com/north_korea_is_best_korea_RE_10_weirdest_things_about_the_world_cup_so_far-s730x537-70876.jpg
Our Tourism slogan should be something like this:lol:

Most of our politicians are doing this in the tourism campaigns. Walang pinagkaiba. Anong gagawin namin sa mukha, target practice para sa mga snipers?

Kapag tourism campaign, ipakita ang lugar, HUWAG ANG MUKHA NG SINUMANG BWAKANANG PULITIKO. (Pardon my language.)

Natawa ako dun sa logo/slogan. ;)

I saw the Singapore Ad where it highlights its people. Anggaling.

Btw Seoul's ad: yung music video: tamang tama ang title ng song: Boom Boom Boom. :lol:

http://files.sharenator.com/north_korea_is_best_korea_RE_10_weirdest_things_about_the_world_cup_so_far-s730x537-70876.jpg
Our Tourism slogan should be something like this:lol:

Kung ganito na rin lang ang ads, gamitin na lang ulit yong "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" na slogan. Tapos si PNoy siyempre yong nasa gitna... :cheers:

What you wrote reminded me of Couch Surfing / Couch Surfers. I mean the concept is more or less similar. I have met a few people who did this and they are some of the most well traveled and interesting people. I only did it "officially" once in Spain but I have done this with friends. Hopefully I will be able to be a "flash packer" in 2 years for a Latin America tour. :colgate:

Also, I like what you wrote in Are flashpackers solo creatures, or do they travel in packs? (http://flashpackerhq.com/are-flashpackers-solo-creatures-or-do-they-travel-in-packs/) because I traveled solo last summer in Western Europe and it was a nice experience. I met a lot of new people and learnt a lot about myself. :)

First, thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt! One of my goals is to help get the term "flashpacker" out there, so I've set up a google search notification to let me know when people are using the term. I'm trying to help define what it means, for obvious reasons.

You're sort of right in your "in-between" idea. The way I think about us is that we travel exactly like most backpackers, with a few differences. Instead of dorm rooms at a hostel, we'd probably go for a single/double room. Note though that we'd still prefer hostels over hotels. Also, we'll probably be able to afford to eat out (street food & a few restaurants) as opposed to hitting a supermarket and cooking for ourselves like a backpacker trying to save money might do.

As far as tour companies like contiki, gap adventures or intrepid, that's up to the traveler. Some people prefer organized group tours as opposed to doing things on their own. The trick here is that both backpackers and flashpackers are likely to use these tours if they prefer organized, group things instead of doing things on their own. Personal preference.

This type of travel really started with hippies in the 60s and 70s which turned into the backpacking phenomenon in the 80s through today. I'd look as flashpacking as the evolution of backpackers who've gotten a bit older and have more money to spend, but would rather travel as backpackers instead of tourists. Hence, the more money and more gear (usually SLR Cameras and laptops, etc) turns you into a flashpacker...

Hope you guys realize I'm not trying to spam the list. Just trying to help...

-Travis

deleted!

Kung ganito na rin lang ang ads, gamitin na lang ulit yong "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" na slogan. Tapos si PNoy siyempre yong nasa gitna... :cheers:

:lol: :rotfl: sobra ka naman dapat gawin yun pilipinas kay gwapo....pero naku sabit pala....baka dalihin tayo sa truth in advertising.....:lol::lol:

Picture-perfect Mediterranean getaway at the heart of Batangas

It is the picture of a perfect Mediterranean getaway -- only it is not anyway near the Mediterranean Sea. Located along the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas, Club Punta Fuego will let you in everything about the Mediterranean without leaving the country.

http://www.bworldonline.com/webpics/articles/image/20101125d875d.jpg

Leisure Living at its finest: One of the casitas of Club Punta Fuego

With its scenic ocean views (albeit of the South China Sea), coupled with the lush greenery everywhere, and the Spanish-styled architecture of the community, Club Punta Fuego offers luxurious Mediterranean leisure living at its finest.

Just a two-hour drive from Metro Manila, Club Punta Fuego is an exclusive 88-hectare seaside residential development by the Landco Pacific Corp.

Marites F. De Ocampo, Landco’s corporate communications director, said Club Punta Fuego’s world-class facilities are classified under three destinations.

The Main Club serves as the hub of activities for the members, and access to all major facilities.

It has a nine-hole executive golf course designed by Nelson & Haworth, one of the most sought-after golf course design firms with offices in the US, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The Main Club also offers deluxe accommodations for guests. There are 33 mini-houses called casitas (which is "small houses" in Spanish), as well as two loft suites, 11 rooms offering picturesque views of the sea, as well as three rooms with a view of the resort’s garden.

The Punta Fuego Yacht Club serves as the primary getaway to the sea. It is the center of boating, and other marine activities. It can accommodate 30 boats in its floating berths, and 120 boats in its dry dock.

For convenience, the yacht club also has fuel stations, and a clubhouse where the Marina Bar, locker, and shower facilities are located.

About 15 minutes away from the Main Club is the Terrazas de Punta Fuego. A 61-hectare exclusive residential development with Hispanic architecture fused with Asian and tropical influences.

It boasts of an 800-meter stretch of fine beach, a multilevel pool, open air cabanas, a recreation area and a specialty restaurant and a juice bar.

With its championship golf course, restaurants, world-class tennis facilities, a fitness/spa/salon, a squash court, two infinity pools, eight private beaches, and a marina -- there’s little reason to leave the island -- that is, if you can get on it.

A strict and exclusive members-only policy is in place, meaning that only residents, their guests, and hotel guests can travel to the island.

Numerous security guards posted around the area check guests in and out by name. The regular public are not allowed on the island -- but can admire the island’s secluded beauty from afar while driving on the nearby highway.

With just about 1,400 members, Club Punta Fuego is indeed one of the most exclusive communities in Batangas, and perhaps the wealthiest as well. Let it be said that it was really, really easy getting used to living in this lap of luxury.

Stepping onto Club Punta Fuego, it was as if guests were thousands of miles away from the busy, loud, crowded streets of the metropolis. It’s no wonder that millionaires, successful entrepreneurs, and celebrities have been known to stay here, or already owns a property within the community.

For those who want to experience Club Punta Fuego for all it’s worth (and can afford it), you can book a stay at the Punta Fuego Hotel only if a member "sponsors" your stay, meaning you will arrive as a "guest" of the member.

An overnight stay during the weekday starts at about P3,999, while the tariff goes up starting at P6,100 for an overnight stay during the weekends. But it is all worth it. From bellhops to hotel staff and restaurant servers, the service is incredible, and everyone is treated like a VIP.


http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=21852

from a Brit......


Selling Tourism

* Human Interest Features
* Robert Harland

By Robert Harland

One can sympathize with Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim. Selling tourism is a tough job, especially in Asia where countries like Thailand and Malaysia have seemingly inexhaustible advertising budgets.

I'm sure Secretary Lim and his team are keen to get a new campaign on the road as soon as possible and hopefully it will yield quick results. Good luck to them.

http://www.ndb-online.com/files/nov2610harland.jpg

Much to see and do in the Philippines.*

Advertising campaigns aside however, I believe there are some longer-term aspects which need to be considered.

From my experience foreigners know little about the Philippines. Some will cite Imelda's shoes and sometimes that's about it.

I believe the government's PR system needs to launch a major, long-term PR push to tell the story of the Philippines – its beaches, its beauty, its warm people and its cuisine.

There are hundreds of thousands of media outlets around the world. Working through Philippine embassies why not solicit the assistance of savvy overseas workers to help in this regard?
Make them Tourist Ambassadors.

Provide them with the means through the internet and get them to liaise with local media with features, press releases and other media tools.

http://www.ndb-online.com/files/nov2610harland2.jpg

Discovering Filipino delicacies.**

And what about all those Filipino Rotarians, Lions and Kiwanians who travel overseas? Make them Tourist Ambassadors too and provide them through the internet with punchy presentations they can give to fellow-clubs overseas.

Some nations promote their countries by sending talented musicians and entertainers to travel the world giving free concerts in schools, museums and other institutions. Such visits generate considerable interest and valuable media coverage.

The Philippines has more than its share of talented entertainers. Why not get a group of sponsors and have those talents travel the world to entertain and enthrall foreign audiences and, at the same time, tell the story of the Philippines?

Such activities will not yield instant results, But they'll not cost much. If you don't stand up to tell your story, no one will do it for you.

Secretary Lim would like tourists to stay longer. That's easier said than done. Foreigners get a three month tourist visa when entering Malaysia. In Thailand it's 30 days. But in the Philippines it's only 21 days.

So any foreigner wanting to stay longer has to go through the process of getting a visa extension which can be a right royal hassle not to mention an additional expense.


http://www.ndb-online.com/nov2610/negros-events-news/Selling-Tourism

^^ Some good points there.

from a Brit......


Selling Tourism

* Human Interest Features
* Robert Harland

By Robert Harland

One can sympathize with Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim. Selling tourism is a tough job, especially in Asia where countries like Thailand and Malaysia have seemingly inexhaustible advertising budgets.

I'm sure Secretary Lim and his team are keen to get a new campaign on the road as soon as possible and hopefully it will yield quick results. Good luck to them.

http://www.ndb-online.com/files/nov2610harland.jpg

Much to see and do in the Philippines.*

Advertising campaigns aside however, I believe there are some longer-term aspects which need to be considered.

From my experience foreigners know little about the Philippines. Some will cite Imelda's shoes and sometimes that's about it.

I believe the government's PR system needs to launch a major, long-term PR push to tell the story of the Philippines – its beaches, its beauty, its warm people and its cuisine.

There are hundreds of thousands of media outlets around the world. Working through Philippine embassies why not solicit the assistance of savvy overseas workers to help in this regard?
Make them Tourist Ambassadors.

Provide them with the means through the internet and get them to liaise with local media with features, press releases and other media tools.

http://www.ndb-online.com/files/nov2610harland2.jpg

Discovering Filipino delicacies.**

And what about all those Filipino Rotarians, Lions and Kiwanians who travel overseas? Make them Tourist Ambassadors too and provide them through the internet with punchy presentations they can give to fellow-clubs overseas.

Some nations promote their countries by sending talented musicians and entertainers to travel the world giving free concerts in schools, museums and other institutions. Such visits generate considerable interest and valuable media coverage.

The Philippines has more than its share of talented entertainers. Why not get a group of sponsors and have those talents travel the world to entertain and enthrall foreign audiences and, at the same time, tell the story of the Philippines?

Such activities will not yield instant results, But they'll not cost much. If you don't stand up to tell your story, no one will do it for you.

Secretary Lim would like tourists to stay longer. That's easier said than done. Foreigners get a three month tourist visa when entering Malaysia. In Thailand it's 30 days. But in the Philippines it's only 21 days.

So any foreigner wanting to stay longer has to go through the process of getting a visa extension which can be a right royal hassle not to mention an additional expense.


http://www.ndb-online.com/nov2610/negros-events-news/Selling-Tourism

makes a lot of sense....o bertie lim may partida ka na.....baka naman palpakin mo pa....:lol:

beautiful....


http://www.mb.com.ph/sites/default/files/images/sunset_home.jpg

EVER FAMOUS SUNSET

The famous sunset of Manila Bay is once again seen with its majestic and spectacular beauty as it seems to kiss the shoreline while a sailboat passes by near the shores of Manila Friday afternoon, Nov. 25, 2010. (Photo by MICHAE



http://www.mb.com.ph/

:ohno:

France issues travel advisory against PHL Xmas crimes

GMANews.TV - Saturday, November 27SendIM StoryPrint

France has issued another travel advisory for the Philippines this week, warning its nationals of rising criminality during the holiday season. The advisory comes barely a month after France warned of possible terrorist attacks on the Philippines.

In its new travel advisory, France said that "general crime and kidnappings" are expected to rise throughout the Philippines, particularly during this period.

"General crime and kidnappings are rising each year throughout the Philippines at the approaching holiday season and during this period," read an English translation of the travel advisory update last Tuesday.

Previously, on November 2, France issued a travel advisory warning of possible terrorist attacks on the Philippines. At least five other countries —the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada— issued similar advisories.

However, the Philippine government had questioned the basis of the advisories.

In its latest advisory, France cited the Nov. 14 robbery of a jewelry shop in a mall in Parañaque City where the robbers lobbed a grenade at pursuers, wounding at least five people.

The robbery prompted Metro Manila police to intensify security for the Christmas shopping season.

"Risk of violence exists throughout the territory of the Philippines, particularly in public places," the French advisory noted.

France's travel advisory also called for general hygiene for travelers who seek to protect themselves from microbial infections including avian flu. It advised its nationals to avoid eating foods raw or undercooked foods, especially meat and eggs; and to wash their hands regularly with soap and water or an aqueous-alcoholic solution it is advisable to carry in luggage.

The advisory also maintained that extremist groups, including armed group Abu Sayyaf, remain active in the west of Mindanao and in Basilan, Sulu archipelago and Tawi-Tawi.

"Criminal groups also engage in kidnapping and extortion in the area. These movements and groups are also likely to act far from their bases throughout the country," it said.

The advisory "strongly discouraged" travel in Basilan and the Sulu Archipelago (islands of Jolo and Tawi-Tawi) and in Western Mindanao: Zamboanga Peninsula (the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay), Misamis Occidental, Maguindanao (including the new Sheriff Kabunsuan province), Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato (except the city of General Santos), Sarangani. - TJD, GMANews.TV

^^ Wala na tayong magagawa sa mga ganyan, questionin man o kung anu ano. France is just protecting the best interests of its citizens, it's their decision.

french tourist are not a big loss to us....so i don't think it counts a lot....with the climate change.....more and more people from temperate countries will have no choice but to spend time warmer climes.....we will definitely be favored by it...whether they like it or not....:)

Just to make you laugh..

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iBzLAEdevS8/TO5Cj7A2AJI/AAAAAAAAAT0/CAygmYX_XHY/s1600/pilipinas_vice_ganda.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iBzLAEdevS8/TO5CebwpYcI/AAAAAAAAATs/RH-VMmtb8tY/s1600/pilipinas_win_na_win.jpg

mas matatawa ako kung mukha ni Pnoy ang nandyan...

ZC's newly-added attractions.


Limpapa Falls
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs613.ash2/156559_178784935470296_100000163715081_698425_6685303_n.jpg

Limpapa Beach
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1233.snc4/156559_178784938803629_100000163715081_698426_6427564_n.jpg


:)

^^ WOW ZAMBOANGA HERMOSA!





:horse:

**** France.
Avian flu? We never had a single case of Avian *********** flu. These ************ should attribute such things to the SE Asian mainland where the Avian Flu is extremely rampant.

mas matatawa ako kung mukha ni Pnoy ang nandyan...

Damn right!

^^ Wala na tayong magagawa sa mga ganyan, questionin man o kung anu ano. France is just protecting the best interests of its citizens, it's their decision.

french tourist are not a big loss to us....so i don't think it counts a lot....with the climate change.....more and more people from temperate countries will have no choice but to spend time warmer climes.....we will definitely be favored by it...whether they like it or not....:)

Agree. Thing is may French citizens ba dito? Kung meron baka iilan lang.

France is a little bit OA. Ayaw na lang bawiin yung ginawa baka mapahiya. At kailangan i-please ang best friend USA nya kasi kailangan i-pressure ang Philippines na wag i-renegotiate ang VFA.

Ito kasing media sa Pilipinas eh. Masyadong OA sa pagbibigay pansin dyan sa mga travel advisories ng ibang bansa. Parang pagsinabi ng mga puti eh gospel truth na agad. Pwede bang mag-isip muna ang mga taga-media at tayo na din bago natin bigyan pansin or palakihin ang mga ganitong klaseng advisory! lol. :D

Agree. Thing is may French citizens ba dito? Kung meron baka iilan lang.

France is a little bit OA. Ayaw na lang bawiin yung ginawa baka mapahiya. At kailangan i-please ang best friend USA nya kasi kailangan i-pressure ang Philippines na wag i-renegotiate ang VFA.

US is never best friends with France, if this is true, then why is it that France is one of the very few countries were American citizens have to secure visa to visit France even for a day or two.

Somehow, I agree the the Philippines government or it's people should be worried about France's travel advisories to the Philippines. It's very rare that they would travel to the Philippines.

US is never best friends with France, if this is true, then why is it that France is one of the very few countries were American citizens have to secure visa to visit France even for a day or two.

Somehow, I agree the the Philippines government or it's people should be worried about France's travel advisories to the Philippines. It's very rare that they would travel to the Philippines.


quelle horreur! :ohno:

because the french never takes american bullshit sitting down...:lol: the french always makes it known that they are culturally superior to the americans....their cuisine is superb, they have manners am not saying that americans doesn't....

**** France.
Avian flu? We never had a single case of Avian *********** flu. These ************ should attribute such things to the SE Asian mainland where the Avian Flu is extremely rampant.

Yep, no avian flu in the Philippines.

US is never best friends with France, if this is true, then why is it that France is one of the very few countries were American citizens have to secure visa to visit France even for a day or two.

Somehow, I agree the the Philippines government or it's people should be worried about France's travel advisories to the Philippines. It's very rare that they would travel to the Philippines.

I met a lot of them in Banaue. Some of them travelling in groups.

US is never best friends with France, if this is true, then why is it that France is one of the very few countries were American citizens have to secure visa to visit France even for a day or two.

Somehow, I agree the the Philippines government or it's people should be worried about France's travel advisories to the Philippines. It's very rare that they would travel to the Philippines.

You'd be surprised, there are a lot of French living, working and traveling in the Philippines.

Asia travel spending growth seen to benefit PH (http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20101128-305837/Asia-travel-spending-growth-seen-to-benefit-PH)
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:58:00 11/28/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines is well positioned to capture a substantial portion of the fast-rising travel spending among Asians, which can catapult tourism into an even more significant revenue-generating industry than business process outsourcing, a visiting travel and tourism expert said.

In an interview on Friday, Amadeus Asia-Pacific president David Brett said industry trends were pointing to Asia accounting for a bigger share of the global travel spending as well as growing volume of shorter-duration trips or regional traffic.

Amadeus, a leading global technology solutions provider to the travel and tourism industry, recently commissioned a study, “The Travel Gold Rush 2020,” which predicted that Asia would represent 32 percent of global travel spending by 2020, up from 21 percent at present.

Brett said that gobbling up a third of global travel spending would likely happen even faster than such projection, noting the rapid shift in economic growth favoring Asia. At the same time, he said the rising volume of travelers was making traveling much more affordable to a broader market.

Amadeus welcomed the Philippines’ increasing focus on investing in infrastructure and new property projects targeting tourism.

“The Philippines always has a great potential,” Brett said, noting that tourism could be a major driver “even more” than BPOs given the country’s natural endowments.

“Also, the people here speak English, which is a major advantage and heritage is extremely interesting and most people don’t know what the heritage is,” Brett said. He, however, noted that the Philippines had missed a lot in the past.

He said the Philippines is still unknown to many. Whatever limited knowledge of the country many have would likely be about bad news, such as typhoons or the hostage-taking crisis, he added.

“People need to know more about the country to put everything in perspective,” Brett said.

But the country’s strategic location—its proximity to Hong Kong and Southern China—should allow the country to benefit from the enormous influx of short-duration trips. Regional travel, he said, was more resilient than long-haul travel.

The potential opening up of the new international airport terminal to foreign carriers, he said, would help a lot in boosting the travel and tourism industry.

The Amadeus-sponsored study showed that the global travel industry was making an uneven recovery from the recession. This year has seen a return to growth with global arrivals increasing 5.6 percent in the first six months of the year. However, Europe remains sluggish and there are lingering economic concerns. The study noted that the hot spots remained Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

Other highlights of the study are:

Ancillary revenue generation has spread from low-cost carriers to major carriers, involving a mixture of fees and charges for services and/or service improvements beyond the base fare as well as revenues from third-party partners such as hotels, travel insurance and car hire.

Airlines and agents must explore new models that take a more comprehensive view of the total travel experience. Airlines may adopt a broader (or generic) approach to travel and integrate activities more closely with the rest of the travel value chain.

Traditional cabin classes may be replaced by “virtual classes” as individual traveler preferences create a personalized experience.

Face-to-face (F2F) travel agents are set to become more highly valued. As travelers increasingly try out new experiences and destinations, it is likely that F2F agents may be able to play to their strengths of being there.

Demographic changes and health advances will mean more travelers with more free time, who travel for longer periods and who are still able to incorporate a variety of travel experience.


Pareng Eastern Dragon, take note of the statement above. :)

^^Eversince talaga, hindi talaga ang impression ng mga foreigners sa Pilipinas. I have read some article na nung pupunta siya sa Pilipinas, sinabihan siya na mag-ingat dahil hindi raw civilized ang lugar na pupuntahan nya. Eh nung pumunta siya, nagulat siya na ang daming malls na malalaki kesa sa bansa nila at may mga international brand na store gaya ng Starbucks, LV, at marami pang iba... :)

How is our travel tax being spent? (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=634318&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star)
Updated November 29, 2010 12:00 AM

Money, it is often claimed, is at the root of our inability to catch up with the tourism numbers of our neighbors. We are told that we don’t have enough money to run promotion campaigns on international television and join enough tourism exhibitions and conferences.

I am not sure money is our major problem. I think the ability to come up with interesting ideas… irresistible selling propositions to potential tourists… is a major handicap. But I wonder… how well are we using the limited resources we do have?

The thought had been bothering me since a few weeks ago when I visited my son in Singapore. I bought my ticket online so I was asked by the airline check-in staff to go and pay my travel tax in cash at the counter of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. That agency used to be known by a simpler name: Philippine Tourism Authority.

I was wondering if the agency gained anything more useful than a few pretentious words in its name. I checked out its website and got nothing. As the name implies, the agency is supposed to be on top of tourism infrastructure development. It is headed by former actor Mark Lapid, son of Senator Lito Lapid. He is holding a position with a fixed term so he is safe… he has salary and perks for a few more years… even if he doesn’t work that much.

I guess it is too much to expect anything from him by way of creative ideas and projects. Ate Glue didn’t give him that job because he was the most qualified. He got it as a kind of political payback. And Lapid is just being true to form. Past PTA top honchos didn’t do much, if at all too.

I feel bad because I shelled out real money, P1,620 of it in peso bills I actually took out of my wallet and counted one by one. It is possible to be paying more in travel tax than the airline fare if you are able to snag a ticket under one of those atrociously low fare promos.

But they will also claim that they don’t get 100 percent of what they collect. The money is divided among the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Commission for Higher Education (CHED), and the General Fund of the National Government for use in government programs. So our money provides jobs for bureaucrats who may not even pretend they are doing anything.

Add to that… congressmen and senators go to PTA for funds to put lights in their public plazas and build toilets in areas that are far from the tourist trail. I am not saying those toilets shouldn’t be built, but maybe they should look for other sources of funds and leave the funds meant for tourist infrastructure development alone and not just another source for pork.

The new Tourism Code has expanded the responsibility of PTA. It will also administer tourism enterprise zones, their equivalent of export processing zones. I am not confident that the agency is up to the job. If they cannot even put up an informative website, how can they be expected to carry out their more complex mandates?

In answer to my question, I think my travel tax money is another case of legalized extortion. PTA, or whatever it is called now, can’t even maintain its own hotels to decent standards. We pay a whole lot for absolutely nothing!

^^Eversince talaga, hindi talaga ang impression ng mga foreigners sa Pilipinas. I have read some article na nung pupunta siya sa Pilipinas, sinabihan siya na mag-ingat dahil hindi raw civilized ang lugar na pupuntahan nya. Eh nung pumunta siya, nagulat siya na ang daming malls na malalaki kesa sa bansa nila at may mga international brand na store gaya ng Starbucks, LV, at marami pang iba... :)

^^ We had a Danish colleague who was in Manila for an international conference we hosted. Nang makita ang McDo sa may Coastal Rd. biglang napabulalas- "oh there is a McDonald's here too!"

You'd be surprised, there are a lot of French living, working and traveling in the Philippines.

Actually my friend's mother is French-Vietnamese married to a Pinoy now living here in Cavite. And the combination produced very very pretty girls!:banana::lol::cheers:

^^ We had a Danish colleague who was in Manila for an international conference we hosted. Nang makita ang McDo sa may Coastal Rd. biglang napabulalas- "oh there is a McDonald's here too!"

Siguro matagal na yun. kasi wala ng McDo Coastal Rd....:cheers: Accept sa Shell, halos namatay business along Coastal.

Anyway,

OT. @xxxriainxxx....first time to visit Bangkok Thailand April 2011, may idea ka ba kung puede kami tumawid Cambodia to see Siam Reap?

Siguro matagal na yun. kasi wala ng McDo Coastal Rd....:cheers: Accept sa Shell, halos namatay business along Coastal.

Anyway,

OT. @xxxriainxxx....first time to visit Bangkok Thailand April 2011, may idea ka ba kung puede kami tumawid Cambodia to see Siam Reap?

Mga 2007...


Yes, you can kaya lang malayong byahe yun men. May mga buses from BKK to Siem Reap I believe. ;)

isa lang ang gusto kong mapuntahan na Asian country na naisip ko ngaun... I really wanna visit Cambodia...:yes:

post ka ng pics ha :) give travel to cambodia tips na rin...:lol:

isa lang ang gusto kong mapuntahan na Asian country na naisip ko ngaun... I really wanna visit Cambodia...:yes:

Cambodia is very beautiful. The only country outside of the Philippines that I really liked so far.

post ka ng pics ha :) give travel to cambodia tips na rin...:lol:

Like this?

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs639.snc4/59970_476636851281_530586281_7282401_2410643_n.jpg

Mga 2007...


Yes, you can kaya lang malayong byahe yun men. May mga buses from BKK to Siem Reap I believe. ;)


Ok pre, thanks. two weeks kmi bangkok. Might stay with a relative working in Bangkok. She told me nothing spectacular in bangkok except food. So Punta kami Cambodia and some beach resort in some Thai province.


PS. post ka naman sa kabila.hehehehe...

More often than not, we are our own worst enemy. Masyado tayo maka-criticize at makapintas ng ating bansa. Samantalang yung mga dayuhan eh todo-promote ng tourism sites nila. Ang masama pa nito yung mga bwaka ng inang mahilig mag-criticize eh yung mga taong hindi pa nakakapag-travel outside of Metro Manila. Ni hindi man lang nakatapak sa mga naggagandahang lugar sa Pilipinas. :(

More often than not, we are our own worst enemy. Masyado tayo maka-criticize at makapintas ng ating bansa. Samantalang yung mga dayuhan eh todo-promote ng tourism sites nila. Ang masama pa nito yung mga bwaka ng inang mahilig mag-criticize eh yung mga taong hindi pa nakakapag-travel outside of Metro Manila. Ni hindi man lang nakatapak sa mga naggagandahang lugar sa Pilipinas. :(

Tama ka dyan.

Ako pag napunta sa ibang bansa lalo akong na-mi-miss ang Pinas at lalong lumalakas ang kagustuhan kong makapagcontribute sa ikakaganda ng bansa.


I go abroad for leisure and business. let what others have and apply it to our country.

At hindi lang kagustuhan kundi Im doing concrete moves to help our country in my own small way...ex. support Buy Pinoy Movement; promote local tourism etc.

Philippines on National Geographic here (http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE5ODM5MjQw.html).

^^my country is beautiful...

Philippines on National Geographic here (http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE5ODM5MjQw.html).

Thanks for sharing, Bai. It's frank and yet balanced. :cheers:

Philippines on National Geographic here (http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE5ODM5MjQw.html).

He he he...that's Robin Esrock and Julia Diamond from Word Travels. That's a very cool travel show. I had been exchanging emails with Robin awhile back, and he says that he wants to come back so he was wondering about ideas, financing. I guess Nat Geo bought their show. Good on them. These are the type of travel writers that DOT should tap because they really get in deep with the place and people. Funny as well.


http://www.wordtravels.tv/ (http://www.wordtravels.tv/)

Tama ka dyan.

Ako pag napunta sa ibang bansa lalo akong na-mi-miss ang Pinas at lalong lumalakas ang kagustuhan kong makapagcontribute sa ikakaganda ng bansa.


I go abroad for leisure and business. let what others have and apply it to our country.

At hindi lang kagustuhan kundi Im doing concrete moves to help our country in my own small way...ex. support Buy Pinoy Movement; promote local tourism etc.

One cannot improve on perfection. The Philippines has loveliness to "sell." What the Filipinos can do is clean their surroundings, improve their way of doing business in general, think quality of service rather than think cheap. What the pols can do is apply the laws, educate people on their own history and environment, motivate people to be proud of their own BY EXAMPLE. Everything else follows suit. No need to spend a lot of money on fam trips.

It would help if they cleaned up the cities and make it bearable. Let's face it , it's a form of barrier, especially for those who like a hassle free travel as much as possible. Lim should be ousted.

Philippines on National Geographic here (http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE5ODM5MjQw.html).


thanks for the link. :cheers:

Security for tourists is a big problem in the Philippines. Our family friend from HK was held up during a Kalesa ride around Luneta. The driver seemed to be in cahoots with the hold-up men. Our friend was traumatized and vowed NEVER to come back to the Philippines.

There are gangs that befriend foreigners, lacing their drinks, kidnapping them and stealing all their possessions. Hotels have written warnings in every room.

Plus this happened very recently:

German tourist robbed in downtown Manila
A 23-year-old German woman has been robbed of nearly $800 worth of cash and valuables by robbers who introduced themselves as tourist police and offered her a ride back to her hotel.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=628500&publicationSubCategoryId=200

We really should change how we treat the guests. The country has a very BAD reputation as a destination security-wise. Made worse by the deaths of 8 HK tourists.

We get a pitiful 2.5M tourists a year (mostly balikbayans) while Malaysia is aiming for 24M this coming year.

Kawawa sila at tayo din.

It would help if they cleaned up the cities and make it bearable. Let's face it , it's a form of barrier, especially for those who like a hassle free travel as much as possible. Lim should be ousted.

Under Mayor Mike Rama's administration, Cebu City is currently undergoing a MAJOR fcelift. His top priority is to make Cebu City an organized city from canals, sidewalks, street lightings, heritage conservation and rehabilitation, old Cebu revitalization etc. Shanties will be demolished and will be transferred to a massive medium-rise condo housing currently being proposed. Good move for our Mayor :okay:

Under Mayor Mike Rama's administration, Cebu City is currently undergoing a MAJOR fcelift. His top priority is to make Cebu City an organized city from canals, sidewalks, street lightings, heritage conservation and rehabilitation, old Cebu revitalization etc. Shanties will be demolished and will be transferred to a massive medium-rise condo housing currently being proposed. Good move for our Mayor :okay:

That's great to hear. MOre power to him and Cebuanos. I hope they make MManila an example in what not to follow.

Security for tourists is a big problem in the Philippines. Our family friend from HK was held up during a Kalesa ride around Luneta. The driver seemed to be in cahoots with the hold-up men. Our friend was traumatized and vowed NEVER to come back to the Philippines.

There are gangs that befriend foreigners, lacing their drinks, kidnapping them and stealing all their possessions. Hotels have written warnings in every room.

Plus this happened very recently:

German tourist robbed in downtown Manila
A 23-year-old German woman has been robbed of nearly $800 worth of cash and valuables by robbers who introduced themselves as tourist police and offered her a ride back to her hotel.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=628500&publicationSubCategoryId=200

We really should change how we treat the guests. The country has a very BAD reputation as a destination security-wise. Made worse by the deaths of 8 HK tourists.

We get a pitiful 2.5M tourists a year (mostly balikbayans) while Malaysia is aiming for 24M this coming year.

Kawawa sila at tayo din.

And I thought these things don't happen to FOREIGNERS.
My GOD, just imagine the impact this would cause to the image of the Philippines.
I see a very bleak future for tourism in the Philippines.

That's great to hear. MOre power to him and Cebuanos. I hope they make MManila an example in what not to follow.


yeah... but Manila is not a mess at all. Why we always say about Manila as if it's already a total failure. Well, it's not for me. Konting linis lang of at least70 to 80% of the metropolis, oks na oks na... Big famous cities around the world is not totally clean at all. Sometimes for me, too organized is booooring. Manila is still a very exciting place to visit. I'm just really pissed of its reputation...:bash:

And I thought these things don't happen to FOREIGNERS.
My GOD, just imagine the impact this would cause to the image of the Philippines.
I see a very bleak future for tourism in the Philippines.

Well sometimes the locals aren't at fault but I do recognize the stricter need for control over weapons that are used for these crimes and a system that would deter criminal acts in general.

Chinese national kills compatriot in casino hotel in Clark (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/29/10/chinese-national-kills-compatriot-casino-hotel-clark)

Agence France-Presse | 11/29/2010 5:15 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A Chinese man killed a compatriot and wounded another in a shooting rampage at a luxury casino hotel north of the Philippine capital, police said Monday.

The gunman, Wang Yang Zhen, 48, was arrested immediately after the shooting at a hotel room inside the Fontana Leisure Park on Sunday, and police said the motive for the attack appeared to be a dispute over money.

"There was a scuffle before the shooting. The victims were rushed to hospital but one of them was already dead upon arrival," city police chief Senior Superintendent Danilo Bautista said.

The leisure park is located at Clark Field, a former US air base that has been converted into an economic zone about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Manila.

Bautista said no other details about the gunman and the two male victims were available, and no official at the Chinese embassy in Manila was immediately available to comment.
as of 11/29/2010 5:15 PM

YUMI n. (yu-mi)
http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/index.php/archives/5525

Ayon sa talatinigang Pilipino, ang ibig sabihin ng salitang Yumi ay mapagkumbaba. Kung isasalin natin ito sa wikang Ingles, ito ay Modesty. Kung bakit ko biglang naisipang halungkating ang aming diksyunaryo sa maalikabok na sulok ng aming mumunting aklatan, ilang araw makatapos makamit ni Manny Pacquiao ang kanyang ika-walong timbang dibisyon na kampiyonato sa Texas, Estados Unidos ay sapagkat sa kontrobersya ng bagong ‘slogan’ ng departamento ng turismo na “Pilipinas Kay Ganda.”

Bagamat marami ang bumabatikos sa simpleng disenyo at tagalog ang ginamit na salita ay sumasang-ayon ako sa layunin ng ating gobyerno na ibsan ang masamang imahe na kumakalat sa mga dayuhan na delikadong bumiyahe sa ating lupain sa kadahilanan na rin ng mga kalunos-lunos na trahedya na naganap makailang buwan lang ang nakalipas.

Ang matingkad na kulay at malapambatang titik ay nagpapahiwatig ng kamusmusan, at kawalan ng muang na imahe na tila bang nanghihikayat sa ibang lahi na tayo ay isang bansang parang batang walang iniintindi kundi ang maglaro at maglibang. Ganyan din ang konsepto ng mga family oriented theme parks na ikinatagumpay ng Disney Land. Kaya lang, ang ating pangunahing bentahe ay ang ating magagandang baybayin sa karagatan.

Sumasangayon din naman ako kay dating Sekretaryo at ngayo’y Senador Richard Gordon na may pinakamatagumpay na pamumuno sa nasabing departamento sa pamamagitan ng kanyang WOW Philippines campaign. Dapat raw ay Ingles ang gamiting slogan para may ‘recall factor’ sa mga banyaga. Ngunit dahil sa ang minandato ng bayan noong nakaraang eleksyon ay sumasang-ayon sa anak ng isang bayani na may taguring Noynoy, o sa simpleng salita, pangalan o tawag sa isang batang lalaki, ito ay sumasalamin rin sa ating musmos na demokrasya na kung ikukumpara sa mga mauunlad na bansa. Bentahe pa ito sa aking pananaw sa ating turismo gaya ng nabanggit ko dahil ang mabait na bata ay kagiliw-giliw at natural na iisipin mong ligtas talagang bumiyahe dito.

Ako rin ay nainiwala na kung wala ka rin namang maimumungkahi na magandang ideya ay huwag ka ng dumagdag pa sa problema ng bayan sa pamamagitan ng pamimintas. Hindi naman sa ako’y nagmamayabang, ang imumungkahi ko nga sana ang pagiging Modesto o ang slogang “YUMI PILIPINAS”.

Bukod sa sumasalamin ito sa mapagkumbaba na mga Pilipinas na nakayuko kung iyong pagmamasdan ang laraw ng pinagtipong pitong libong isla nito sa mapa, YUMI rin ay pwedeng gamitin tulad ng sinasalita ng mga YUPPY sa masarap na pagkain gaya ng YUMMY. Madali ring tandaan ang salitang YUMI para sa mga banyaga kung babaybayin mo ito sa dalawang salitang katunog na YOU at ME. At kung pagsasamahin mo pa ito ay parang TAYO. Pwede ring gawing misyon ng bisyon ng departamento ang katagang “Tayo ay tatayo mula sa ating pagkakayuko.” Together we Stand ika nga.

Or kung ayaw niyo ng YUMI. Pwede rin namang “DAYO SA PILIPINAS” (Visit the Philippines) na parang tunog ay “Diyos sa Pilipinas” kung bibigkasin ng mabilis. Isa sa pinakamakulay na parte ng ating kultura ay ang pagselebra natin ng kapistahan ng ating mga Patron at mga Santo, pati na rin ang mga Anito at Diyosa ng ating mga katutubo.

Ngunit kahit ano pa man ang gamitin ng ating kinauukulan sa pamamahala ng ating bayan ay wala tayong dapat hinanakitin dahil mayroon din naman silang sariling pananaw sa buhay. Kahit iba’t iba ang ating paniniwala at relihiyon, ang importante ay mayroon tayong respetohan sa isa’t isa. Ako’y naniniwala na may dalawang paraan para maakit natin ang mga dayuhan sang-ayon sa awiting “Bayan Ko”:

“.. at sa kanyang yumi at ganda/ dayuhan ay nahalina..”

At kung ako ang pamimiliin sa dalawa, mas gugustuhin ko ang kagandahang loob kaysa panlabas na anyo. Pinagmamalaki ko rin naman ang maririkit nating kababaihan na nagpapanalo sa atin ng karangalan sa loob at labas ng bansa pero mas iniidolo nating lahat di ba si Manny Pacquiao na hinirang na pinakamagaling, pinakamabilis, pinakasikat at pinakamayamang boksingero sa kasaysayan ng palakasan sa balat ng lupa. Ngunit sa kabila ng lahat ng tagumpay na kanyang natamo ay nananatili pa ring nakatapak sa lupa ang kanyang mga paa sa lupa. Gaya nga ng nasusulat sa banal na aklat:

“The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth”

Yan ang tunay na Beatitude. You, Me, Philippines…

You Know!

Under Mayor Mike Rama's administration, Cebu City is currently undergoing a MAJOR fcelift. His top priority is to make Cebu City an organized city from canals, sidewalks, street lightings, heritage conservation and rehabilitation, old Cebu revitalization etc. Shanties will be demolished and will be transferred to a massive medium-rise condo housing currently being proposed. Good move for our Mayor :okay:

How about taking BEFORE and AFTER photos? I surely hope he accomplishes this. Cebu is a magnet for tourists, expats etc for being perceived as less chaotic as Manila but suffers from the same dirty image. I wish Cebu, the city and the island, can take a lead on this type of undertaking.

yeah... but Manila is not a mess at all. Why we always say about Manila as if it's already a total failure. Well, it's not for me. Konting linis lang of at least70 to 80% of the metropolis, oks na oks na... Big famous cities around the world is not totally clean at all. Sometimes for me, too organized is booooring. Manila is still a very exciting place to visit. I'm just really pissed of its reputation...:bash:

actually yes it is, it's a big mess.

Ok pre, thanks. two weeks kmi bangkok. Might stay with a relative working in Bangkok. She told me nothing spectacular in bangkok except food. So Punta kami Cambodia and some beach resort in some Thai province.


PS. post ka naman sa kabila.hehehehe...

Sige sige, wala pa kasi akong internet sa new apartment na nilipatan namin, so bihira ako makapost this week. I'll be in Bangkok this Dec 31 and also around end of April 2011, malay mo magkita pa tayo dun. :D


YUMI n. (yu-mi)
http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/index.php/archives/5525

Ayon sa talatinigang Pilipino, ang ibig sabihin ng salitang Yumi ay mapagkumbaba. Kung isasalin natin ito sa wikang Ingles, ito ay Modesty. Kung bakit ko biglang naisipang halungkating ang aming diksyunaryo sa maalikabok na sulok ng aming mumunting aklatan, ilang araw makatapos makamit ni Manny Pacquiao ang kanyang ika-walong timbang dibisyon na kampiyonato sa Texas, Estados Unidos ay sapagkat sa kontrobersya ng bagong ‘slogan’ ng departamento ng turismo na “Pilipinas Kay Ganda.”

Bagamat marami ang bumabatikos sa simpleng disenyo at tagalog ang ginamit na salita ay sumasang-ayon ako sa layunin ng ating gobyerno na ibsan ang masamang imahe na kumakalat sa mga dayuhan na delikadong bumiyahe sa ating lupain sa kadahilanan na rin ng mga kalunos-lunos na trahedya na naganap makailang buwan lang ang nakalipas.

Ang matingkad na kulay at malapambatang titik ay nagpapahiwatig ng kamusmusan, at kawalan ng muang na imahe na tila bang nanghihikayat sa ibang lahi na tayo ay isang bansang parang batang walang iniintindi kundi ang maglaro at maglibang. Ganyan din ang konsepto ng mga family oriented theme parks na ikinatagumpay ng Disney Land. Kaya lang, ang ating pangunahing bentahe ay ang ating magagandang baybayin sa karagatan.

Sumasangayon din naman ako kay dating Sekretaryo at ngayo’y Senador Richard Gordon na may pinakamatagumpay na pamumuno sa nasabing departamento sa pamamagitan ng kanyang WOW Philippines campaign. Dapat raw ay Ingles ang gamiting slogan para may ‘recall factor’ sa mga banyaga. Ngunit dahil sa ang minandato ng bayan noong nakaraang eleksyon ay sumasang-ayon sa anak ng isang bayani na may taguring Noynoy, o sa simpleng salita, pangalan o tawag sa isang batang lalaki, ito ay sumasalamin rin sa ating musmos na demokrasya na kung ikukumpara sa mga mauunlad na bansa. Bentahe pa ito sa aking pananaw sa ating turismo gaya ng nabanggit ko dahil ang mabait na bata ay kagiliw-giliw at natural na iisipin mong ligtas talagang bumiyahe dito.

Ako rin ay nainiwala na kung wala ka rin namang maimumungkahi na magandang ideya ay huwag ka ng dumagdag pa sa problema ng bayan sa pamamagitan ng pamimintas. Hindi naman sa ako’y nagmamayabang, ang imumungkahi ko nga sana ang pagiging Modesto o ang slogang “YUMI PILIPINAS”.

Bukod sa sumasalamin ito sa mapagkumbaba na mga Pilipinas na nakayuko kung iyong pagmamasdan ang laraw ng pinagtipong pitong libong isla nito sa mapa, YUMI rin ay pwedeng gamitin tulad ng sinasalita ng mga YUPPY sa masarap na pagkain gaya ng YUMMY. Madali ring tandaan ang salitang YUMI para sa mga banyaga kung babaybayin mo ito sa dalawang salitang katunog na YOU at ME. At kung pagsasamahin mo pa ito ay parang TAYO. Pwede ring gawing misyon ng bisyon ng departamento ang katagang “Tayo ay tatayo mula sa ating pagkakayuko.” Together we Stand ika nga.

Or kung ayaw niyo ng YUMI. Pwede rin namang “DAYO SA PILIPINAS” (Visit the Philippines) na parang tunog ay “Diyos sa Pilipinas” kung bibigkasin ng mabilis. Isa sa pinakamakulay na parte ng ating kultura ay ang pagselebra natin ng kapistahan ng ating mga Patron at mga Santo, pati na rin ang mga Anito at Diyosa ng ating mga katutubo.

Ngunit kahit ano pa man ang gamitin ng ating kinauukulan sa pamamahala ng ating bayan ay wala tayong dapat hinanakitin dahil mayroon din naman silang sariling pananaw sa buhay. Kahit iba’t iba ang ating paniniwala at relihiyon, ang importante ay mayroon tayong respetohan sa isa’t isa. Ako’y naniniwala na may dalawang paraan para maakit natin ang mga dayuhan sang-ayon sa awiting “Bayan Ko”:

“.. at sa kanyang yumi at ganda/ dayuhan ay nahalina..”

At kung ako ang pamimiliin sa dalawa, mas gugustuhin ko ang kagandahang loob kaysa panlabas na anyo. Pinagmamalaki ko rin naman ang maririkit nating kababaihan na nagpapanalo sa atin ng karangalan sa loob at labas ng bansa pero mas iniidolo nating lahat di ba si Manny Pacquiao na hinirang na pinakamagaling, pinakamabilis, pinakasikat at pinakamayamang boksingero sa kasaysayan ng palakasan sa balat ng lupa. Ngunit sa kabila ng lahat ng tagumpay na kanyang natamo ay nananatili pa ring nakatapak sa lupa ang kanyang mga paa sa lupa. Gaya nga ng nasusulat sa banal na aklat:

“The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth”

Yan ang tunay na Beatitude. You, Me, Philippines…

You Know!



I dunno about Yumi Philippines. Ang weird ng dating parang huh? Walang impact. Let's use English na lang.

KrXS3F36SJ0

:lol: :lol: :lol:

^^ Yumi? Japan na lang... Yumi is a name as well...

(友美) - Friend and Beauty, o di ba? OK pa sa 日本

Welcome to Thread 12! :cheers:

Keep posting forumers :okay:

Link to Thread 11 (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=435396&page=405&highlight=travel+tourism+industry+compiled+threads)

Ang isa ko pang pinanghihinayang is why some of our cultural multimedia products are not even sold in tourist venues. I would like to see our indie comics/indie artists/indie musicians sell their wares as well in some tiangges. That would make things interesting.

There is a big, potential overseas actually which remains untapped.

Come South, CamSur! :cheers:

Ultimate CAMSUR
Ultimate Tourism Program
The Reason why CamSur is #1


http://www.cwcwake.com/images/ultimate2010/ultimate-big.jpg

http://www.cwcwake.com/images/ultimate2010/events/1.jpg

http://www.cwcwake.com/images/ultimate2010/events/3.jpg

http://www.cwcwake.com/images/ultimate2010/events/2.jpg

http://www.cwcwake.com/images/ultimate2010/events/4.jpg

http://www.cwcwake.com/images/ultimate2010/events/5.jpg

Wow, ang bilis ng thread....thanks @ Hakz.

KrXS3F36SJ0

:D

repost lang. ;)

:lol:.....

mabuhay! philippines. Pearl of the pacific.

Originally posted by absinthe_888 in the Travel and Tourism Industry Thread 11...


How is our travel tax being spent? (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=634318&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star)
Updated November 29, 2010 12:00 AM

Money, it is often claimed, is at the root of our inability to catch up with the tourism numbers of our neighbors. We are told that we don’t have enough money to run promotion campaigns on international television and join enough tourism exhibitions and conferences.

I am not sure money is our major problem. I think the ability to come up with interesting ideas… irresistible selling propositions to potential tourists… is a major handicap. But I wonder… how well are we using the limited resources we do have?

The thought had been bothering me since a few weeks ago when I visited my son in Singapore. I bought my ticket online so I was asked by the airline check-in staff to go and pay my travel tax in cash at the counter of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. That agency used to be known by a simpler name: Philippine Tourism Authority.

I was wondering if the agency gained anything more useful than a few pretentious words in its name. I checked out its website and got nothing. As the name implies, the agency is supposed to be on top of tourism infrastructure development. It is headed by former actor Mark Lapid, son of Senator Lito Lapid. He is holding a position with a fixed term so he is safe… he has salary and perks for a few more years… even if he doesn’t work that much.

I guess it is too much to expect anything from him by way of creative ideas and projects. Ate Glue didn’t give him that job because he was the most qualified. He got it as a kind of political payback. And Lapid is just being true to form. Past PTA top honchos didn’t do much, if at all too.

I feel bad because I shelled out real money, P1,620 of it in peso bills I actually took out of my wallet and counted one by one. It is possible to be paying more in travel tax than the airline fare if you are able to snag a ticket under one of those atrociously low fare promos.

But they will also claim that they don’t get 100 percent of what they collect. The money is divided among the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Commission for Higher Education (CHED), and the General Fund of the National Government for use in government programs. So our money provides jobs for bureaucrats who may not even pretend they are doing anything.

Add to that… congressmen and senators go to PTA for funds to put lights in their public plazas and build toilets in areas that are far from the tourist trail. I am not saying those toilets shouldn’t be built, but maybe they should look for other sources of funds and leave the funds meant for tourist infrastructure development alone and not just another source for pork.

The new Tourism Code has expanded the responsibility of PTA. It will also administer tourism enterprise zones, their equivalent of export processing zones. I am not confident that the agency is up to the job. If they cannot even put up an informative website, how can they be expected to carry out their more complex mandates?

In answer to my question, I think my travel tax money is another case of legalized extortion. PTA, or whatever it is called now, can’t even maintain its own hotels to decent standards. We pay a whole lot for absolutely nothing!

The travel tax should have been abolished long time ago. It's a source of corruption, just like the road user's tax. The PTA makes billions of pesos on this but there are NO NEW PTA hotels or resorts since Marcos' time (well, maybe some improvements, but nothing really significant in terms of the money that was collected).

PNoy should remove Mark Lapid instead of holdovers from GMA's term who performed quite well...

The hottest destinations for 2011
From: AAP November 30, 2010 7:53AM

IF you're a traveller with a keen eye for emerging destinations, take a look at Flight Centre's hot spots list for 2011.

The island of Boracay, located about 300km south of the Filipino capital Manila, is fast becoming one of South-East Asia's hottest destinations.

With affordable accommodation, pristine beaches, great seafood, vibrant nightlife and laid-back atmosphere, Boracay won't remain a secret much longer.

Another hot destination is Sabah, one of Malaysia's eastern provinces on the famed island of Borneo.

Sabah boasts deserted beaches, diverse rainforests, dizzying mountains and orangutans, so coupled with cheap flights from Kuala Lumpur, it's no surprise it makes the list.

Once a war zone, the now-peaceful Eastern European country of Bosnia and Herzegovina is becoming a popular holiday location for eco-tourism, skiing and history buffs.

Staying in the same region, in Estonia travellers get serious bang for their buck enjoying seaside charm, medieval history and forest trails.

Two African destinations make the cut. Flight Centre heralds the island of Reunion off the Madagascar coast as spectacular but "underrated", and lists Zambia as a mecca for nature enthusiasts.

PeYabuli in China is mentioned for its growing reputation as a hot skiing destination while Cotswolds in the UK is described as a unique destination for those lovers of literature.

A relatively local and very affordable destination is Christchurch, which has long been popular with Aussies seeking thrills like bungee jumping, skiing and sky diving, but wine tours and rugby matches are also a possibility at the South Island capital.

Buenos Aires rounds out the list, dubbed a cosmopolitan metropolis for its seductive edge, bustling vibe and frenzied nightlife.



Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/holiday-ideas/the-hottest-destinations-for-2011/story-e6frfqd9-1225960131660#ixzz16kvQkDWS

KrXS3F36SJ0

:D

repost lang. ;)

I can't get over this video. Whoever made this is brilliant! :lol:

DOT should take notice of this:

South Africa Tourism projected to lead the way in online destination marketing
Tuesday, November 30, 2010

South Africa Tourism (SAT), currently ranked 7 in terms of number of Facebook ‘likes’, Twitter and WAYN followers of National DMOs, is set to become one of the most socially engaged brands in the worldwide travel landscape. Teaming up with dedicated travel and lifestyle social network WAYN.com, SAT seeks to grow its fan base across the globe, while aligning sales and marketing strategies with the intentions broadcasting of its following.
Research conducted by WAYN.com found Australia leading the way by a wide margin with their fan base closing in on the 1 million mark. New Zealand and Spain bagged 2nd and 3rd spots with 282,945 and 265,125 fans respectively.

South Africa, which currently has 78,502 followers on Facebook, Twitter and WAYN combined, is looking to steal the limelight from 3rd spot Spain as its following is on track to grow by up to 200,000 fans by April 2011. The South Africa profile on WAYN.com itself has garnered 40,112 friends in less than three months, outperforming the equivalent Facebook page, which as of November 14 2010 had recorded 33,589 ‘likes’.

SAT has previously run other campaigns on the WAYN.com platform, most notably the ‘Face of South Africa,’ a competition to find a face for SAT’s promotions in 2009, which proved to be a phenomenal success with over 20,000 applicants in just 3 weeks of the competition opening. WAYN.com is now set to help SAT engage further with their legion of fans by creating an interface to match intentions (as broadcast by individual members within the WAYN community) to corresponding offers from SAT.

Jerome Touze, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of WAYN.com stated that more and more DMOs are focused on cultivating their audience in the social media sphere. “WAYN.com provides a platform in addition to Facebook, Twitter et al to engage with and influence millions of travel consumers, providing a tremendous boost to a brand’s visibility in the digital media space.”

He added: “With increased promotion and competitions on its WAYN.com profile, SAT’s fan base should grow by as much as 200,000 by April 2011, which on current figures would mean that South Africa would depose Spain to occupy 3rd spot with a total of 278,502 fans.”


http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/40260-South-Africa-Tourism-projected-to-lead-the-way-in-online-destination-marketing

KrXS3F36SJ0

:D

repost lang. ;)

golly kept me laughing no end......made me teary eyed even......:lol: hats off....ako sa gumawa nito.......:lol:

El Nido protects its marine ecosystem
(http://www.malaya.com.ph/12012010/liv1.html)

MAYOR Edna Gacot-Lime of El Nido, Palawan, along with municipal tourism officer Arvin Acosta and Peace Corps volunteer Lia Cheek led the recent installation of anchor buoys in Bacuit Bay as part of the municipal government’s continuing effort to preserve the town’s rich underwater life. Joining them where members of the Municipal Tourism Council and El Nido Foundation.

The buoys will provide safe anchorage for pumpboats and prevent accidental destruction of coral reefs. According to Lim, the activity is part of the Eco-Tourism Development Fee (ETDF) program implemented by the local government and multi-sectoral organizations to protect the town’s rich marine resources.

:horse:

KrXS3F36SJ0

:D

repost lang. ;)

Was it just....LOL! Applause applause to Vince Golayco and When In Manila, LOL! :applause: :lol:

THE HOTTEST DESTINATION FOR 2011
from Australia’s news.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/travel/holiday-ideas/the-hottest-destinations-for-2011/story-e6frfqd9-1225960131660)

IF you're a traveller with a keen eye for emerging destinations, take a look at Flight Centre's hot spots list for 2011.

The island of Boracay, located about 300km south of the Filipino capital Manila, is fast becoming one of South-East Asia's hottest destinations.

With affordable accommodation, pristine beaches, great seafood, vibrant nightlife and laid-back atmosphere, Boracay won't remain a secret much longer.

Another hot destination is Sabah, one of Malaysia's eastern provinces on the famed island of Borneo.

Sabah boasts deserted beaches, diverse rainforests, dizzying mountains and orangutans, so coupled with cheap flights from Kuala Lumpur, it's no surprise it makes the list.

Once a war zone, the now-peaceful Eastern European country of Bosnia and Herzegovina is becoming a popular holiday location for eco-tourism, skiing and history buffs.

Staying in the same region, in Estonia travellers get serious bang for their buck enjoying seaside charm, medieval history and forest trails.

Two African destinations make the cut. Flight Centre heralds the island of Reunion off the Madagascar coast as spectacular but "underrated", and lists Zambia as a mecca for nature enthusiasts.

PeYabuli in China is mentioned for its growing reputation as a hot skiing destination while Cotswolds in the UK is described as a unique destination for those lovers of literature.

A relatively local and very affordable destination is Christchurch, which has long been popular with Aussies seeking thrills like bungee jumping, skiing and sky diving, but wine tours and rugby matches are also a possibility at the South Island capital.

Buenos Aires rounds out the list, dubbed a cosmopolitan metropolis for its seductive edge, bustling vibe and frenzied nightlife.

from Bacolod thread...


Silay City: The greens beyond the heritage houses

Words and Photos by Izah Morales

Silay City, which is in the Philippines' Western Visayas region, has been dubbed the "Paris of Negros." The place is known for its heritage houses, which are influenced by European architecture. But there's more than these famed houses.

Forty minutes away from Bacolod City, I found myself transported back in time in Silay City's 19th century façade. I began my journey to history at Balay Negrense, one of the 31 heritage houses accredited by the National Historical Institute.

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/inspirations__10/inspirations-370290231-1290666999.jpg?ym4f5IEDJjQV.oey

Balay Negrense, a century-old two-storey ancestral home of the Gastons, was transformed into a museum and is one of the most visited heritage houses in Silay. There, I met Susan Velez, executive assistant for Tourism, who invited me to join their trip to Barangay Balaring.

At first, I thought Silay was just about its heritage houses but I was wrong. Silay City Mayor Jose Montelibano said that they wanted to develop their eco-tourism sector through the development of the Balaring Coastal Eco-tourism Area and the Patag Mountain Resort.

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/inspirations__10/inspirations-6774997-1290667223.jpg?ymXj5IEDVR.cWu_A

"We need to jumpstart a model tour for tour operators, so the rest of the cities will follow," said Montelibano.

After passing by the houses, we found ourselves walking on a 700-meter long bamboo bridge built in the middle of a 50-hectare mangrove forest. The Mangrove Forest Plantation was initiated by a Japanese-led non-government organization IKAW-AKO in 1997 to protect the coastal villages.

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/inspirations__10/inspirations-630539342-1290667816.jpg?ymos5IEDXKVCG9vD

While walking, I noticed these signages hanging on the trees. Tourism officer Ver Pacete said that students visit the place to plant mangroves. Tourists are also welcome to plant mangroves. The IKAW-AKO foundation encourages people with their motto, "Planting Mangroves for life. It's fun."

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/inspirations__10/inspirations-901002753-1290667525.jpg?ymFo5IED3rKzk5s_

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/inspirations__10/inspirations-210059204-1290667600.jpg?ymRp5IEDHVZvX8JA

After a 15-minute walk, we reached Tom Tower, a nipa hut which gives a breathtaking view of the sea and the mangrove forest.

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/inspirations__10/inspirations-225771375-1290667920.jpg?ymQu5IEDL7UdICNo

The breeze in the nipa hut was cool and refreshing. One can reflect and commune with nature. Indeed, Silay wants to be known not just as a haven of culture and the arts but also as an eco-tourism destination.

source (http://ph.travel.yahoo.com/inspirations/212-silay-city-the-greens-beyond-the-heritage-houses?cid=today)

Also posted in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Thread:

Product development (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=635001&publicationSubCategoryId=64)
SKETCHES By Ana Marie Pamintuan (The Philippine Star) Updated December 01, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (11)

Never mind the tourism marketing slogan and website. If the Aquino administration wants to attract more visitors, it should rush to improve the first thing that greets all travelers upon arrival in Manila: the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Leaving for South Korea before noon the other weekend, I encountered the longest line ever at NAIA Terminal 1’s immigration area. It was worse than the weeks after 9/11.

Flying out of Seoul over the weekend through Incheon airport, I didn’t notice any additional security, even if Incheon was where the residents evacuated from the island shelled by North Korea had taken refuge.

Self check-in at Incheon took two minutes (it would have been faster if I had been familiar with the machine), and depositing my luggage took another 10, including the wait.

Clearing immigration took five minutes, including waiting in line. At the security check, I wasn’t made to take off my shoes or get my laptop out of its case. Then I was free to roam the airport. Like most other airports in Asia, it has many clean lavatories with sufficient toilet paper. The airport has numerous walkalators and drinking stations for adults and children.

A large area offered not just free wi-fi but also free use of about 50 Internet-connected computers.

Upon arrival at the NAIA near midnight, it took me more than half an hour to clear immigration. There were too many arriving passengers, and no one could tell where queues started and ended. People were shouting and asking where they could get arrival cards. It was stuffy; either the air conditioning was weak or there were simply too many people.

At Incheon, Korean Air gave my luggage a red “fragile” tag, just to ensure proper handling. When I retrieved the luggage at the NAIA carousel, the top handle had been severed at one end. I don’t know if that was Korean Air or the NAIA handlers.

At least clearing Customs was a breeze. But as I pushed my cart down the sloping arrival ramp outside the NAIA building, I saw that the guards had allowed the crowd to wait right on the street for arriving relatives, blocking the path all the way to the entrance to the parking lot.

After hurdling that obstacle course, I found many people in the crowded parking lot squatting on the curb as they waited for arriving passengers.

Our premier airport reminded me not of any of Asia’s modern ports of entry but the chaotic airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. The crowds outside reminded me of a similar scene outside the airport in Peshawar in Pakistan.

For some unfortunate arriving passengers, such experiences are aggravated by being waylaid along C-5 by a robbery syndicate operating with the connivance of some NAIA employees.

Ninoy must be turning over in his grave.

* * *

The Aquino administration is hoping that by November next year, the bigger NAIA Terminal 3 would be fully refurbished and operational, to be used for all international flights except those of Philippine Air Lines. PAL will continue to use Terminal II. The smaller Terminal 1 will be used by the other flag carrier Cebu Pacific.

The government is also hoping to settle soon the complaint of the last European carrier still flying to Manila, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The beef is over the common carriers tax – three percent based on gross receipts, which means long-haul flights, with their more expensive tickets, pay a higher tax.

German carrier Lufthansa tried stopping over in Guangzhou in China to bring down its tax when passing through Manila, but this was not cost-effective and the carrier pulled out of the Philippines. KLM is threatening to do the same over the tax described as “only in the Philippines.”

Direct flights, being faster and cheaper, are naturally preferred by travelers.

Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim is pushing for a limited open-skies policy, covering only secondary airports, with NAIA excluded. Clark International Airport in Pampanga enjoys this arrangement, and has seen its arrivals increase from 10,000 in 2003 to the current 600,000. Lim noted that open skies for the Indonesian island of Bali contributed to a jump in tourist arrivals from 30,000 to three million. Open skies will also be good for overseas Filipino workers and exporters particularly of high-value, low-volume products such as electronics. The head of one of Manila’s top hospitals also said he would promote medical tourism only if the country has an open-skies policy.

In a talk with some STAR editors yesterday, Lim said he wanted to focus on product development. Alejandra “Dading” Clemente, president of the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines, was glad to hear this. She noted that tour operators started marketing the country to travelers 40 years ago, but all the destinations at the time such as Pagsanjan deteriorated.

“Our problem has always been the product,” Dading told us.

In 1980, the country was already getting one million arrivals per year. Three decades later, the target is a modest 3.3 million – a 10 percent increase from last year’s three million.

The travel industry has long called for better airports. Bertie Lim was happy to report that three of the proposed projects under the PPP or public-private partnership program involved the construction of secondary airports – in Daraga, Albay; Panglao in Bohol, and Puerto Princesa in Palawan. A fourth is for the operation and maintenance of an airport in Cagayan de Oro.

Lim wants to develop historical attractions in Manila, particularly Intramuros, as well as revive Rizal Park, starting with the restoration of the dancing fountain.

He wants to develop the potential of areas such as Samar, where surfing is good and where Ferdinand Magellan landed on Homonhon Island. In 1949, Samar also accepted 5,000 Russian exiles kicked out of their country by the communists, then kicked out of Mao Zedong’s China where they first sought refuge. One of the Russians married a Filipina and had a son, Ronald Kookooritchkin, who later became actor Ronald Remy.

Product development, Lim said, includes not only upgrading tourism infrastructure but also keeping visitors safe. Next week he is signing a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine National Police for the creation of TOPCOP, for Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection.

Lim has also talked with his Ateneo classmate, Chief Justice Renato Corona, for the creation of a court, open 24 hours a day, that will handle tourist-related complaints.

With an annual marketing budget of only P30 million, Lim does not want to depend too much on marketing to lure travelers.

“What good are all these marketing campaigns,” he said, “if the product is lousy?”

Cebu
flickr photo by OhYo

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4781924961_64c9829196.jpg

Beautiful Cebu

Went to Cebu for a biz trip last week, but luckily there was still a little time left to witness this beautiful tropical scene before I left for the plane.

Cebu is really a beautiful sun.sand.sea place. More beautiful than Phuket and Bali (coz there are less tourists here), and the Filipinos hospitality is second to none.
Will definitely head back to this place for a holiday one of these days!

PS: This is shot using a PNS. Nothing fantastic about the composition nor the colours or whatsoever, but just wanna share this beautiful scene I have witness. :)

- Nicole

Tourism sector seminar slated at PICC
(The Philippine Star) Updated December 01, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

MANILA, Philippines – In an effort to move the tourism sector forward, Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute (CTHI) president Samie Lim announced that the “8 Pillars of Growth Strategy” seminar, which is organized by CTHI and is slated on Dec. 2 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), will offer a free slot for association leaders of the Philippine tourism industry.

Lim believes that attending the said seminar is a step in the right direction as the tourism sector reels from discouraging incidents like the Manila hostage-taking fiasco, the recent travel advisories and the re-branding row. He said: “There is a dynamic global tourism industry out there that continues to churn out opportunities for all of us. That is why we can’t afford to be bogged down by these incidents. We have to move forward, and, at the same time, improve our skills so that we can keep up with the rest of our ASEAN neighbors. After all, according to Steven Covey, continuous self-improvement is a trait of a highly effective person, or in this case, sector.”

Facilitating the seminar is marketing guru and multi-award winner Josiah Go, who will reveal the latest secrets on maximizing profits for businesses – specifically those in tourism and hospitality enterprises. The topics of the “8 Pillars of Growth Strategy Seminar” are as follows: Attracting new users; increasing usage; increasing retention; improving sales mix; selling at a premium; switching brands in your favor; reducing costs; and, increasing asset utilization. To register and to get more details contact Rhea at telephone numbers: 470-9208 or 638-8378, or email: info@canadiantourisminstitute.com

For each topic, Go will present local and international case studies on how various enterprises implemented innovations to increase profits.

The ‘8 Pillars of Growth Strategy’ seminar will guide participants in learning the what’s, how’s and why’s of the rapidly changing and ever competitive tourism sector. The speaker, who is also an author of 12 best-selling marketing books and an Agora awardee, will disclose the four new types of users in today’s market; the four tasks of marketing and many other helpful tips on raising the Philippine tourism industry to the next level.

This must-attend event is presented by CTHI with the support of PLDT SME Nation, Duty Free Philippines, Cebu Pacific, Asia Brewery, San Miguel Corp. and Primer Group of Companies; and in cooperation with Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Franchise Association, Philippine Retailers Association and the Management Association of the Philippines. The media partners of the said event are Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, GMA Network, BusinessWorld, BusinessMirror and Panay News.

CTHI, a premier source of highly-trained tourism and hospitality staff for the world’s top tourism enterprises, is a two-time Canadian Business Excellence awardee and has earned the highest five-star level program endorsement from the Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors. Based in Vancouver, Canada, it recently established its first franchise here in Manila.

exotic PHILIPPINES. welcome to paradise

The Taal home of Marcela Agoncillo
By BIBSY M. CARBALLO
November 30, 2010, 11:44am

http://www.mb.com.ph/sites/default/files/ma_3.jpg

The Agoncillo residence is now a museum; the place prominently displays a sculpture depicting Agoncillo sowing the first Philippine flag.

When we visited Taal, Batangas upon the invite of the organization called Women in Travel (WIT); we found an amazing number of vintage homes that date back to the 19th century and the American Occupation, which started in 1901 and ended in 1941.

In previous trips, we visited such heritage towns as Vigan in Ilocos Sur, Carcar in Cebu, and Pila in Laguna, which all have such impeccably restored houses. The houses, however, tend to be located on just one short stretch of road. Their respective local governments and NGOs, nevertheless, have taken pains to promote them, which is why these destinations have become popular with tourists.

It is thus unbelievable that Taal, with its bonanza of beautiful homes that were incredibly spared from the destruction of World War II, hasn’t been as prolific a tourist destination. Thankfully, however, a group of people who love Taal are remedying this. Upon the instigation of WIT president Miki Bautista, consultant Annette Feliciano, Taaleña and WIT coordinator Mimi Noble, we embarked on a day-long tour celebrating the wonders of Taal.

The tour includes a visit to an older edifice, the 17th century house where Marcela Mariño Agoncillo lived with husband Felipe Agoncillo. The latter was Emilio Aguinaldo’s first secretary while Marcela is celebrated as the sewer of the first Philippine Flag. The generally accepted story is the flag was designed by Aguinaldo, then in exile in Hong Kong. Because of her sewing skills, Marcela was tasked to sew the flag by hand, which she did with the help of daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, niece of Dr. Jose Rizal. The flag was sewn at 535 Morrison Hill, Hong Kong, where the family resided in exile. Supposedly, it was finished in five days and hand carried by Aguinaldo to be unfurled and raised for the first time on the balcony of his Cavite home on June 12.

However, there are those who insist the flag was made in Taal, right in the house we were visiting. Built by Marcela’s grandfather, Andres Mariño, the ancestral home on M.N. Agoncillo St. was donated to the National Historical Commission following the demise of the oldest living children of Marcela; Gregoria and Marcela Jr.

Upon entry, we are immediately accosted by a marble and cement rendering celebrating the sewing of the flag. We look out of the window and find in the garden below a bronze statue done by sculptor Florante Caido of Marcela holding up the flag. The statue was unveiled in 1985.

The Spanish type bahay na bato mansion is now a museum. It is possibly the oldest house in Taal and it contains a library of old Tagalog, English and French books, portraits of Don Andres Mariño, Doña Marcela and Don Felipe, a sala furnished with a mix of Viennese Brentwood pieces and Louie XV and Carlos X111 furniture, two adjoining bedrooms that have been turned into an oratorio, capiz windows, and a basement that showcases a display of the various flags used in the Philippine Revolution.

Some of the furniture pieces are of 1960s vintage, as a few members of the family stayed in the house until the 1980s. Marcella and Felipe had five surviving children, all daughters, spinsters, and teachers. After leaving their jobs in Manila, Gregoria Agoncillo, principal at the Ermita Catholic School, and Marcella Jr, teacher at St. Scholastica’s College, lived in the house until 1982. The last survivor was Marcela Jr who died in 1995 at the age of 95. As the house was constantly lived in and maintained, the restoration it required was minimal.

Today, the place is peopled by students and visitors from Manila. From the azotea, one can see the Pansipit river which snakes from Taal Lake to Balayan Bay.



http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/290163/the-taal-home-marcela-agoncillo

ganda talaga pinas......am glad that my work takes me to these places.... :P

Sisterhood accord to boost tourism in Cebu, Ilocos
Wednesday, 01 December 2010 19:26 Samuel Albano Bangloy / Correspondent


LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—While she has yet to announce it as a key to replenishing the hundreds of Chinese tourists skirting Ilocos Norte due to the hostage rubout staged at the Luneta in August, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee R. Marcos is pushing ahead in forging sisterhood-tourism ties with Cebu, the country’s most populous province south of Metro Manila.

The mass absence of Chinese visitors here has prompted Marcos, according to sources at the provincial Capitol here, to call on Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to ink sisterhood relations soon with Cebu in order to boost tourism in the two provinces.

Chartered regular flights bringing in tourists twice a week to the Ilocos from Hong Kong and Macao have stopped in reaction to the killing of Hong Kong tourists by disgruntled cop Rolando Mendoza who was also killed during the incident

Marcos hopped to Cebu a few days ago, provincial administrator Windell Chua said, and she is due to sign with Garcia what was described as a “sisterhood circuit of cooperation, not competition” for exchanging domestic tourists “from Cebu to Ilocos Norte and vice versa.”

“We are not here for competition but cooperation,” Marcos said during her Cebu sortie.

Marcos has renovated the Commonwealth-built Capitol building here where she holds office by adding new Corinthian-style rooms and other classic fixtures in time for the sisterhood signing with Garcia during the fiesta celebration February next year, observers said.

Marcos said she and Garcia “want to create a (tourism) circuit” from the country’s northern to southern provinces to include Camarines Sur in the Bicol region.

The sisterhood cooperation circuit will be topped off with the revival and introduction of package tours from the country’s northern and southern backdoors, particularly China and Singapore.

Marcos said Cebu and Ilocos Norte can complement each other’s knowledge and experience in recruiting Chinese tourists with Cebu through Singapore and Ilocos Norte through Hong Kong, Macao, Shanghai, and other tourism capitals.

Tourism officials said Ilocos Norte and its environs lost around P500 million this year from Chinese tourism receipts due to the Luneta tourist-hostage massacre last August


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/4408-sisterhood-accord-to-boost-tourism-in-cebu-ilocos

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/69842/24oras-childrens-park-in-luneta-rehabilitated

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/70159/24oras-childrens-playground-in-rizal-park-reopened-to-public

nanahimik ung pilipinas kay ganda hehehe

rip na ang pilipinas kay ganda sir

A MODEL RESORT

Thursday, 02 December 2010 00:00

MARINA DE BAY:
BY CHING DORADO

Some say that the best fashion models, with a new hairstyle and a different application of makeup, have the ability to not only change their appearance, but also the aura they project. The same cannot be said of hotels and resorts, though. It’s impossible, some may say. Perhaps, but Puerto Princesa’s Spanish colonial-inspired Marina de Bay may try to dispute that opinion.

The resort’s breathtaking location—standing in the middle of a tranquil bay, with a sturdy foot bridge connecting it to dry land—plays a key part in its transformation. So does the time of day: during daytime, guests are treated to a magnificent view of expensive boats and yachts docking near the resort’s rear area, lending it a rather aristocratic air.

The bay’s clear waters also let visitors watch fishes of different kinds and colors swimming around the resort—a scene sure to delight anyone, especially children.

If Marina de Bay exudes a sense of the good life during the day, it radiates romance at night. How can it not be, with natural and electrical lights illuminating the resort and providing wonderful views of Puerto Princesa in the distance. Such views can put guests, particularly couples, in a relaxing and romantic mood.

But no matter the time of day, the first-rate accommodations and amenities Marina de Bay offers remain the same: cozy air-conditioned bungalow-like villas, each with its own TV set, refrigerator and mini-bar; tasty dishes served at the open-air Celestial restaurant; and soothing aroma-based therapeutic spa and wellness services.

In a time when many tourism-oriented establishments strain to offer the best possible service to travelers, it is to Marina de Bay’s credit that it does so with flair and without noticeable effort—just like a supermodel would.

Marina de Bay is located at Barangay Tiniguiban, Puerto Princesa City. For more information, call (02) 782-9704 or (48) 433-7345. You can e-mail them at info@marinadebay-palawan.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit their website: www.marinadebay-palawan.com.



http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/lifestyle/33439-a-model-resort

PAL supports ‘fair’, ‘reciprocal’ open skies
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Flag carrier Philippine Airlines on Wednesday said it supports an open skies policy but it should be "fair," "reciprocal," and protects local carriers.

During a public hearing conducted by the House transportation committee, PAL Senior Assistant Vice President for External Affairs Ma. Socorro Gonzaga said foreign carriers enjoy adequate access to Philippine skies, debunking claims there is lack of airline seats to accommodate tourists.

She said what the country really needs are more investments in infrastructure, a stable peace and order situation, and positive image abroad to attract tourists.
“It’s not the number of airline seats that is the behind the lack of tourist interest in the Philippines but the country’s negative image abroad, especially in the area of peace and order and security,” she said.

Despite this perception, Gonzaga said PAL, as the country’s flag carrier, has always been in the forefront in developing key markets to boost Philippine tourism.

She said PAL is the only Philippine carrier flying to and from several significant destinations around the world, making it one of the primary drivers of Philippine tourism.

Since the Ramos administration, she said the Philippines has been liberally granting entitlements to foreign airlines. At present, she said there are 47.4 million seats available to foreign and local carriers.

However, of these 47.4 million available seats, only 10.97 million seats – or 23 percent of total entitlements – were used by foreign and local carriers last year.

Of the 10.97 million passengers that came to the country by air in 2009, only 2.9 million were tourists.

Gonzaga said the data belies the claim by proponents of open skies that there is lack of airline seats to accommodate foreign visitors.

The Department of Tourism’s target this year is 3.1 million tourists, progressively increasing to six (6) million by 2016.

“Even without open skies, the six million tourists target of DOT by 2016 could be accommodated based on existing airline seats or entitlements available to both foreign and local carriers,” she stressed.

Gonzaga explained that seat entitlement to Clark is about 25.6 million, to Cebu, 20.7 million; to Davao, 20.3 million, and to Kalibo, Bohol, Palawan and Laoag, 19.6 million. In Manila, there are 21.2 million seat entitlements available yearly.

The sum is more than 47.4 million seats because many of the entitlements may be used for different airports, hence the overlap, Gonzaga said.

She said the figures effectively debunk the arguments of open skies advocates that the lack of airline seats is the principal reason for low tourist arrivals in the country.

PAL supports ‘fair’, ‘reciprocal’ open skies
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Flag carrier Philippine Airlines on Wednesday said it supports an open skies policy but it should be "fair," "reciprocal," and protects local carriers.

During a public hearing conducted by the House transportation committee, PAL Senior Assistant Vice President for External Affairs Ma. Socorro Gonzaga said foreign carriers enjoy adequate access to Philippine skies, debunking claims there is lack of airline seats to accommodate tourists.

She said what the country really needs are more investments in infrastructure, a stable peace and order situation, and positive image abroad to attract tourists.
“It’s not the number of airline seats that is the behind the lack of tourist interest in the Philippines but the country’s negative image abroad, especially in the area of peace and order and security,” she said.

Despite this perception, Gonzaga said PAL, as the country’s flag carrier, has always been in the forefront in developing key markets to boost Philippine tourism.

She said PAL is the only Philippine carrier flying to and from several significant destinations around the world, making it one of the primary drivers of Philippine tourism.

Since the Ramos administration, she said the Philippines has been liberally granting entitlements to foreign airlines. At present, she said there are 47.4 million seats available to foreign and local carriers.

However, of these 47.4 million available seats, only 10.97 million seats – or 23 percent of total entitlements – were used by foreign and local carriers last year.

Of the 10.97 million passengers that came to the country by air in 2009, only 2.9 million were tourists.

Gonzaga said the data belies the claim by proponents of open skies that there is lack of airline seats to accommodate foreign visitors.

The Department of Tourism’s target this year is 3.1 million tourists, progressively increasing to six (6) million by 2016.

“Even without open skies, the six million tourists target of DOT by 2016 could be accommodated based on existing airline seats or entitlements available to both foreign and local carriers,” she stressed.

Gonzaga explained that seat entitlement to Clark is about 25.6 million, to Cebu, 20.7 million; to Davao, 20.3 million, and to Kalibo, Bohol, Palawan and Laoag, 19.6 million. In Manila, there are 21.2 million seat entitlements available yearly.

The sum is more than 47.4 million seats because many of the entitlements may be used for different airports, hence the overlap, Gonzaga said.

She said the figures effectively debunk the arguments of open skies advocates that the lack of airline seats is the principal reason for low tourist arrivals in the country.

I also replied to this in the Airlines, Airplanes and Airports thread. Take note of the portion where Gonzaga talks about the seat entitlement numbers.

The problem with the sentence highlighted above is that the airports mentioned DO NOT have the capacity to process that many passenger movements. Only MNL is capable of processing the 21 million or so passenger movements. Clark can't even process 5 million pax per year unless they expand further.

So it is a chicken and egg issue...build the terminal so that the tourists/passengers will come, or wait for the tourist/passenger numbers to increase before plunking money into an airport?

This is one of the biggest arguments why they should develop DMIA into the premiere international airport, Narita style. And likewise increase the capacity of NAIA as well as the entitlements while waiting for the overall infrastructure to transform DMIA into what it should be.

DFA: Phl, Iran sign tourism agreement (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=635480&publicationSubCategoryId=200)
(philstar.com)
Updated December 02, 2010 12:28 PM

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippines and Iran have signed an agreement aimed at boosting the tourism industry of both countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs said today.

The tourism cooperation program, signed between the Department of Tourism of the Philippines and Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, will run for three years or until 2014, Philippines' the DFA said in a report posted in its website.

The agreement aims to expand and strengthen tourism cooperation between the Philippines and Iran by exchanging information, other promotional materials and statistical on tourism, cooperation on tourism-related programs, establishing connections between training institutes and centers of both countries in the fields of hotel, hospitality and tourism, and encouraging the private sector to participate on tourism programs such as organizing tourism exhibitions and technical seminars.

The program was the result of the country's 5th Joint Advisory Consultative Meeting held in Tehran last month.

"Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between our countries in the early '70s, our ties have grown stronger. Over the years, we have entered into no less than 32 agreements, exchanged high-level visits, increased bilateral cooperation, and intensified people-to-people contact. It becomes imperative, therefore, that we sustain this momentum and mount up activities in key, as well as latent, areas of cooperation," DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said.

Aside from improving the tourism sector, Seguis said he was able to get the assurance that Iran will not ban the country's importation of Philippine bananas.

Exporting bananas to Iran has been one of the major problems of the local exporters because of the difficulty of Iranian importers to open letters of credit with banks in Dubai.

And also have airlines fly between Tehran and Manila. Persians usually take Gulf Air, Qatar or Emirates. There are over 4000 Persians in the country, according to the Bureau of Immigration. Most of them are dentistry students.

And also have airlines fly between Tehran and Manila. Persians usually take Gulf Air, Qatar or Emirates. There are over 4000 Persians in the country, according to the Bureau of Immigration. Most of them are dentistry students.

Hahaha I like your use of the term "Persians". Indeed, I prefer the Iranians as Persians because that makes them a proud civilization, not the Iran of the present Ayatollahs and Ahmadinejad.

The Iranian medical students have been around since the Shah was overthrown in 1979. I personally knew one of them from many years ago. Nowadays, go ride the LRT 2 and you're bound to bump into them at the Legarda Station.:lol:

PAL supports ‘fair’, ‘reciprocal’ open skies
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Flag carrier Philippine Airlines on Wednesday said it supports an open skies policy but it should be "fair," "reciprocal," and protects local carriers.


They are asking for "protection for local carriers"?

PAL is really incompetent to ask for this special protection... Ilang dekada na tong kumpanya na to incompetent parin.
How come Cebu pacific can compete with international carries while they can't??

thank God for Cebu Pacific.. may pag asa pa ang airline industry natin dahil sa kumpanyang ito... and they did a lot to help boost the Tourism traffic in the country.

while PAL always asks for government protection which is a conflict of interest for the tourism goals of the country.

^^Ganyan talaga pag naging spoiled at lumalaki ang ulo...Konting talisod, iiyak kaagad... :)

MANILA!

by Maya Baltazar Herrera

It’s the first week of December and I am ensconced in a workshop in Tagaytay. About half of the participants are first time visitors to the Philippines and the inevitable tourist questions came up. What is there to do in Manila?

As the holiday season is beginning, I figure this is actually a good topic for the week.

When the average tourist thinks of the Philippines, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind would be beaches. This probably explains why Manila is almost never thought of as a tourist destination. However, Manila is not only a physical gateway to the Philippines, it is also a perfect introduction to the cultural melting pot that is the Philippines.

Metro Manila is a collection of many cities. Most visitors to the Metro come for business reasons and are actually visiting Makati, the business district.

Makati and Taguig

Makati is host to the business district and is probably the most modern of the Metro’s cities.

The heart of the business district lies in the triangle between Edsa (the Metro’s main artery), Ayala and Buendia (now called Sen. Puyat Ave.). Within this triangle, you will find the Philippine Stock Exchange, which is right beside a small park with some free-standing art. Diagonally across the street from the PSE is the main commercial area, host to two malls and a vast array of restaurants, bars and retailers. In the newer Greenbelt Mall, you will find the Ayala Museum, which has a continuously updated display of dioramas of Philippine history as well as a changing display of cultural artifacts and art. Also in Greenbelt, you will find a little gem of a park, with a beautiful orchid display and a quaint round chapel.

Just across Edsa from the commercial area, in the neighboring city of Taguig, you will find the Global City, which most locals call “The Fort.” This is a more open area than Makati with lots of open spaces, great for running or just walking around. This development sits on what used to be one of the larger military camps in Metro Manila and visiting the Global City actually allows you to visit the American Cemetery, which boasts of some spectacular mosaics of maps that show battles of the Second World War. The mosaics are on the walls of a memorial that has the seals of each state of the United States embedded on stone floors and names of American soldiers who died in the Philippines during WW II.

If you don’t dawdle or shop, you can do all of this in a half day.

Manila

The real must-do of any visit to Metro Manila is a visit to the old walled city. The modern city of Manila grew in and around the old Walled City of Intramuros. If there is only one thing you can do on your visit to Metro Manila, this is the one place you must visit.

Fort Santiago is probably the most famous landmark in Intramuros. From the parking area of the Fort, horse-drawn carriages can be hired for a pittance and the tour includes a tour guide who will show you around the main areas of the city, pointing out historic buildings. The little tour ends within the Fort itself where you will be handed over to a different tour guide who will take you around the fort, including the Jose Rizal museum which is housed on the grounds of Fort Santiago.

If you have time, you will also want to visit the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church. These are both beautiful and historic churches but it is the smaller San Agustin Church that is a true joy. On the Church grounds, you will find a small museum with a spectacular collection of religious art.

Right across the San Agustin church is Casa Manila, which is an old Spanish-era home converted into a museum. The entire area around the Manila Cathedral is host to some of the most beautiful buildings in Manila and is a great base for a photo safari. The perfect visit to the old city would include lunch at Intramuros, a restaurant which offers traditional Spanish-influenced fare as well as modern creations such as sampaguita (the national flower, related to jasmine), ice cream and ending with a visit to the area of Malacañang, seat of government, capped by dinner at the ancestral home of the Legardas, which has been transformed into a restaurant cum museum. Caution, this last restaurant does not accept walk-ins.

If you have more time, try to catch one of Celdran’s walking tours of the Chinatown area. It is a vastly entertaining and educational experience. A visit to Chinatown will bring you near three Manila churches, Binondo, Santa Cruz and Quiapo. If you truly love churches, you might also want to take in the Malate Church and the other old churches in Manila.

If you are a golfer, the Club Intramuros golf course hugs the walls of Intramuros, a truly unique experience. Night time play is available.

Manila is also home to possibly the best sunset in the world, sunset at the Manila bay. Near and along the bay are the municipal hall of Manila, the old Post Office, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum, the Manila Hotel, the Manila Ocean Park, the Manila Children’s Museum, the Rizal Park, which has a Chinese garden and a Japanese garden as well as the Rizal monument. The far end of the bay is the Mall of Asia, possibly one of the biggest malls in the world and unique because of its location by the bay.

Day trips and more

If you are after shopping, head for the Greenhills commercial area on Ortigas Ave. in nearby San Juan, where you can buy pearls for a song. Across Edsa on Ortigas Ave.is Tiendesitas, which has both shopping and food stalls. This is the perfect place to browse, point and taste.

Popular day trips include Tagaytay for the Taal volcano, the smallest in the world; Pagsanjan falls to ride the rapids; Batangas for beaches and diving; Corregidor island, a historical and visual experience; and the Calamba and Los Baños area, which should include Mt. Makiling. You could also visit Villa Escudero, an old coconut plantation which has been converted into a resort. There are free cultural shows at the Taal Vista Lodge in Tagaytay and at Villa Escudero.

I could go on but I’ve run out of space. Actually, I think Manila is an excellent place to visit.

You can e-mail Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://www.mayaherrera.com.


http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusiness.htm?f=2010/december/3/business6.isx&d=2010/december/3

Just to bring on the lighter side, I know this is unrelated to travel and tourism (urgh, some sort of). However, because of the latest brouhaha of Pilipinas Kay Ganda, here are some of the Top Ten (which I guess comes from Chico and Delamar's show every morning). To über-sensitive people out here, please pass if you don't want to ruin your day. This is just an ice-breaker. ;)

A new bog year, a new Top Ten logo. If you’re wondering why I jumped to a Top Ten we just did, when I should be posting 2009 Top Tens, a glitch on my laptop erased all the entries that I was supposed to email myself. So to cut a long story short, I lost all the entries. So I thought, I’d post whatever I have in my notebook. Better post it now since I don’t have a digital copy of it in my email. After this, I go back to the chronology I was following. This was with the Pilipinas Kay Ganda brouhaha, which was summarily junked and led to a resignation in the Department of Tourism.


November 18, 2010 – The Top Ten Tourism Slogans For The Philippines (Or A Province, Or A City)
1. Ant Anonymous – “More Asia, Than Malaysia.”
2. RVincent – “Boom Boom Mayon! Bye Bye Albay.”
3. Kid Bukid – “Bohol: Go To Hill!”
4. Rogue – “Bakat Sa Mabalacat.”
5. Puputot – “Be Cool, Bicol!”
6. Manuel Caceres – “Make Roro To Mindoro!”
7. Callie Burn – “Haller, Baler!”
8. Joltino – “San Juan, Juan-derful!”
9. Jaye Delassy – “Pinas, Ganda Mo Teh!”
10. Axel – “Cubao. Bow.”
11. Franzen – “Maganda Raw, Sa Tuguegarao.”
12. Greg – “Mag Masbate Araw-Araw!”
13. Poljeffrey – “Sa Pandacan, Big Time Ka!”
14. Inoman/Joti/Farrah – “Thanks For Coming, Camiguin!”
15. Jaye Delassy – “PH OK! PH OK!”
16. Tyler Swift – “Tata Tete Titi Toto Tutuban!”
17. Kroo Kroo/Lee/Mrs. DJ – “Make A Baby in Macabebe!”
18. Ugly Kid Joey/Homer Singson – “Virac, You Rock!”
19. Blitzkrieg – “Kamuning Get Me!”
20. Chez Kitron – “Bongga Ka Day, Sa Norzagaray!”
21. Acer – “In Na In Sa Philippine.”
22. Elton Dot Org – “Hanap Mo Ba Maluwag, Halina Sa Laoag!”
23. Copochax – “Go Gaga In Naga!”
24. Anika Bananika – “Quezon In The Zone.”
25. Gracia – “Vigan, Punta Na KaiVigan!”
26. Gracia – “Kung Ikaw Ay Pagod, Gulong Mo Ay Pudpod…Pagudpod!”
27. Poljeffrey – “Babaeng Balbon, Marami Sa Malabon!”
28. Milky Me – “Better Leyte Than Never!”
29. Lady Gaguard – “Ang Lupet Ng Calumpit!”
30. Alboy – “Boracay, You Sexy Beach!”
31. Confused Soul – “We Fly High In Capiz!”
32. No Name – “Whee! Tawi-Tawi!”
33. Cappuccino – “Tikman Ag Kalinga Ng Kalinga.”
34. Cappuccino – “Walang Aayaw Sa Apayao.”
35. Joti – “A Long Long Time Agoo.”
36. Antipatikong Guwapito – “Maliit Navotas, Lumalaki!”
37. Jay – “Bulacan CAN!”
38. Puputot – “Maraming Gig Sa Taguig!”
39. Gooey Kablooey/Dennis Pinch – “Be Happy And Gay At Baclaran!”
40. Grant – “El Nido. It’s Everybody’s Milk!”
41. Lloyd – “It’s Not A Summer Vacation, Unless It’s A Samar Vacation!”
42. Denzel – “Kamias: May Asim Pa!”
43. Froyo18 – “Bagong Antique!”
44. Targrod – “Sa Marinduque, Malalaki Ang Pu…so.”
45. Tyler Swift – “EoW pFouHWz, pHFiLiPPeEnZZ!”

^^ :lol: :okay:

Pwede bang gamitin yung una? :lol:

DFA: Phl, Iran sign tourism agreement (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=635480&publicationSubCategoryId=200)
(philstar.com)
Updated December 02, 2010 12:28 PM

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippines and Iran have signed an agreement aimed at boosting the tourism industry of both countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs said today.

The tourism cooperation program, signed between the Department of Tourism of the Philippines and Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, will run for three years or until 2014, Philippines' the DFA said in a report posted in its website.

The agreement aims to expand and strengthen tourism cooperation between the Philippines and Iran by exchanging information, other promotional materials and statistical on tourism, cooperation on tourism-related programs, establishing connections between training institutes and centers of both countries in the fields of hotel, hospitality and tourism, and encouraging the private sector to participate on tourism programs such as organizing tourism exhibitions and technical seminars.

The program was the result of the country's 5th Joint Advisory Consultative Meeting held in Tehran last month.

"Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between our countries in the early '70s, our ties have grown stronger. Over the years, we have entered into no less than 32 agreements, exchanged high-level visits, increased bilateral cooperation, and intensified people-to-people contact. It becomes imperative, therefore, that we sustain this momentum and mount up activities in key, as well as latent, areas of cooperation," DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said.

Aside from improving the tourism sector, Seguis said he was able to get the assurance that Iran will not ban the country's importation of Philippine bananas.

Exporting bananas to Iran has been one of the major problems of the local exporters because of the difficulty of Iranian importers to open letters of credit with banks in Dubai.

when i was in bangkok last february, I met a group of persian tourists and they asked where I'm from. I said from the Philippines. And they asked me a lot of questions about our country especially handicrafts lol

12. Greg – “Mag Masbate Araw-Araw!”

haha thanks for posting.. you made my day!!

HILARIOUS!!

Just to bring on the lighter side, I know this is unrelated to travel and tourism (urgh, some sort of). However, because of the latest brouhaha of Pilipinas Kay Ganda, here are some of the Top Ten (which I guess comes from Chico and Delamar's show every morning). To über-sensitive people out here, please pass if you don't want to ruin your day. This is just an ice-breaker. ;)

A new bog year, a new Top Ten logo. If you’re wondering why I jumped to a Top Ten we just did, when I should be posting 2009 Top Tens, a glitch on my laptop erased all the entries that I was supposed to email myself. So to cut a long story short, I lost all the entries. So I thought, I’d post whatever I have in my notebook. Better post it now since I don’t have a digital copy of it in my email. After this, I go back to the chronology I was following. This was with the Pilipinas Kay Ganda brouhaha, which was summarily junked and led to a resignation in the Department of Tourism.


November 18, 2010 – The Top Ten Tourism Slogans For The Philippines (Or A Province, Or A City)
1. Ant Anonymous – “More Asia, Than Malaysia.”
2. RVincent – “Boom Boom Mayon! Bye Bye Albay.”
3. Kid Bukid – “Bohol: Go To Hill!”
4. Rogue – “Bakat Sa Mabalacat.”
5. Puputot – “Be Cool, Bicol!”
6. Manuel Caceres – “Make Roro To Mindoro!”
7. Callie Burn – “Haller, Baler!”
8. Joltino – “San Juan, Juan-derful!”
9. Jaye Delassy – “Pinas, Ganda Mo Teh!”
10. Axel – “Cubao. Bow.”
11. Franzen – “Maganda Raw, Sa Tuguegarao.”
12. Greg – “Mag Masbate Araw-Araw!”
13. Poljeffrey – “Sa Pandacan, Big Time Ka!”
14. Inoman/Joti/Farrah – “Thanks For Coming, Camiguin!”
15. Jaye Delassy – “PH OK! PH OK!”
16. Tyler Swift – “Tata Tete Titi Toto Tutuban!”
17. Kroo Kroo/Lee/Mrs. DJ – “Make A Baby in Macabebe!”
18. Ugly Kid Joey/Homer Singson – “Virac, You Rock!”
19. Blitzkrieg – “Kamuning Get Me!”
20. Chez Kitron – “Bongga Ka Day, Sa Norzagaray!”
21. Acer – “In Na In Sa Philippine.”
22. Elton Dot Org – “Hanap Mo Ba Maluwag, Halina Sa Laoag!”
23. Copochax – “Go Gaga In Naga!”
24. Anika Bananika – “Quezon In The Zone.”
25. Gracia – “Vigan, Punta Na KaiVigan!”
26. Gracia – “Kung Ikaw Ay Pagod, Gulong Mo Ay Pudpod…Pagudpod!”
27. Poljeffrey – “Babaeng Balbon, Marami Sa Malabon!”
28. Milky Me – “Better Leyte Than Never!”
29. Lady Gaguard – “Ang Lupet Ng Calumpit!”
30. Alboy – “Boracay, You Sexy Beach!”
31. Confused Soul – “We Fly High In Capiz!”
32. No Name – “Whee! Tawi-Tawi!”
33. Cappuccino – “Tikman Ag Kalinga Ng Kalinga.”
34. Cappuccino – “Walang Aayaw Sa Apayao.”
35. Joti – “A Long Long Time Agoo.”
36. Antipatikong Guwapito – “Maliit Navotas, Lumalaki!”37. Jay – “Bulacan CAN!”
38. Puputot – “Maraming Gig Sa Taguig!”
39. Gooey Kablooey/Dennis Pinch – “Be Happy And Gay At Baclaran!”
40. Grant – “El Nido. It’s Everybody’s Milk!”
41. Lloyd – “It’s Not A Summer Vacation, Unless It’s A Samar Vacation!”42. Denzel – “Kamias: May Asim Pa!”
43. Froyo18 – “Bagong Antique!”
44. Targrod – “Sa Marinduque, Malalaki Ang Pu…so.”
45. Tyler Swift – “EoW pFouHWz, pHFiLiPPeEnZZ!”

Some are actually cool ideas. We might as well adopt these! :lol:
Thanks for posting Berns. Haven't listened to RX for a while.

LOL @ 14, 19, 28, 31, 41

^^ adopt these? yeah it will work for the JEJETOURISTS!! haha

November 18, 2010 – The Top Ten Tourism Slogans For The Philippines (Or A Province, Or A City)
1. Ant Anonymous – “More Asia, Than Malaysia.”
2. RVincent – “Boom Boom Mayon! Bye Bye Albay.”
3. Kid Bukid – “Bohol: Go To Hill!”
4. Rogue – “Bakat Sa Mabalacat.”
5. Puputot – “Be Cool, Bicol!”
6. Manuel Caceres – “Make Roro To Mindoro!”
7. Callie Burn – “Haller, Baler!”
8. Joltino – “San Juan, Juan-derful!”
9. Jaye Delassy – “Pinas, Ganda Mo Teh!”
10. Axel – “Cubao. Bow.”
11. Franzen – “Maganda Raw, Sa Tuguegarao.”
12. Greg – “Mag Masbate Araw-Araw!”
13. Poljeffrey – “Sa Pandacan, Big Time Ka!”
14. Inoman/Joti/Farrah – “Thanks For Coming, Camiguin!”
15. Jaye Delassy – “PH OK! PH OK!”
16. Tyler Swift – “Tata Tete Titi Toto Tutuban!”
17. Kroo Kroo/Lee/Mrs. DJ – “Make A Baby in Macabebe!”
18. Ugly Kid Joey/Homer Singson – “Virac, You Rock!”
19. Blitzkrieg – “Kamuning Get Me!”
20. Chez Kitron – “Bongga Ka Day, Sa Norzagaray!”
21. Acer – “In Na In Sa Philippine.”
22. Elton Dot Org – “Hanap Mo Ba Maluwag, Halina Sa Laoag!”
23. Copochax – “Go Gaga In Naga!”
24. Anika Bananika – “Quezon In The Zone.”
25. Gracia – “Vigan, Punta Na KaiVigan!”
26. Gracia – “Kung Ikaw Ay Pagod, Gulong Mo Ay Pudpod…Pagudpod!”
27. Poljeffrey – “Babaeng Balbon, Marami Sa Malabon!”
28. Milky Me – “Better Leyte Than Never!”
29. Lady Gaguard – “Ang Lupet Ng Calumpit!”
30. Alboy – “Boracay, You Sexy Beach!”
31. Confused Soul – “We Fly High In Capiz!”
32. No Name – “Whee! Tawi-Tawi!”
33. Cappuccino – “Tikman Ag Kalinga Ng Kalinga.”
34. Cappuccino – “Walang Aayaw Sa Apayao.”
35. Joti – “A Long Long Time Agoo.”
36. Antipatikong Guwapito – “Maliit Navotas, Lumalaki!”
37. Jay – “Bulacan CAN!”
38. Puputot – “Maraming Gig Sa Taguig!”
39. Gooey Kablooey/Dennis Pinch – “Be Happy And Gay At Baclaran!”
40. Grant – “El Nido. It’s Everybody’s Milk!”
41. Lloyd – “It’s Not A Summer Vacation, Unless It’s A Samar Vacation!”
42. Denzel – “Kamias: May Asim Pa!”
43. Froyo18 – “Bagong Antique!”
44. Targrod – “Sa Marinduque, Malalaki Ang Pu…so.”
45. Tyler Swift – “EoW pFouHWz, pHFiLiPPeEnZZ!”

:lol::lol::lol: thanks for that one berns! thing cracked me up so bad :lol::lol:
i highlighted those that could actually be used. umm, what about the rest on the list you didn't put?

46. Travel at low cost, Ilocos.
47. Be here or be gone. Vigan.
48. Davao i made, i will keep.
49. Go back and load in Bacolod.
50. There's a Camsur for every Mam,sir. (Hello mamsir) :D
51. Seek a whore, sleep ashore, Siquijor. :D
52. Gimme lass with some ass, Guimaras :D
53. She hit the flow, next thing you know, shorty got Iloilo iloilo iloilo..

:lol:

^^ Iloilo :lol: Ask Bernie what he thinks about your Iloilo idea.

^^ adopt these? yeah it will work for the JEJETOURISTS!! haha

only the last one seems to associate with jejemon lingo.

Snow falls in Baguio


Saturday, 04 December 2010 00:00

BAGUIO CITY: A Baguio city councilor on Friday said that tourists and residents will experience a winter wonderland in the country’s summer capital, as snowflakes would fall on Session road.
According to City Councilor Elmer Datuin, Chairman of Tourism Committee, the shower of artificial snowflakes will be done by using six machines along Session Road.

Datuin said that the 18-day “Snow Show” would start today. He added that the residents and visitors must be ready to wear their winter clothes for the Christmas event.

Besides the newest tourist attraction, Datuin said that the city government has also lined up several activities that would kick off this year’s holiday celebration.

The councilor added that tourists and residents are so excited on the upcoming events of the city government, specially the snow shower.

He said the event has been proposed for the past few years by the city local government, but did not happen because of some issues.

Six snow machines will be installed along Porta Vaga. The snow shower will start at 6:30 p.m. and would last for 5 minutes.

At least P400,000 was allotted to sustain the 18-day snow fall at Session Road, said Leticia Clemente, Baguio City budget officer.

According to her, the snow show is one of the treat of the city government to the community. She added that everyone is invited to attend the said activity.

Margielyn N. Odasco And Arianne Sinong



http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/33779-snow-falls-in-baguio

‘Balay ni Tan Juan’

By Carla Gomez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:50:00 12/03/2010

Filed Under: history

BAGO CITY, Philippines—The home of Gen. Juan Anacleto Araneta, a hero of the revolution that led to the surrender of Spaniards in Negros Island on Nov. 5, 1898, has been turned into a museum that houses the legacies and heritage of the Bagonhons, says its curator Clem del Castillo.

The Gen. Juan Anacleto Araneta Residence and Landmark Museum also known as the “Balay ni Tan Juan,” located at the corner of Rizal and Matti Streets in the city of Bago in Negros Occidental is a reminder of the role residents of Bago played in the liberation of Negros from Spain.

In October 1898, General Araneta, or Tan Juan as he was fondly known, was elected chief of the southern zone of the province by the secretly organized local revolutionary forces.

After being informed by the north that Negros will rise in revolt on Nov. 5, 1898, Araneta sent a message on the evening of Nov. 4 addressed to all the presidents of the revolutionary committees of Southern Negros rallying the people to revolt against “those who had come to enslave us three centuries ago,” Del Castillo says.

From Bago, Araneta led about 2,000 men from Matab-ang in Talisay while Gen. Aniceto Lacson led about 8,000 men who marched to Bacolod carrying nipa stalks with shiny knives attached to them to look like guns and rolled sawali mats painted black like cannons.

From the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod the Spanish officials, through their telescopes, saw large formations of soldiers approaching from the north and south that appeared to be heavily armed with rifles and cannons.

Sensing his defeat, Spanish Governor Isidro de Castro surrendered to Araneta and Lacson in Bacolod City.

Because of this feat borne out of a bluff, Araneta and Lacson remained the all-time favorite heroes of most Negrenses.

The “Balay ni Tan Juan,” established in memory of Araneta, was built in the late 1800s. It is a typical “Balay Bato,” an architectural style prevalent in the Philippines during the Spanish Era, Del Castillo says.

The house was originally owned by Natividad Sitchon Palacios, a niece of Tan Juan. In 1906, General Araneta offered to buy the house from her but she chose to give it to him in gratitude for the house he gave her in Araneta’s property in Hacienda Fermina, del Castillo adds.

General Araneta occupied the house as he wanted to live within the poblacion for the remainder of his life.

He lived in the house until Oct. 3, 1924 when he died. However his family continued to live in it until after World War II.

The house later became a high school building, an office for the Department of Public Works and Highways and the National Irrigation Administration, until 1979, when it was donated to the City of Bago.

Before it was donated to the city, the National Historical Institute put a historical marker on the house in 1978. With the help of the National Historical Institute, the house was restored in 1982, Del Castillo says.

The house was first opened as a lifestyle museum in 1996 during the Second Araneta Family Reunion. In 2002, it was recognized as a museum internationally with the guidance of the Swedish African Museum Program. In 2004, it was inaugurated as a community museum, and opened the Kabuhi sa Bago Exhibit, featuring the life in the villages of Bago City.

^^ Iloilo :lol: Ask Bernie what he thinks about your Iloilo idea.



only the last one seems to associate with jejemon lingo.

i know.. The thing is, those slogan sounds so much like the MASA, so i associated it with the JEJEs.. hehe

DFA: Phl, Iran sign tourism agreement (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=635480&publicationSubCategoryId=200)


Good news.

Iran is the first country in my mind that I would love to visit first.

I want to taste its caviar souced from the fishes in lake Baikal.:banana::banana::banana:

I got some invitations to go to Iran. Not business tho, kaya at my own expense. Siempre di naman ako kasing yaman ng mga Iranian friends. Most of them (if not all) who manage to come to the Phil are from well-to-do families. Someone who is renting a small unit in PRC, Sta Ana mentioned that his room back in Iran is like a hotel suite. But then he prefers to stay in the Phil for some good reasons. Even if that means he has to sell kwekkwek and fishball for a living.

Well, I just learned from those guys that it snows in the northern part of Iran.

I really like their kebabs - chicken and beef. They cook their rice a certain way that makes it very delicious. Suddenly, Iran has become an attractive destination to me.

Surigao's 'Bugkosan' festival draws more tourists
By MIKE U. CRISMUNDO and PIA
December 4, 2010, 9:26pm

SURIGAO CITY, Philippines – The 2010 “Bugkosan” Festival is drawing more and more tourists, both foreign and domestic, in the scenic Pacific Ocean-facing islands of Dinagat, in Surigao del Norte province in Northeastern Mindanao (Caraga region).

The 2010 “Bugkosan” Festival, which started on Nov. 28 and will end on Dec. 7, is a collaborative effort of the seven dynamic municipalities in Dinagat Islands, the national line agencies, non-government organizations and people's organizations.

The festival showcases harvest time in agricultural and aqua marine programs, exhibition of modern medical tourism, sports tourism, cultural and historical tourism, bio-diversity and eco-tourism; exhibits featuring dazzling array of the Dinagatnons' talents in different fields of visual art works, handicrafts; high-valued local food and beverages, and traditional songs and dances.

“Bugkosan” was organized for sustainable advocacies and networking developments.

It is a celebration of Dinagat Islands' charter embodied in Republic Act 9355.

Dinagat Islands solon Rep. Glenda Ecleo said the celebration depicts the thanksgiving ritual of collectivity geared in the spirit of “bayanihan” and the continuing aspiration of the province to uplift its local economy.

Also highlights of the 2010 “Bugkosan” festival are such culture-laden programs as the Search for Prinsesa Dina and Prinsepe Gat, Bugkosan Street Dancing Mardi Gras Competition, Bugkosan Stationary Dancing Competition, Sad-Sad sa Bugkosan, Inter-Office Sports Tournament; and the simultaneous switching on of Christmas lights in Dinagat Islands.

“This festivity is very colorful and everybody is invited,” Ecleo said.



http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/290974/surigaos-bugkosan-festival-draws-more-tourists

Snow falls in Baguio

Saturday, 04 December 2010 00:00

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/33779-snow-falls-in-baguio

that's so cool!!:cool::okay:
2vNcRKac1sk

mas maganda sana kung maga-accumulate...:D

:cheers:

^^ wow, i didnt know Manang's nightly laundrying upstairs with an electric fan cost P400,000 to do in a span of 18 days. :D why, how much does the TIDE Taba bars cost and her labor? :D j/k

unless they bought the ones like in HK Disneyland. hehe

^^ Iloilo :lol: Ask Bernie what he thinks about your Iloilo idea.

hahaha i doubt itll pass his approval :D
but we can always go back to "Iloilo Hello Hello" or "EoW EoW pFouHWz IoW IoW" :lol:

^^ haha, oo nga soap suds daw ung ginamit...:lol::nuts: totoo ba yun?? sana naman talaga ung totoong snow machines ang gamitin...:lol:

it looked cool though on the video--white stuff falling on Session Road hehe...:D

toinks, bubula ka pala pag nagpaulan ka ng matagal:D

babanlaw ka na lang libre sabon na:D hahaha


ariel kaya o yung gamit ng mga wise?:D

that's so cool!!:cool::okay:
2vNcRKac1sk

mas maganda sana kung maga-accumulate...:D

:cheers:

i don't think it's soap suds.....nice idea to promote baguio....pipol will go crazy to experience that ....kahit man-made...cool idea....di ba bertie lim.....ganyan ang mga idea na patok.....hindi PILIPINAS KAY GANDA..:lol:

hahaha i doubt itll pass his approval :D
but we can always go back to "Iloilo Hello Hello" or "EoW EoW pFouHWz IoW IoW" :lol:

Ok lang. I was thinking of "Iloilo Baby You Call Back and Hear a Thing..." :lol:

“We Fly High In Capiz!”

hahaha! :lol::lol:

Travel executive says pocket open skies will not impact on tourist arrivals
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes (The Philippine Star) Updated December 05, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

MANILA, Philippines – A tourism industry leader and open skies advocate said proposals to declare pocket open skies in some major provincial airports will have no effect on tourist arrivals unless other concerns are first addressed.

Robert Lim Joseph, chairman of the Travel Cooperative of the Philippines said lawmakers recently thumbed down bills proposing pocket open skies in certain provincial airports supposedly to attract tourists.

“Apparently the bills are not needed at present because foreign airlines can readily come but only they are not using their entitlements,” he said.

The lawmakers’ action was prompted by testimonies from Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) deputy executive director Porvenir Porciuncula and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) head executive assistant Atty. Joseph Ray Gumabon that an open skies policy does not guarantee more foreign flights and more tourists unless other relevant issues such as aviation safety, peace and order, security, and infrastructure are addressed.

They cited that even with the issuance of Executive Order 500 and 500-A declaring pocket open skies in the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga, tourists did not come in droves and foreign airlines did not mount more flights. The budget airlines, they said, were already operating in Clark when EO 500 was issued by former President Arroyo in 2006.

“We cannot give for free our air rights. Why give our air rights for free if they (foreign airlines) won’t come anyway. We gave European, Asian and US carriers rights to fly to the Philippines but where are the tourists. The European carriers even left us,” Joseph said.

He, however, clarified that he is not against open skies as long as there is fair exchange of air rights with foreign countries. “If we give our rights for free, the Philippines will not have any bargaining position during air negotiations.”

Joseph said the government should concentrate on promotions, infrastructure development, maintenance of peace and order, and cleanliness to and from airports and tourist destinations.

He noted that the one-sided open skies being proposed by advocates would allow, for example, Singapore Airlines to fly from Singapore to Clark, then pick up passengers there and fly them to the United States. He said this is against national interest but good for the brokers because of GSA (General Sales Agent) commissions.

It was learned during the hearing that 47.4 million airline seats are available per year but only 10.97 million seats were utilized by both foreign and local carriers last year, disputing the claim by open skies proponents that there is lack of airline seats.

Out of these 10.7 million seats that were used, only three million seats were availed of by tourists.

I like this....


Travel Time now in magazine
(The Philippine Star) Updated December 05, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0)

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3762/ent10.jpg

Susan Calo Medina, your reliable travel companion to various exciting Philippine destinations with her award-winning travel show Travel Time (ANC Saturdays 9:30 a.m. with replays Wednesdays 10:30 p.m.), brings the Philippine archipelago and other foreign destinations closer to the readers with her Susan’s Travel Time, The Magazine.


MANILA, Philippines - Susan Calo Medina, your reliable travel companion to various exciting Philippine destinations with her award-winning travel show Travel Time (ANC Saturdays 9:30 a.m. with replays Wednesdays 10:30 p.m.), brings the Philippine archipelago and other foreign destinations closer to the readers with her Susan’s Travel Time, The Magazine.

Undecided where to go on your honeymoon? Where to go and what to do with your limited budget? Where to shop and eat native delicacies that you can’t always find in the bustling metro? Travel Time, The Magazine has all the answers and more.

Lala Dimaano is managing editor with Floy Quintos as creative director.

For its maiden issue, the magazine will have two major features on Philippine destinations: Negros Oriental (Nature and Nurture in Negros Oriental) as the cover story and Surigao del Sur (Surigao del Sur: The Paradise It Could Be) as an emerging destination featured in the section, Detour. Both of these stories will have personal notes from Susan. The two articles are written by Floy.

The magazine also contains exciting articles for seasoned and occasional travelers: Letters from Abroad (inside information on the best places to visit in a foreign destination as written by a resident). For the first issue, it will feature Singapore with Soul written by Noelle de Jesus; Flavors (Culinary Trips) — The Flavors of Pampanga with a recipe of the near-legendary Medina Ensaimada; Soul (Arts and Culture) — UST’s Lumina Pandit by Lito Zulueta; Whole (Wellness Tourism) — Hilot: The Filipino’s Ability to Touch and Heal. The story will feature several recommended spas with Hilot treatments; Quick and Easy (Budget Trips) — Baguio: The P5,000 Challenge (Enjoy a three-day vacation in Baguio with your friends for less than P5,000 each); Dossier — An Insider’s Guide to 168 Shopping; Market — A list of Christmas Bazaars; Celebrate — A list of Philippine festivals from October-December; On Stage — A list of CCP performances from October-December; Memo (Tourism Industry News) — Following a Gold Standard. An interview with Department of Tourism Sec. Alberto Lim; Travel Green — Are We There Yet? Tips on how you can travel without harming the environment by Anna Ignacio of WWF Philippines; Savvy — More Peanuts, Please? Silly airline questions answered; and By Demand — ‘Tis the Season to Say “I DO!” Philippine Wedding Destinations.

Travel Time Magazine is available in National Bookstore, Mini Stop, 7-11 and gasoline station convenience stores.

They are asking for "protection for local carriers"?

PAL is really incompetent to ask for this special protection... Ilang dekada na tong kumpanya na to incompetent parin.
How come Cebu pacific can compete with international carries while they can't??

thank God for Cebu Pacific.. may pag asa pa ang airline industry natin dahil sa kumpanyang ito... and they did a lot to help boost the Tourism traffic in the country.

while PAL always asks for government protection which is a conflict of interest for the tourism goals of the country.

I expect nothing less from Lucio Tan and his cohorts. I prefer Cebu Pacific and have flown with them a few times. Philippine Airlines will never ever get my hard earned money.

@ Wino, ^^^ Cebu Pacific is a low cost airlines, it is easy to get PAL run out of business because first all, the passengers are always looking for a much better deal with as low fair as they can possibly can. What PAL is experiencing is no different than most legacy international carrier that's that are all going bankrupt, this is explain the merger of alot of these airline companies. It has something to do with fewer tourists are traveling these days, I mean far far places where it is more expensive so they would visit places that are not too far and would usually go with LCC because it is mostly more than half cheaper than legacy carriers. In the Philippines, the low airfare cost and the convience of a shorter travel is very attractive to tourist and non tourist who are mostly locals on top of foreign nationals. I have nothing against Cebu Pacific, more power to them as far as I am concern, I do wanted to see them prosper because they made airtravel affordable with the average Juan. I also never had problems with PAL and as far as I am concern, they are even have better service than the former Northwest airline, admittingly, PAL is still behind Cathy Pacific, Singapore Airlines and such.

I expect nothing less from Lucio Tan and his cohorts. I prefer Cebu Pacific and have flown with them a few times. Philippine Airlines will never ever get my hard earned money.

Opposite pala tayo. Cebu Pacific screwed me so many times that I wont fly with Cebu Pacific anymore. Cebu Pacific is probably the Philippines' most hated airline.

Tourism services school to start sessions next year
Sunday, 05 December 2010 18:42 Max V. de Leon / Reporter


FRANCHISE Investments Holdings Inc. (FIHC), a company put up by a group of Filipino businessmen to support the growth of the domestic franchise industry, has secured the master franchise for the Canadian Tourism & Hospitality Institute (CTHI) and is now looking at establishing schools in key tourists spots in the country.

Samie Lim, one of the incorporators of FIHC, said the goal of the school is to improve the quality of personnel and managers in the Philippine tourism industry through world-class education and training.

Lim said CTHI’s first campus will be built on Edsa and will start classes in June, although it has now started a series of seminars for industry executives.

The school, Lim said, offers specialized courses in the areas of hospitality, tourism and airline services. The tuition for two-year courses range from P150,000 to P250,000 annually.

The idea, he said, is to establish CTHI campuses either through franchising or joint venture in tourist spots such as Palawan, Boracay, Davao, Cebu, Baguio and Bohol.

“We hope to set the benchmark and we want to be the premier school so other people will follow. We are going to any place that is attracting tourists and people have come to us and said they want to put up the school there,” Lim told the BusinessMirror.

He said hotels can also convert their unutilized spaces to CHTI. Lim is also open to bringing its teachers and instruction materials to schools in the provinces that want to tie up with CHTI in offering specialized tourism and hospitality courses.

Being the owner of the master franchise for Asia, Lim said their group will also be looking for subfranchisees in other countries in the region.


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/4535-tourism-services-school-to-start-sessions-next-year

http://www.mb.com.ph/sites/default/files/images/session.jpg


WHITE CHRISTMAS

Thousands of people frolic on Session Road in front of Porta Vaga on Saturday night, Dec. 4, 2010, to experience the first snowfall in Baguio City, artificially produced by two fogging machines to give the city the feel of a white Christmas. (Photo by RIZALDY COMANDA) See also: Baguio set to earn P375 M from Christmas activities


http://www.mb.com.ph/

November 18, 2010 – The Top Ten Tourism Slogans For The Philippines (Or A Province, Or A City)
1.Ant Anonymous-''More Asia, than Malaysia.''- maghamon ba ng gyera?.....
2. RVincent – “Boom Boom Mayon! Bye Bye Albay.”-
3. Kid Bukid – “Bohol: Go To Hill!”
4. Rogue – “Bakat Sa Mabalacat.”
5. Puputot – “Be Cool, Bicol!”
6. Manuel Caceres – “Make Roro To Mindoro!”
7. Callie Burn – “Haller, Baler!”
8. Joltino – “San Juan, Juan-derful!”
9. Jaye Delassy – “Pinas, Ganda Mo Teh!”-baklang-bakla naman nito,ahehehe:lol:
10. Axel – “Cubao. Bow.”
11. Franzen – “Maganda Raw, Sa Tuguegarao.”
12. Greg – “Mag Masbate Araw-Araw!”
13. Poljeffrey – “Sa Pandacan, Big Time Ka!”
14. Inoman/Joti/Farrah – “Thanks For Coming, Camiguin!”
15. Jaye Delassy – “PH OK! PH OK!”
16. Tyler Swift – “Tata Tete Titi Toto Tutuban!”
17. Kroo Kroo/Lee/Mrs. DJ – “Make A Baby in Macabebe!”-sex tourism?hahaha
18. Ugly Kid Joey/Homer Singson – “Virac, You Rock!”
19. Blitzkrieg – “Kamuning Get Me!”
20. Chez Kitron – “Bongga Ka Day, Sa Norzagaray!”-isa pa tong baklang-bakla!:nuts:
21. Acer – “In Na In Sa Philippine.”
22. Elton Dot Org – “Hanap Mo Ba Maluwag, Halina Sa Laoag!”23. Copochax – “Go Gaga In Naga!”-kakabaliw!!wew:clown:
24. Anika Bananika – “Quezon In The Zone.”
25. Gracia – “Vigan, Punta Na KaiVigan!”
26. Gracia – “Kung Ikaw Ay Pagod, Gulong Mo Ay Pudpod…Pagudpod!”-parang bugtong ah!!
27. Poljeffrey – “Babaeng Balbon, Marami Sa Malabon!”-kadiri hahaha
28. Milky Me – “Better Leyte Than Never!”
29. Lady Gaguard – “Ang Lupet Ng Calumpit!”
30. Alboy – “Boracay, You Sexy Beach!”
31. Confused Soul – “We Fly High In Capiz!”--LOL:lol::lol::rofl:
32. No Name – “Whee! Tawi-Tawi!”
33. Cappuccino – “Tikman Ag Kalinga Ng Kalinga.”
34. Cappuccino – “Walang Aayaw Sa Apayao.”
35. Joti – “A Long Long Time Agoo.”
36. Antipatikong Guwapito – “Maliit Navotas, Lumalaki!”-nyahahaha:nuts:
37. Jay – “Bulacan CAN!”
38. Puputot – “Maraming Gig Sa Taguig!”
39. Gooey Kablooey/Dennis Pinch – “Be Happy And Gay At Baclaran!”-eto pinaka-bakla!!!
40. Grant – “El Nido. It’s Everybody’s Milk!”-:rofl:
41. Lloyd – “It’s Not A Summer Vacation, Unless It’s A Samar Vacation!”
42. Denzel – “Kamias: May Asim Pa!”
43. Froyo18 – “Bagong Antique!”
44. Targrod – “Sa Marinduque, Malalaki Ang Pu…so.”
45. Tyler Swift – “EoW pFouHWz, pHFiLiPPeEnZZ!”[/QUOTE]

kakabaliw ang mga slogan na toh!!!hahaha:rofl:

^^napakabastos naman ng no.12

Opposite pala tayo. Cebu Pacific screwed me so many times that I wont fly with Cebu Pacific anymore. Cebu Pacific is probably the Philippines' most hated airline.

Is that the reason why Cebu Pacific is doing well in the Philippines and beyond giving the "other" airline so much to worry about.:cheers:

^^yes hated, thats why cebu pacific is the fastest growing airline in RP, bound to surpass PAL.LOL:lol:
sumabat lang po...

^^napakabastos naman ng no.12

oo nga noh!... ngayun ko lang napansin... actually,araw2X kong routine yan...hahaha:nuts:

mr. lim has his work cut out for him....get off your fat asses, DOT and get to work triple time.....


Analyst: PHL needs to move on from ‘Wow’ branding
Sunday, 05 December 2010 20:52 Dennis D. Estopace / Reporter


WHILE the Tourism Department was pilloried for its tagline fiasco, a country branding expert said going back to the old “Wow! Philippines!” may not also be such a good idea.

“I don’t think is a great tagline. It falls into the category of Amazing Thailand, Incredible India and former Uniquely Singapore, but has been given far less marketing spend to build meaning into the phrase,” FutureBrand Inc. Singapore chief executive Tim Riches told the BusinessMirror in an electronic mail.

Riches, who is also FutureBrand’s chief growth officer in Asia Pacific, also bared details why the Philippines plunged from overall rank of 35 to 65 in his company’s 2010 Country Brand Index.

“The headline point for (the) Philippines from this year’s study is that it suffered the largest decline of any country relative to 2009,” he said.

Riches noted that the Philippines’s rank from 110 countries was very weak in terms of heritage and culture (#101 of 110); low to moderate in terms of being good for business (#73) and in tourism (#78); weak in terms of quality of life (#90); and, low in terms of value system (#82).

To note, revious newsreports on the FutureBrands CBI failed to reveal these scores.

The 2010 CBI “is an in-depth study that explores the complexity, dynamics and benefits of how nations manifest as brands,” a press statement accompanying the report said.

“The strength of a country brand is determined in the same way as any other brand –it is measured on levels of awareness, familiarity, preference, consideration, advocacy and active decisions to visit.  However, the most important factors that truly differentiate a nation(‘s) brand are its associations and attributes –the qualities that people think of when they hear a Country’s name, read or see images of a location, or  plan a  business or leisure trip.”

According to Riches, of the total 3,400 international business and leisure travellers from 13 countries polled for the report, the Philippines is not one of the countries in which we gather data. The countries included in the poll were Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Riches explained that the drop in the country’s ranking “is partly because the data that underpin the study were gathered at the time of the Manila bus hijacking, contributing to Philippines being ranked 103 of the 110 countries studied for safety.”

“The net effect of all this is that Philippines ranking in terms of advocacy –the preparedness to recommend to family and friends- is 90 of 110, so there is a lot of work to do.”

However, he said that “beyond that specific issue, there is widespread weakness across most dimensions of the country’s brand reputation.”

“In fact, the only moderate highlight is Value for Money, Philippines highest ranked attribute, at #31.”

When asked about the recent re-branding attempt by the Department of Tourism, with the tagline “Pilipinas, Kay Ganda,” Riches said the Philippines “is not internationally well-recognized for natural beauty in which area it ranks #78 –even if potential tourists understood what [the tagline ‘Kay Ganda’] meant.”

“This highlights a classic branding challenge between internal expectations (who you’re trying to please) and credible external appeal (who you’re trying to attract). Along these lines, it’s also easy to fall into generic traps like ‘our greatest strength is our people,’ which always plays well domestically, but must translate into a relevant benefit that drives demand.”

However, Riches doesn’t see going back to the “Wow! Philippines!” as a solution to this.

“While it expresses something of the Filipino personality, I don’t think they say anything in particular, and I’d suggest that with advocacy ranking at 90, and user generated content  –which is of course a form of advocacy– these days more credible to define whether a country has the ‘Wow’ factor, I think it’s time to move on from that tagline.”

Riches said that in the long term, the Philippines must nurture “an industry in which distinctive, appealing destinations can thrive, with product innovation and investment from local and international operators must be aligned to communications efforts.”

“While closing the negative perception and reality gap should be a priority, long term appeal for the country can only be based on a great product,” he added.

However, in his opinion, the “Philippines will only fall further behind regional up and comers like Vietnam and Indonesia, and more firmly established country marketers like Malaysia and Thailand” if the country remains lacking “a coordinated approach.”

“Country Brand Index shows that the region as a whole contains many emerging powerful country brands, so the competitive pressure will only get more intense in future.”

According to FutureBrands, it calculated the overall country brand score using its hierarchical decision model, which measures overall country brand performance in the following areas:  awareness; familiarity; associations; preference; consideration; decision / visitation; and, advocacy.

It said the company also looked at the measured perceptions of five key association dimensions, namely: tourism; heritage and culture; good for business; quality of life; and, value system.


[I] http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/economy/4564-analyst-phl-needs-to-move-on-from-wow-branding

^^^^

is it just me or the resource person for the article is boldly stating, "hire us! hire us!" or maybe it's just my imagination playing with my judgment. :)

^^maybe ut will be money well spent if we hire the best PR company.




:horse:

i guess we need to clearly define first what we are really aiming for to achieve in the tourism sector and what we want the world to see and experience in the philippines before we find ways to develope our strategy around it.

Tourism services school to start sessions next year
Sunday, 05 December 2010 18:42 Max V. de Leon / Reporter


FRANCHISE Investments Holdings Inc. (FIHC), a company put up by a group of Filipino businessmen to support the growth of the domestic franchise industry, has secured the master franchise for the Canadian Tourism & Hospitality Institute (CTHI) and is now looking at establishing schools in key tourists spots in the country.

Samie Lim, one of the incorporators of FIHC, said the goal of the school is to improve the quality of personnel and managers in the Philippine tourism industry through world-class education and training.

Lim said CTHI’s first campus will be built on Edsa and will start classes in June, although it has now started a series of seminars for industry executives.

The school, Lim said, offers specialized courses in the areas of hospitality, tourism and airline services. The tuition for two-year courses range from P150,000 to P250,000 annually.

The idea, he said, is to establish CTHI campuses either through franchising or joint venture in tourist spots such as Palawan, Boracay, Davao, Cebu, Baguio and Bohol.

“We hope to set the benchmark and we want to be the premier school so other people will follow. We are going to any place that is attracting tourists and people have come to us and said they want to put up the school there,” Lim told the BusinessMirror.

He said hotels can also convert their unutilized spaces to CHTI. Lim is also open to bringing its teachers and instruction materials to schools in the provinces that want to tie up with CHTI in offering specialized tourism and hospitality courses.

Being the owner of the master franchise for Asia, Lim said their group will also be looking for subfranchisees in other countries in the region.


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/4535-tourism-services-school-to-start-sessions-next-year

why add another tourism school when there's a surplus of tourism or hrm graduates in the country who cant find jobs in their own field. is the high tuition cost worth its name?

Tourism-land reform issue troubles Guimaras

ILOILO/TACLOBAN -- Agrarian reform also has its downside, particularly on agri-tourism of Guimaras island, according to the province’s tourism official.

Guimaras tourism officer Angeles E. Gabinete said in a recent Visayas agribusiness forum that the comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP) has divided mango plantations -- a major tourist attraction on the island -- into small lots for agrarian reform beneficiaries.

"Guimaras is a small island and its main product is mangoes, a showcase of the island’s fruit and tourism potentials. Yet, this small endeavor was shaken by the inroads of CARP in productive mango lands," Ms. Gabinete said.

She cited the land of Oro Verde Holdings, once a top mango plantation and mango manufacturing center in the country.

Oro Verde covers more than 237 hectares of mango plantation and became a premier tourist attraction and showcase on the island. Domestic, national and foreign tourists who visit Guimaras visit the plantation and other manufacturing centers inside the complex that produce hundreds of mango-based products for foreign markets.

However, most of the plantation has been awarded to CARP beneficiaries starting in 2006, resulting in the partitioning of the land into small unproductive lots and the withdrawal of equipment and skilled personnel of Oro Verde and Marsman Corp.

Ms. Gabinete cited this as an example of inconsistent, uncoordinated national and local government policies.

She said this could have been avoided had the departments of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, and of Agrarian Reform -- which now form the National Convergence Initiative (NCI) -- discussed this issue.

NCI head Marriz B. Agbon, president of the Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp., had said she would hold meetings to address Guimaras’s concerns.

Under the NCI, the three departments are supposed to coordinate closely in promoting agribusiness and sustainable ecosystem management, with the ultimate end in view of pushing the development of rural economies. -- F. A. L. Angelo with RLA


http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=22380

:(




No snow but soap suds in Baguio ‘winter’

By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer Northern Luzon
First Posted 01:56:00 12/06/2010

Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Tourism, Human Interest


BAGUIO CITY—A huge crowd hoping to get a feel of winter in this summer capital was treated instead on Saturday night to soap foams floating in the cool air instead of ice flakes in what was billed as “snow show.”

Angry spectators denounced the snow fakery.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 people packed a 200-meter stretch of downtown Session Road for a glimpse of the Christmas project on the drawing board since 2008.

Families and their children and students who participated in a lantern parade celebrating the centennial of Saint Louis University jostled with visitors from neighboring provinces for the widely publicized spectacle.

They kept the mood light by counting down to the scheduled shower of icicles from the rooftop of Porta Vaga Mall. Three countdowns later, there still was no snow.

Operators said they had problems with the four portable snow machines. But when the equipment finally rumbled to life, what they generated were not snow flakes but soap suds to the disappointment of the crowd, especially parents standing for hours with children on their shoulders.

“May naglalaba sa itaas (Someone is washing clothes up there),” a spectator shouted.

Marlon Camates, Porta Vaga’s marketing executive, said he was not sure how the show drew such a large crowd. “All we did was set up a banner,” he said, referring to the announcement at the mall entrance proclaiming, “Let it snow.”

Former mayor’s idea

The project was conceptualized by former Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., but questions about its impact on the environment forced him to shelve it in 2008.

Councilor Elmer Datuin, chair of the local tourism committee, revived the project, spending P420,000 to hire a contractor to secure the snow machines in Manila.

The machines ejected streams of soap suds produced from four-liter containers of commercial bubble liquid—no snow.

Despite their disappointment, the people stayed on to watch the show for 30 minutes before moving out of the traffic-jammed streets.

Datuin, using a megaphone, tried to pacify the crowd, promising “to improve this show”—scheduled for 18 days until New Year’s Eve.

“We hope that we gave the people the entertainment that they were looking for because they were always [asking] for something new. I hope it is entertainment worth remembering,” Datuin said.

Facebook page

A Facebook page, created by “a concerned Baguio citizen,” criticized the show. One follower posted a photograph of the event captioned, “Snow Faked!” One entry described it as “utterly disgusting!”

Precy Andres, a 40-year-old nurse who had worked in New York, said:

“I miss the snow, that is why I came here to witness something historical. I was very excited and I did not mind squeezing through this crowd to wait for two hours just to see and feel the snow again. But I am very disappointed. To think that I even brought my 13-year-old son to witness it.” With reports from Desiree Caluza and Eugenice Bautista, Inquirer Northern Luzon

Opposite pala tayo. Cebu Pacific screwed me so many times that I wont fly with Cebu Pacific anymore. Cebu Pacific is probably the Philippines' most hated airline.

Mas Malala daw ang Zest Airways according to my friend batangyagit and byahilo also backed it up.

^^ i never flown Zest Air but Cebu Pacific is alright. Don't they claim to have the youngest fleet of aircraft in any airlines in PI? so i always get this feeling of comfort and safety when i fly with them. My only complaint about them is their being delayed a lot. but thats just it. :)

Ok lang. I was thinking of "Iloilo Baby You Call Back and Hear a Thing..." :lol:

haha berns, i like that. but who among the Ilongos here will do the singing ala sunshine corazon?:D
oh, nice glasses by the way. :D :lol::lol:

:(
No snow but soap suds in Baguio ‘winter’

First Posted 01:56:00 12/06/2010

A Facebook page, created by “a concerned Baguio citizen,” criticized the show. One follower posted a photograph of the event captioned, “Snow Faked!” One entry described it as “utterly disgusting!”


awww, add to their frustration of discovering Santa as no more than Tito Boy dressed in fake white beards, and you'll have a very very sad Christmas for you guys up there in Baguio. :D :lol: j/k did they really think they'll get the real stuff? instead of a snow show, theyd be like all scrambling to catch as much snow as they could with their balde to make halo halo with :D

mr. lim has his work cut out for him....get off your fat asses, DOT and get to work triple time.....


Analyst: PHL needs to move on from ‘Wow’ branding
Sunday, 05 December 2010 20:52 Dennis D. Estopace / Reporter


WHILE the Tourism Department was pilloried for its tagline fiasco, a country branding expert said going back to the old “Wow! Philippines!” may not also be such a good idea.

“I don’t think is a great tagline. It falls into the category of Amazing Thailand, Incredible India and former Uniquely Singapore, but has been given far less marketing spend to build meaning into the phrase,” FutureBrand Inc. Singapore chief executive Tim Riches told the BusinessMirror in an electronic mail.

Riches, who is also FutureBrand’s chief growth officer in Asia Pacific, also bared details why the Philippines plunged from overall rank of 35 to 65 in his company’s 2010 Country Brand Index.

“The headline point for (the) Philippines from this year’s study is that it suffered the largest decline of any country relative to 2009,” he said.

Riches noted that the Philippines’s rank from 110 countries was very weak in terms of heritage and culture (#101 of 110); low to moderate in terms of being good for business (#73) and in tourism (#78); weak in terms of quality of life (#90); and, low in terms of value system (#82).

To note, revious newsreports on the FutureBrands CBI failed to reveal these scores.

The 2010 CBI “is an in-depth study that explores the complexity, dynamics and benefits of how nations manifest as brands,” a press statement accompanying the report said.

“The strength of a country brand is determined in the same way as any other brand –it is measured on levels of awareness, familiarity, preference, consideration, advocacy and active decisions to visit.  However, the most important factors that truly differentiate a nation(‘s) brand are its associations and attributes –the qualities that people think of when they hear a Country’s name, read or see images of a location, or  plan a  business or leisure trip.”

According to Riches, of the total 3,400 international business and leisure travellers from 13 countries polled for the report, the Philippines is not one of the countries in which we gather data. The countries included in the poll were Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Riches explained that the drop in the country’s ranking “is partly because the data that underpin the study were gathered at the time of the Manila bus hijacking, contributing to Philippines being ranked 103 of the 110 countries studied for safety.”

“The net effect of all this is that Philippines ranking in terms of advocacy –the preparedness to recommend to family and friends- is 90 of 110, so there is a lot of work to do.”

However, he said that “beyond that specific issue, there is widespread weakness across most dimensions of the country’s brand reputation.”

“In fact, the only moderate highlight is Value for Money, Philippines highest ranked attribute, at #31.”

When asked about the recent re-branding attempt by the Department of Tourism, with the tagline “Pilipinas, Kay Ganda,” Riches said the Philippines “is not internationally well-recognized for natural beauty in which area it ranks #78 –even if potential tourists understood what [the tagline ‘Kay Ganda’] meant.”

“This highlights a classic branding challenge between internal expectations (who you’re trying to please) and credible external appeal (who you’re trying to attract). Along these lines, it’s also easy to fall into generic traps like ‘our greatest strength is our people,’ which always plays well domestically, but must translate into a relevant benefit that drives demand.”

However, Riches doesn’t see going back to the “Wow! Philippines!” as a solution to this.

“While it expresses something of the Filipino personality, I don’t think they say anything in particular, and I’d suggest that with advocacy ranking at 90, and user generated content  –which is of course a form of advocacy– these days more credible to define whether a country has the ‘Wow’ factor, I think it’s time to move on from that tagline.”

Riches said that in the long term, the Philippines must nurture “an industry in which distinctive, appealing destinations can thrive, with product innovation and investment from local and international operators must be aligned to communications efforts.”

“While closing the negative perception and reality gap should be a priority, long term appeal for the country can only be based on a great product,” he added.

However, in his opinion, the “Philippines will only fall further behind regional up and comers like Vietnam and Indonesia, and more firmly established country marketers like Malaysia and Thailand” if the country remains lacking “a coordinated approach.”

“Country Brand Index shows that the region as a whole contains many emerging powerful country brands, so the competitive pressure will only get more intense in future.”

According to FutureBrands, it calculated the overall country brand score using its hierarchical decision model, which measures overall country brand performance in the following areas:  awareness; familiarity; associations; preference; consideration; decision / visitation; and, advocacy.

It said the company also looked at the measured perceptions of five key association dimensions, namely: tourism; heritage and culture; good for business; quality of life; and, value system.


[I] http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/economy/4564-analyst-phl-needs-to-move-on-from-wow-branding

Self-Promotion. Another one of those marketing consultants trying to put down a potential client to trumpet their ability. Part of tourism's problems is money earmarked for tourism promotion is not well spent, or at least maximize. No advertising in right markets, weak overseas representation etc. As for the rest you can hire the best pr consultant, but the "doing business" part in the country is indeed a problem. No amount of pr can correct that unless the government turns itself around. Same as quality of life - healthcare, education etc are government initiatives regardless of pr, if the country doesn't spend and act on these, the country will still be in the bottom.

Future Brands rating basically follows the HDI measurement. If the country has high HDI chances are perception rating will be high too. Nothing a marketing consultant can do. Riches basically outlined what he cannot really do. Change the country. Image is one thing but the on the ground experience is numero uno. Like the HK hostage taking. Maybe he should start reading the comments and remarks on Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet forums etc and learn how to create the brand for the country using these comments as a starting point. The best measurement is the feedback method from those who have actually visited the country. I surely hope Sec Lim doesn't buy this pie in the sky proposition.

Bohol seeks investments in tourism, food ventures

Solon in Dubai to drum up business for province
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:51:00 12/05/2010

Filed Under: Philippines - Regions, Investments, Agriculture, Food, Tourism


DUBAI—Former Agriculture Secretary and now Bohol Representative Arthur Yap plans to bring in new investments in bed-and-breakfast inns, water and electricity infrastructure in the third district of Bohol as the area is groomed to become a tourism and food-production zone.

In an interview at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum global advisory council meetings here where the congressman sat at the food security council, Yap said the third district of Bohol could be developed into a haven for tourists who love outdoor adventures.

The third district of Bohol is home to the famous Chocolate Hills, the Loboc watershed area and the nine-hectare forest Raja Sikatuna National Park.

Yap said he wanted more nature parks, jogging trails, beaches, scuba-diving and snorkeling areas developed in his district to cater to adventurers.

These, he said, would give tourists good reasons to come back even after they have seen the famous Chocolate Hills and cruised along the Loboc river.

Although the neighboring first district has the famous beaches of Panglao, he said the richest flora and fauna in the province were in the third district.

“We’re trying to invite more boutique investors who can preserve the heritage of Bohol. In fact, there are a lot of old houses in the third district,” Yap said.

“We’ve been successful in convincing (owners to turn them into) bed-and-breakfast inns wherein families will continue to live in the house welcoming guests like what they also do in Europe. That way you preserve the quaint, unique culture of Bohol,” he said.

Bohol, located in Central Visayas of the Philippines, is one of the oldest Spanish settlements in the country.

Yap added that the government’s plan to develop an international airport in Bohol under the public-private partnership framework would also help boost tourist arrivals in the island. The proposed airport will be located at Panglao, in the first district.

Right now, Bohol Islands as a whole is the fifth most-visited tourist spot in the country, attracting nearly a million tourists per year, 60 percent of whom are domestic tourists.

Apart from the Bohol international airport, Yap said Bohol could benefit from more infrastructure projects.

“We’re looking for partners in electricity and water as well, especially in the third district, which is heavy on agriculture. I’ve been trying to find investors to come for food processing, so power and water have become an issue,” Yap said.

“We want to turn the third district into a tourism and food-production zone,” he said.

In the meantime, Yap said that apart from attending the WEF, he also had set meetings here with Pakistani and Indian wholesalers who could provide an offshore market for Bohol’s agricultural produce, such as bananas.

Yap said he could use his pork-barrel allotment and seek support from various government agencies to channel more funds in agribusiness projects that could boost incomes in Bohol.

“The island is big enough to take a bigger volume (of exports),” he said.

:(




No snow but soap suds in Baguio ‘winter’

By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer Northern Luzon
First Posted 01:56:00 12/06/2010

Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Tourism, Human Interest


BAGUIO CITY—A huge crowd hoping to get a feel of winter in this summer capital was treated instead on Saturday night to soap foams floating in the cool air instead of ice flakes in what was billed as “snow show.”

Angry spectators denounced the snow fakery.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 people packed a 200-meter stretch of downtown Session Road for a glimpse of the Christmas project on the drawing board since 2008.

Families and their children and students who participated in a lantern parade celebrating the centennial of Saint Louis University jostled with visitors from neighboring provinces for the widely publicized spectacle.

They kept the mood light by counting down to the scheduled shower of icicles from the rooftop of Porta Vaga Mall. Three countdowns later, there still was no snow.

Operators said they had problems with the four portable snow machines. But when the equipment finally rumbled to life, what they generated were not snow flakes but soap suds to the disappointment of the crowd, especially parents standing for hours with children on their shoulders.

“May naglalaba sa itaas (Someone is washing clothes up there),” a spectator shouted.

Marlon Camates, Porta Vaga’s marketing executive, said he was not sure how the show drew such a large crowd. “All we did was set up a banner,” he said, referring to the announcement at the mall entrance proclaiming, “Let it snow.”

Former mayor’s idea

The project was conceptualized by former Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., but questions about its impact on the environment forced him to shelve it in 2008.

Councilor Elmer Datuin, chair of the local tourism committee, revived the project, spending P420,000 to hire a contractor to secure the snow machines in Manila.

The machines ejected streams of soap suds produced from four-liter containers of commercial bubble liquid—no snow.

Despite their disappointment, the people stayed on to watch the show for 30 minutes before moving out of the traffic-jammed streets.

Datuin, using a megaphone, tried to pacify the crowd, promising “to improve this show”—scheduled for 18 days until New Year’s Eve.

“We hope that we gave the people the entertainment that they were looking for because they were always [asking] for something new. I hope it is entertainment worth remembering,” Datuin said.

Facebook page

A Facebook page, created by “a concerned Baguio citizen,” criticized the show. One follower posted a photograph of the event captioned, “Snow Faked!” One entry described it as “utterly disgusting!”

Precy Andres, a 40-year-old nurse who had worked in New York, said:

“I miss the snow, that is why I came here to witness something historical. I was very excited and I did not mind squeezing through this crowd to wait for two hours just to see and feel the snow again. But I am very disappointed. To think that I even brought my 13-year-old son to witness it.” With reports from Desiree Caluza and Eugenice Bautista, Inquirer Northern Luzon


Probably the classic example of "Too much to show, but little to offer."

^^They should have just gone to Star City in Pasay and paid for tickets at Snow World. http://www.goodfilipino.com/2009/12/star-city-entrance-fees-and-snow-world.html

:(




No snow but soap suds in Baguio ‘winter’

By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer Northern Luzon
First Posted 01:56:00 12/06/2010

Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Tourism, Human Interest


BAGUIO CITY—A huge crowd hoping to get a feel of winter in this summer capital was treated instead on Saturday night to soap foams floating in the cool air instead of ice flakes in what was billed as “snow show.”

Angry spectators denounced the snow fakery.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 people packed a 200-meter stretch of downtown Session Road for a glimpse of the Christmas project on the drawing board since 2008.

Families and their children and students who participated in a lantern parade celebrating the centennial of Saint Louis University jostled with visitors from neighboring provinces for the widely publicized spectacle.

They kept the mood light by counting down to the scheduled shower of icicles from the rooftop of Porta Vaga Mall. Three countdowns later, there still was no snow.

Operators said they had problems with the four portable snow machines. But when the equipment finally rumbled to life, what they generated were not snow flakes but soap suds to the disappointment of the crowd, especially parents standing for hours with children on their shoulders.

“May naglalaba sa itaas (Someone is washing clothes up there),” a spectator shouted.

Marlon Camates, Porta Vaga’s marketing executive, said he was not sure how the show drew such a large crowd. “All we did was set up a banner,” he said, referring to the announcement at the mall entrance proclaiming, “Let it snow.”

Former mayor’s idea

The project was conceptualized by former Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., but questions about its impact on the environment forced him to shelve it in 2008.

Councilor Elmer Datuin, chair of the local tourism committee, revived the project, spending P420,000 to hire a contractor to secure the snow machines in Manila.

The machines ejected streams of soap suds produced from four-liter containers of commercial bubble liquid—no snow.

Despite their disappointment, the people stayed on to watch the show for 30 minutes before moving out of the traffic-jammed streets.

Datuin, using a megaphone, tried to pacify the crowd, promising “to improve this show”—scheduled for 18 days until New Year’s Eve.

“We hope that we gave the people the entertainment that they were looking for because they were always [asking] for something new. I hope it is entertainment worth remembering,” Datuin said.

Facebook page

A Facebook page, created by “a concerned Baguio citizen,” criticized the show. One follower posted a photograph of the event captioned, “Snow Faked!” One entry described it as “utterly disgusting!”

Precy Andres, a 40-year-old nurse who had worked in New York, said:

“I miss the snow, that is why I came here to witness something historical. I was very excited and I did not mind squeezing through this crowd to wait for two hours just to see and feel the snow again. But I am very disappointed. To think that I even brought my 13-year-old son to witness it.” With reports from Desiree Caluza and Eugenice Bautista, Inquirer Northern Luzon


Wow, False Advertising:lol:

^^Haha!...ya that was a funny story...

baka may mga naglalaba sa taas ng building. :lol: di kaya nagkandahilam yung mga tao doon e nakatingala pa naman sila. :lol: pero at least mabango sya parang may lemon. :lol:

dapat sabunin ng husto ang may pakana nyan

a cheap attempt! lol

nice effort though..

Desperate acts? Problema kasi Baguio is becoming a thing of the past. Haaaaay.

PH eyed as tourism training hub in Asia
December 5, 2010

MANILA, Philippines – The Canadian Tourism & Hospitality Institute (CTHI), the country’s first international franchise of the Vancouver-based Canadian Tourism College, aims to transform the Philippines as the premier tourism and hospitality training center in Asia.

CTHI president Samie Lim told reporters during a seminar on ‘8 Pillars of Growth Strategy’ for the tourism sector organized by the institute that there is a strong need to upgrade the standards of tourism and hospitality schools in the country.
“We aim to become the training center in Asia,” Lim said.

Lim said that CTHI will lead the way in upgrading the current standards to the international level in terms of course curriculum, training and facilities. This way, foreign students in the tourism and hospitality courses would be encouraged to enroll here.

Lim said there are over 1,000 schools in the country offering tourism courses, including culinary and English language courses. Most of these schools, however, do not observe international standards that would equip students for the jobs after graduation.

By imposing on standards on these schools could mean purging those who are there only for the money, but do not produce quality graduates. Tourism and hospitality courses now topped as the country’s most favorite course.

“There are schools with 20-25 students only then they try to put up a course using ‘out-of-shelf’ materials, but they don’t really understand the entire course offering and becoming a diploma mill school,” he said.

As a result, less than 20 percent of graduates from this course get employed compared to the CTHI’s average deployment of 90 percent and most of them being offered jobs before graduation.

In comparison, the tourism industry in the country and the entire ASEAN region is booming but there is this problem of lack of supply of qualified people. In the Philippines alone, there are at least 100 hotels that have been put up in the past five years.

“Our more experienced hospitality workers are being pirated by Singapore and Thailand and other countries,” he said.

With the standards that CTHI brings when it opens its first school in June, Lim expects to change the tourism course landscape in the country in a matter of three years.

CTHI plans to put up schools in other parts in tourist destination areas such as Boracay, Bohol, Davao or Cebu on a franchise arrangement.

Lim noted a report by the World Bank, which said that people in Boracay are not happy with the success of the island because it did not trickle down to the masses as people there still remained poor.

Lim also noted that Filipinos are overly hospitable that they do not know how to turn these tourism opportunities into their advantages.

At CTHI, industry practitioners can learn all the rudiments to make their businesses profitable and enable them to expand operation. (BCM)

www.mb.com.ph

Desperate acts? Problema kasi Baguio is becoming a thing of the past. Haaaaay.

Agree that Baguio is losing its luster. Heck, it's not cool anymore during summer, just like Manila (polluted and crowded) except that because of the higher altitude, the temperature is cooler by a few degrees and especially at night.

We used to visit Baguio yearly in the last decade. And most of the time during the year end holidays, not summer. But because of the congestion, Baguio has not become a favorite anymore. Last time I walked down Session Road it was like walking through Quiapo that was on an incline!

^^ i had the same sentiments!! :(

^^ i had the same sentiments!! :(

Hahaha not to mention that vegetables coming from there are not as cheap anymore as they used to be...plus they haven't added any major structural destination in the past so many years whereas Camsur became a quick tourism phenomenon. And the famous Baguio brooms (walis tambo), wow they cost over P200 each! And the La Trinidad strawberries, well, all I can say is that I saw strawberries for sale in Quiapo last weekend for similar prices.

To Baguio lovers, don't get me wrong. I am not bashing Baguio. I still feel it is a tourist destination that is worth visiting by each Filipino. But having been there so many (no less than 20) times in my lifetime, I am saddened to see that it has constantly deteriorated, congestion and pollution-wise, over the last decade. If given a choice, I would rather go to Sagada, something like Baguio but with the ambiance of a century ago (take not that Sagada is also getting crowded as access is already easy).

visiting baguio was a nightmare for me. didn't help we visited during their fiesta. was so crowded that it felt like manila (only difference was cooler weather and mountainous area). and saw middle aged to old men with white air (caucasian guys) with very young filipina girls who looked very embarrassed when my cousin and i stared incredulously on.

told my mom that visiting baguio - once was enough. maybe later down the line i might sing a different tune and change my mind.

Crossing Bridges 7
By CECILIA S. ANGELES
December 4, 2010, 7:44pm

http://www.mb.com.ph/sites/default/files/Crossing-Bridges.jpg

Cultural performers with a dramatic architectural backdrop (photo by CECILIA S. ANGELES)

Each participating country of Crossing Bridges7 had its group picture in front of the historic Miag-ao church. The last to pose was the Philippines. After a couple of clicks a delegate from Vietnam jumped to join the Philippine group, as he shouted, “I am Filipino.”

Another ran to join the Philippine team. He also shouted, “Me, too.”

“Will change my passport to Filipino tomorrow.” Another announced loudly.

“Us alsooooooooo .” The rest chorused, and they expanded laterally into one group. Many displayed V(ictory) or L (ove) signs. Others even threw their cameras in the air. Good. No accident happened.

There was an exciting pandemonium. This scene alone was a living proof of the rousing success of this year’s Crossing Bridges 7. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam had gathered a little less than 100 photographer participants to join Crossing Bridges 7 held last November 18-24.

The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation hosted this year’s affair. With photography as medium, the Asian participants had somehow established a strong bond of friendship and understanding. Through first-hand exposure, they understood and experienced our regional customs, traditions and culture. They mingled with our people, pictured them with our skies, our waterscapes, hills, mountains, and plains as background.

I am sure they discovered many similarities and few differences among us. It is not unlikely that someday Crossing Bridges will become world-wide. The one week pictorial bonding took the five countries to three different places. Literally, they crossed bridges in Cebu, (coordinated by Icky Salazar and Carlito So), Bacolod, (organized by Billy Lopue), and Iloilo (led by Carlos Garcia). Edi Huang and Lito Beltran, chairperson and project director of FPPF respectively, coordinated the entire affair. They were also assisted by the respective members of the Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo and Manila organizations.

Each place we went to was a grand showcase of its people, culture, and geographic grandeur. Nature provided picturesque scenes and subjects. Our fellow Asian photographers, I could feel, fell in love with our fellowmen, young and old, with toothless or one-toothed smile.

Oh, yes, during an evening presentation, the local cultural dancers, took the photographers by the hand and led them to the middle of the huge plaza to hop and sway to the tune of One Cebu, One Cebu. The places visited in Cebu included Aloguinsan, Lamac, Pinamungahan, Toledo City, Balamban, Asturias, Tuburan, Tabuelan, San Carlos City and Mambukal Mountain Resort (this last place on foot trek).

In most of these places we were welcomed by dancing natives. In San Carlos City, we captured body paintings on top of trees or framed by bushes and foliage. I felt that I was shooting in the Garden of Eden. There were lots of nature subjects in Mambukal: scenery, falls, rocks, rushing streams, winding trails, trees, bats, butterflies, and insects of all sorts.

Negros Occidental takes pride in its vast sugar cane fields and the heritage historical structures particularly the ruins of Talisay. Again, lens men could hardly stop their automatic gestures to the drumbeats accompanying the Masskara dancers.

At Hacienda Adela, the photographers had a heyday shooting cockfighting, tuba harvest on very tall coconut palms, cane harvest hauled by carabaos pulling carts, and pabitin games among local children. Some photographers even got lost in the sugar plantation to shoot native models, nursing mothers, innocent children, and old people. CF SD cards recorded more exciting subjects: ruins, old churches, dancers, animals.

In San Joaquin, Crossing Bridges captured more churches and campo santo. We witnessed hablon weavers. Some delegates extended their stay in Visayas. Others flew with us to Manila to explore the city. One delegate from Malaysia commented, “Why end Crossing Bridges now? Many beautiful subjects to shoot. Such short time. Better longer time to shoot.”

(Cecilia S. Angeles is a Photography professor at Dela Salle University College of Saint Benilde and a regular lecturer in the FPPF Photography Workshop in Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. Email: csa_palay@yahoo.com.)


http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/290934/crossing-bridges-7

Probably the classic example of "Too much to show, but little to offer."

more like typical northerners......nag kuripot....:lol: gumastos daw ng 420,000 for the event and then used 4 liters of soap mix.....laking kinita ng kumag....sa 4 liters na soap mix wala pang 1000 pesos yun....sabi yung susunod daw na gabi ice maker na talaga...hindi lang sinabi kung shave ice, tube ice or ice cube kaya....take precautions lalo na for pipol with no hair like me....:lol: mukhang sinunod ang formula ni bertie lim sa dot....PALPAK...:lol:

Hahaha not to mention that vegetables coming from there are not as cheap anymore as they used to be...plus they haven't added any major structural destination in the past so many years whereas Camsur became a quick tourism phenomenon. And the famous Baguio brooms (walis tambo), wow they cost over P200 each! And the La Trinidad strawberries, well, all I can say is that I saw strawberries for sale in Quiapo last weekend for similar prices.

To Baguio lovers, don't get me wrong. I am not bashing Baguio. I still feel it is a tourist destination that is worth visiting by each Filipino. But having been there so many (no less than 20) times in my lifetime, I am saddened to see that it has constantly deteriorated, congestion and pollution-wise, over the last decade. If given a choice, I would rather go to Sagada, something like Baguio but with the ambiance of a century ago (take not that Sagada is also getting crowded as access is already easy).

Buti nalang mababait pa yung mga taxi drivers or else :ohno:

Buti nalang mababait pa yung mga taxi drivers or else :ohno:

I also been to Baguio last weekend and experience the bumping and pushing around Session Road and ended with disappointment especially to the children who eagerly waited to see an artificial snow. Honestly, I don't like the publicity of the show, which is pure HYPE and make the children even the adults mad. After the program, it was a chaos, traffic everywhere. The good thing, weather is cool and it lessen the heat of angry people waiting along the street...:ohno:

Sayang talaga ang Baguio parehas sila ng Manila.

the country should already start making a blueprint for sustainable cities.

I also been to Baguio last weekend and experience the bumping and pushing around Session Road and ended with disappointment especially to the children who eagerly waited to see an artificial snow. Honestly, I don't like the publicity of the show, which is pure HYPE and make the children even the adults mad. After the program, it was a chaos, traffic everywhere. The good thing, weather is cool and it lessen the heat of angry people waiting along the street...:ohno:

I might be going to Baguio later this month. Any areas to avoid, primarily because of the congestion and traffic? We're planning to stay far away from downtown, more towards the Mines View Park area (no more rooms available at the Manor). Did you get to go strawberry picking at La Trinidad? Traffic there is so bad it takes almost an hour sometimes to travel get there from the other side of Baguio.

I wonder what is the best time to walk up and down session road...and if it is still worth going to the public market...many pickpockets there..:bash:

Even Cebu, I was dissapointed... I never saw presentable scenes from my journey from airport to our house... Dunno, it's just we're really far and left behind compared to our neighbors already. Or maybe because galing ako ng Singapore na super organized at super linis kaya evident ang contrast ng Cebu at Singapore... Pero overall, I'm dissapointed...
Cebu is still not ready to be International tourist destination I must say... madami pa kailangang ayusin talaga...
Sorry but I'm just telling the truth...:yes:

Provincial tourism spots cited as drivers for hotel growth

THE PHILIPPINES should develop select tourism spots with great potential and upgrade infrastructure supporting them to stimulate growth of the local hotel industry, experts said in a conference yesterday.

Opportunities abound in smaller hotels in provincial tourism spots, as urban areas are already cramped with foreign hotel brands, they noted.

"One thing the Philippines has to do is to have to choose champions in terms of locations," David A. Young, managing director of property consultant Colliers International, said during the 2010 Philippine Hotel Trendwatch Conference yesterday in Ortigas Center.

Ludwig Rieder, chairman of tourism consultancy firm Asia Pacific Projects, Inc., concurred, adding that potential provincial "champions" and gateway cities to them can still include Metro Cebu and Davao.

"Once you have a [tourist spot] outside Manila, the reality is there is a large volume that will spend a night or two in hotels. You have to match room investment in one gateway city to local destinations," Mr. Rieder said.

In terms of branding, such smaller hotels should be able to compete at local levels.

"I think hotels in tourist destinations have a lot of opportunities. Just imagine the local hotels in Boracay providing customized services that show the Filipino culture," Monica Au, managing director of global branding consultancy Landor & Associates, said in an interview.

For instance, local hotels can provide Filipino foods that foreign brands, which employ uniform services worldwide, cannot provide, Ms. Au said.

Asked about the impact on tourism of the Aug. 23 hostage crisis that left eight Hong Kong visitors and the hostage-taker, a former police officer, dead, Ms. Au said: "It would be very short term. It is only one incident that no one wanted to happen."

In the 10 months to October, the country received 2.56 million foreign visitors, compared to the 2.19 million recorded in the same period last year, data from the Bureau of Immigration show.

But challenges still abound.

"There are a lot interested in investing, but local infrastructure should be developed for the crucial access to gateways," Mr. Rieder said.

He added that the cumbersome process of securing state permits can be discouraging.

For Mr. Young, the government should just improve the major airports before building new ones. "It is ironic that our busiest airports are our worst airports," Mr. Young said. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales


http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=22458

AGI plans tourism projects outside Metro Manila

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:57:00 12/06/2010

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ-o5edx35PpxFY9fUlEjZSe6OgN9f921Wxrx_-ItEMZGdkxPCP

Close this MANILA, Philippines—Tycoon Andrew Tan-led Alliance Global Group Inc. plans to sell about P7 billion worth of common shares currently locked up in its treasury coffer to invest in new tourism-related projects outside Metro Manila.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Monday, AGI said its board had authorized the re-issuance of its treasury shares and had given management the go-signal to pursue tourism projects outside Metro Manila.

The disclosure did not say how much in treasury stocks AGI would re-issue, but based on its latest annual regulatory filing, the holding firm has 550.1 million shares acquired from the open market as of end-August.

These treasury shares are AGI shares acquired but not cancelled. They include the shares held by AGI under its buy-back program and those held by certain subsidiaries.

Companies with excess cash buy back shares from the open market when they feel that their stocks are undervalued. AGI, in reissuing treasury shares, is seen taking advantage of the buoyant equities market to raise funds for its tourism ventures.

Assuming all the shares under treasury are sold at current market price, whether through a private placement or a follow-on offering, AGI can widen its outstanding common stock by 5.7 percent and raise close to P7 billion in fresh funds for expansion.

AGI shares closed at P12.64 per share on Monday, down by 2.5 percent. It has a market capitalization of about P126 billion out of about 10.12 billion in publicly listed shares.

In a separate statement, AGI said it had set aside P7 billion for new tourism-related projects outside Metro Manila “to show its strong commitment and confidence in the tourism industry in the Philippines.”

“Tourism is poised to become the country’s next sunshine industry,” AGI president Kingson Sian said. “By strengthening its public-private partnership program, the Aquino administration is opening the country to more infrastructure investments and making Philippine tourist destinations more accessible.”

Sian said AGI’s new tourism projects outside Metro Manila would create synergies with its ongoing Resorts World Manila at Newport City in Pasay City. “All this will help boost the country’s image as a prime tourist destination in the region,” Sian said.

Resorts World Manila is the first integrated tourism development of its kind in the Philippines. It features the country’s largest casino; the five-star Marriott Hotel; the six-star, all-suites Maxims Hotel; the upcoming Remington and Belmont hotels; a 1,500-seat performing arts theater; fine-dining restaurants; and an upscale shopping mall.

Since the opening of Resorts World Manila in August 2009, the number of visitors to the complex has reached two million.

500-ha leisure township project in Aklan bared

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:58:00 12/06/2010


http://www.reneolbes.com/images/logos/alphaland1.jpg

Close this MANILA, Philippines—Alphaland Corp., the property firm led by former Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin, has teamed up with a unit of Prudentialife Group to develop a 500-hectare property in Aklan into a master-planned resort community.

The project, which will consist of residential and commercial developments anchored on a polo and country club, will be called “Alphaland Boracay Gateway,” the property firm disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

This is designed to be a fully integrated leisure township development with a wide range of components including hotel and other tourist accommodation facilities; water sports and other recreational facilities; and top-of-the-line homesteads.

The adjacent Caticlan airport is being redeveloped by San Miguel Corp., where Ongpin is also a director and key stockholder.

Alphaland signed a development agreement with Akean Resorts Corp. (ARC), an affiliate of the Prudentialife group led by Ambassador Francisco Alba, to develop the land located at the Nabas and Malay municipalities in Aklan.

“The parties have agreed that ARC will contribute the property while Alphaland will provide the necessary funding, equipment, materials, supplies, development-work expertise, management, labor, supervision and related undertakings to develop and transform the property into the project,” the disclosure said.

The agreement includes the acquisition by Alphaland of additional parcels of land in the area, if required by the project.

The Prudentialife group has interests in pre-need, memorial plans, healthcare, financial services, nonlife insurance, real estate, and travel and leisure businesses.

In the meantime, Alphaland said in a separate disclosure to the stock exchange that it had authorized the issuance of about 8.9 million common shares from the unissued portion of its authorized capital stock to Noble Care Management Corp. at P10 per share. This is in connection with the consolidation of its ownership in Alphaland Makati Place Inc.

This resulted in an increase in the issued and outstanding shares of Alphaland to 1.43 billion in end-November from 1.42 billion shares in end-October.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_32LlbZsgngA/TEHsYyoKCQI/AAAAAAAAAOw/gLviDsBAoq0/s1600/alphaland+southgate+mall+directions+routes+mmdirections.jpg

Alphaland, a partnership between Ongpin, Eric Recto and the Ashmore group, holds a property portfolio that includes Alphaland Southgate Tower at the corner of EDSA and Pasong Tamo in Makati; Alphaland Makati Place and Alphaland Ayala Tower along Ayala Avenue; Alphaland Bay City along Macapagal Avenue; and Shangri-La at Fort Bonifacio Global City.

The company gained backdoor listing access to the PSE through Macondray Plastics Inc

Legitimacy of Tourism Congress Board questioned
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated December 07, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

MANILA, Philippines - Industry players are questioning the legitimacy of the Tourism Congress Board, whose officers were appointees of the previous administration.

“The Tourism Congress is a sham as it does not represent the whole industry,” Marciano Ragaza, former president of the Philippine Travel Agents Association (PTAA), said.

“When it was convened last year, there were only 58 members out of the 1,360 accredited tourism enterprises who were invited to participate in the Tourism Congress,” he said.

Ragaza said the officers were elected in a meeting of just 58 people handpicked by former Tourism secretary Joseph Ace Durano.

Various groups, including the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines Inc., have pushed for a review of the Tourism Act, specifically the provision on the creation of the Tourism Congress.

They said officials of the Board of Trustees convened under Implementing Rules and Regulations that were being questioned in court.

Jaime Cura, Tourism Congress vice-president, had accused Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim of failing to consult the body on the re-branding of its programs.

Cura also lashed out at Lim for not recognizing the Tourism Congress, an entity created under the Tourism Act of 2009 to serve as a private sector consultative body on tourism policies and programs.

“The alleged Board of Trustees of the Tourism Congress has no legitimacy to speak for the entire industry, particularly on the matter of opposing the confirmation of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim,” Ragaza said.

Even Cebu, I was dissapointed... I never saw presentable scenes from my journey from airport to our house... Dunno, it's just we're really far and left behind compared to our neighbors already. Or maybe because galing ako ng Singapore na super organized at super linis kaya evident ang contrast ng Cebu at Singapore... Pero overall, I'm dissapointed...
Cebu is still not ready to be International tourist destination I must say... madami pa kailangang ayusin talaga...
Sorry but I'm just telling the truth...:yes:

Nung andyan ako last October ok naman, yun ngalang nakakadisappoint yung airport nyo :lol:. Pero nakakatuwa kasi after 4 years andaming pinagbago ang Cebu. Sana talaga tuloy tuloy yung development :cheers:

^^
what do you mean nakakadisappoint?! yung service ba, facilities o ang building mismo?

^^
what do you mean nakakadisappoint?! yung service ba, facilities o ang building mismo?

Nakakadisappoint yung building.

oh i see. yeah because its already quite old but renovations are going on inside the airport. I hope they'd fast track the construction of a more modern terminal building which is actually an expansion project. :okay:

oh i see. yeah because its already quite old but renovations are going on inside the airport. I hope they'd fast track the construction of a more modern terminal building which is actually an expansion project. :okay:

Sana bagong building nalang ang ipatayo. Cebu deserves a modern and bigger terminal.:)

Nung andyan ako last October ok naman, yun ngalang nakakadisappoint yung airport nyo :lol:. Pero nakakatuwa kasi after 4 years andaming pinagbago ang Cebu. Sana talaga tuloy tuloy yung development :cheers:

Nope, the surroundings around the city is getting worse... mas madumi ngayon kesa befor I left last year...

And about sa airport, di naman ako nadissapoint sa building and I can say that it is still beautiful coz ma compare ko siya sa Penang airport which is the second biggest metropolis in Msia, naku ang layo, napaka luma at ang dumi tapos very poor service, ang banyo pa na parang banyo lang sa tabi tabi. Sa Cebu luma nga pero the building ok sa current old set up nya...
Anyway, a modern terminal is underway na kaya cebu airport will have a modern look soon:)

Nope, the surroundings around the city is getting worse... mas madumi ngayon kesa befor I left last year...

And about sa airport, di naman ako nadissapoint sa building and I can say that it is still beautiful coz ma compare ko siya sa Penang airport which is the second biggest metropolis in Msia, naku ang layo, napaka luma at ang dumi tapos very poor service, ang banyo pa na parang banyo lang sa tabi tabi. Sa Cebu luma nga pero the building ok sa current old set up nya...
Anyway, a modern terminal is underway na kaya cebu airport will have a modern look soon:)

Basta napasin ko ang pangit parin ng sidewalks sa Cebu ( sorry ha) pero gusto ko yung development dyan, compared 4 years ago andami nang bagong mga buildings. Siyempre masarap padin ang Lechon Cebu :cheers:

^^yup... that's why I said I was dissapointed kase yun gnag nakita ko... I was just expecting too much that it is better now but it's not... Aanuhin ang magagandang buildings kung di naman kaaya ayang tignan sa street area...:ohno:

^^
what do you mean nakakadisappoint?! yung service ba, facilities o ang building mismo?

I think he means the general look of the city. Maraming kalat, di sya organized, I mean if we're going to compare cebu to say HK, singapore, seoul, taipei,malayo pa talaga ang kakailangan panahon at pera at cooperation ng mga cebuano to make it really a worth tourist destination. From a conversation with a korean friend, I asked how did she find cebu. She said the weather is fine, some people are not as honest, the place is not as organized but the resorts are great.

I saw Manila ambiance in Cebu that time that made feel sad...

I saw Manila ambiance in Cebu that time that made feel sad...

THIS! If poor planning will continue in 10 years time mukhang Manila na ang Cebu. People from other provinces are starting to migrate in Cebu so hindi talaga maiiwasan na maging makalat ang lugar if your local government will not be organized.

I think he means the general look of the city. Maraming kalat, di sya organized, I mean if we're going to compare cebu to say HK, singapore, seoul, taipei,malayo pa talaga ang kakailangan panahon at pera at cooperation ng mga cebuano to make it really a worth tourist destination. From a conversation with a korean friend, I asked how did she find cebu. She said the weather is fine, some people are not as honest, the place is not as organized but the resorts are great.

I agree. I also had the same experience with another city down south, I wont mention it kasi baka magalit sila :ohno:

Too much hype then pag pumunta ka madidisappoint ka lang. kasi marumi ang lugar, yun kasi ang bottomline di ba. Imagine may mga 'pupu' sa mga batuhan sa tabi ng dagat :ohno:

Legitimacy of Tourism Congress Board questioned
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated December 07, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

MANILA, Philippines - Industry players are questioning the legitimacy of the Tourism Congress Board, whose officers were appointees of the previous administration.

“The Tourism Congress is a sham as it does not represent the whole industry,” Marciano Ragaza, former president of the Philippine Travel Agents Association (PTAA), said.

“When it was convened last year, there were only 58 members out of the 1,360 accredited tourism enterprises who were invited to participate in the Tourism Congress,” he said.

Ragaza said the officers were elected in a meeting of just 58 people handpicked by former Tourism secretary Joseph Ace Durano.

Various groups, including the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines Inc., have pushed for a review of the Tourism Act, specifically the provision on the creation of the Tourism Congress.

They said officials of the Board of Trustees convened under Implementing Rules and Regulations that were being questioned in court.

Jaime Cura, Tourism Congress vice-president, had accused Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim of failing to consult the body on the re-branding of its programs.

Cura also lashed out at Lim for not recognizing the Tourism Congress, an entity created under the Tourism Act of 2009 to serve as a private sector consultative body on tourism policies and programs.

“The alleged Board of Trustees of the Tourism Congress has no legitimacy to speak for the entire industry, particularly on the matter of opposing the confirmation of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim,” Ragaza said.

wow.....all this gulo all of a sudden.....tahimik naman ang industry na ito sa dating admin....ngayon biglang....may mga umeepal na.....mukhang alam nila na kaya nila basta suwagin ang mga namumuno ngayon.....:ohno:

Even Cebu, I was dissapointed... I never saw presentable scenes from my journey from airport to our house... Dunno, it's just we're really far and left behind compared to our neighbors already. Or maybe because galing ako ng Singapore na super organized at super linis kaya evident ang contrast ng Cebu at Singapore... Pero overall, I'm dissapointed...
Cebu is still not ready to be International tourist destination I must say... madami pa kailangang ayusin talaga...
Sorry but I'm just telling the truth...:yes:

I love skyscrapers and all but as I have mentioned before in our main thread, I would always choose beautiful and organized streets over tall buildings for our city and province, and the whole country if possible.:)

But I agree, your initial reaction was escalated by the stark contrast you perceived having been from Singapore recently. Your point of comparison was very high. Hehe.

^^ i dunno about you guys, but i think Cebu is alright for its size.. :)
the last time i was there (may-june this year) i thought the city was impressive, the skyline has indeed changed a lot. having arrived from Manila, i thought Cebu was clean and pleasant overall. the streets are smaller compared to here of course but they were much much cleaner. i remember the trip from the airport in mactan to Fuente Osmeña, having to cross the bridge and pass through Mandaue, this area with like so many vacant industrial lots or abandoned buildings, i thought if it was here, theyd be swelling with IS and homeless people, with garbage and pollution? but at least they aren't. and Ayala, Fuente, even the old downtown were all pleasant to the eyes i thought? where do you hide your squatters anyway?

but of course, the point of comparison here is not as high i guess hehe! :D

I don't think tourists visit Cebu just for it's skyline.
Most come for the beaches and the hospitality of the Cebuanos.



:cheers2:

^^ i dunno about you guys, but i think Cebu is alright for its size.. :)
the last time i was there (may-june this year) i thought the city was impressive, the skyline has indeed changed a lot. having arrived from Manila, i thought Cebu was clean and pleasant overall. the streets are smaller compared to here of course but they were much much cleaner. i remember the trip from the airport in mactan to Fuente Osmeña, having to cross the bridge and pass through Mandaue, this area with like so many vacant industrial lots or abandoned buildings, i thought if it was here, theyd be swelling with IS and homeless people, with garbage and pollution? but at least they aren't. and Ayala, Fuente, even the old downtown were all pleasant to the eyes i thought? where do you hide your squatters anyway?

but of course, the point of comparison here is not as high i guess hehe! :D

From airport to our house, we didn't pass those places like Ayala or Fuente Osmena or IT Park that are ofcourse clean and progressive, what I mean are the places from Mc Arthur Blvd upto the entrance of the road tunnel, that part is not pleasant to look at compared when I left a year ago where it is a bit ok. Then the area from SRP Mambaling road upto Pardo area, very chaotic and disorganized which is way worse than the scene a year ago when I left.
About Cebu's Fuente area, Ayala area, It park area, downtown area and other business districts, i haven't toured them yet, and I hope those areas are ok now compared last year when I left.

I'm just anticipating a cleaner Cebu now coz I know our mayor is prioritizing cleanliness in his administration that's why I'm expecting a better look for Cebu when I arrived..:yes:

BI expects 8-10M tourists, ‘Balikbayan’ to arrive for holidays
Tuesday, 07 December 2010 23:28 Recto Mercene / Reporter


CHRISTMAS is very much in the air at the airport, but it also means the nearly monthlong holiday crunch has begun for its employees, as arrivals are starting to build up with thousands of balikbayan (visiting overseas Filipinos), overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and tourists arriving by the planeload every day since last week to spend the holidays in the country.

It is estimated that about 8 million to 10 million overseas Filipinos and tourists will spend their Christmas in the Philippines this year, Immigration records show.

Lawyer Antonette Mangrobang, chief of the Airport Operations Division of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), said that from December 1 to December 7 more than 200,000 passengers flew into the country through the premier airport.

“You can see for yourself that there are long lines of passengers every day at the Immigration arrival despite [the presence of] some 22 Immigration officers at the counters to facilitate the stamping of their passports.”

Mangrobang said more passengers are expected to show up this month because overseas Filipinos usually request their employers for permission to be with their families to celebrate Christmas.

She also said that from January 1 to December 6, Immigration statistics show that more than 6 million people have arrived. She added: “We are expecting more arrivals within the end of the month, hopefully it will reach 8 million to 10 million arrivals.”

The peak hours of arrivals are from 8 to 10 a.m.; from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and from 4 to 6 p.m. This is followed by the arrivals at 8:30 p.m. up to the last flight at 12 midnight, Mangrobang added.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia1) manager Octavio Lina said the airport had almost run out of pushcarts during peak arrivals.

He said Naia has 1,200 pushcarts assigned at the arrival area while some 800 more are at the departure level for Naia1 alone.

“Every day we have to pull out some 500-600 pushcarts from the departure and bring it to arrival area because of the [big] volume of passengers,” Lina said.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Honrado, meanwhile, has renewed his appeal to airport workers to cease greeting “Merry Christmas” arriving passengers, lest it be construed as a subtle request for gifts or bribe.

Honrado advised airport workers to just give visitors their best smiles.


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/4669-bi-expects-8-10m-tourists-balikbayan-to-arrive-for-holidays

I don't think tourists visit Cebu just for it's skyline.
Most come for the beaches and the hospitality of the Cebuanos.



:cheers2:

I agree, doc...We welcome the changing of Cebu's skyline...Pero yong gusto talaga namin ay ma-arrange yong Cebu on the street level. Kasi naman, pag naglalakad yong tao, di naman palaging nakatingala.

BI expects 8-10M tourists, ‘Balikbayan’ to arrive for holidays
Tuesday, 07 December 2010 23:28 Recto Mercene / Reporter


CHRISTMAS is very much in the air at the airport, but it also means the nearly monthlong holiday crunch has begun for its employees, as arrivals are starting to build up with thousands of balikbayan (visiting overseas Filipinos), overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and tourists arriving by the planeload every day since last week to spend the holidays in the country.

It is estimated that about 8 million to 10 million overseas Filipinos and tourists will spend their Christmas in the Philippines this year, Immigration records show.

Lawyer Antonette Mangrobang, chief of the Airport Operations Division of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), said that from December 1 to December 7 more than 200,000 passengers flew into the country through the premier airport.

“You can see for yourself that there are long lines of passengers every day at the Immigration arrival despite [the presence of] some 22 Immigration officers at the counters to facilitate the stamping of their passports.”

Mangrobang said more passengers are expected to show up this month because overseas Filipinos usually request their employers for permission to be with their families to celebrate Christmas.

She also said that from January 1 to December 6, Immigration statistics show that more than 6 million people have arrived. She added: “We are expecting more arrivals within the end of the month, hopefully it will reach 8 million to 10 million arrivals.”

The peak hours of arrivals are from 8 to 10 a.m.; from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and from 4 to 6 p.m. This is followed by the arrivals at 8:30 p.m. up to the last flight at 12 midnight, Mangrobang added.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia1) manager Octavio Lina said the airport had almost run out of pushcarts during peak arrivals.

He said Naia has 1,200 pushcarts assigned at the arrival area while some 800 more are at the departure level for Naia1 alone.

“Every day we have to pull out some 500-600 pushcarts from the departure and bring it to arrival area because of the [big] volume of passengers,” Lina said.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Honrado, meanwhile, has renewed his appeal to airport workers to cease greeting “Merry Christmas” arriving passengers, lest it be construed as a subtle request for gifts or bribe.

Honrado advised airport workers to just give visitors their best smiles.


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/4669-bi-expects-8-10m-tourists-balikbayan-to-arrive-for-holidays

wow just like that....8-10 million tourist at bb na ang darating sa pinas....malamang epektibo ang pilipinas kay ganda ni bertie lim....:lol: from 2-3 million.....jump sa 8-10 million.....galing talagang maglamas ng figures itong mga tinamaan ng lintik....

wow just like that....8-10 million tourist at bb na ang darating sa pinas....malamang epektibo ang pilipinas kay ganda ni bertie lim....:lol: from 2-3 million.....jump sa 8-10 million.....galing talagang maglamas ng figures itong mga tinamaan ng lintik....

The figure was about airport arrivals...

AirAsia to Form Philippine Venture With Cojuangco in First Quarter of 2011
By Cecilia Yap - Dec 7, 2010 5:00 AM CT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/airasia-to-form-philippine-venture-with-cojuangco-update1-.html


AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia’s biggest budget carrier, plans to form a Philippine unit by the first quarter of next year, Philippine Board of Investments head Cristino Panlilio said.

The Philippine venture will be formed with Antonio Cojuangco, a former chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and start flying domestic and overseas routes in 2011, Panlilio said by phone today. Cojuangco is President Benigno Aquino’s cousin and a nephew of San Miguel Corp. Chairman Eduardo Cojuangco.

Sepang, Malaysia-based AirAsia may expand into the Philippines as airlines including Cebu Air Inc. increase their fleets and services to meet rising demand in the archipelago. The government has set a target to double tourism arrivals in six years to help spur economic growth.

Today is a national holiday in Malaysia. An e-mail to AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes didn’t immediately receive a reply.

Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd., the budget carrier backed by Singapore Airlines Ltd., on Nov. 23 said it will lease two planes to South East Asian Airlines or SEAir and form a marketing venture to expand into the Philippines.

SEAir flights from Clark, north of Manila, to Singapore will start Dec. 16 and be offered through Tiger Air’s website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cecilia Yap in Manila at cyap19@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: To contact the editor responsible for Rebecca Evans at revans6@bloomberg.net

AirAsia to Form Philippine Venture With Cojuangco in First Quarter of 2011
By Cecilia Yap - Dec 7, 2010 5:00 AM CT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/airasia-to-form-philippine-venture-with-cojuangco-update1-.html


AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia’s biggest budget carrier, plans to form a Philippine unit by the first quarter of next year, Philippine Board of Investments head Cristino Panlilio said.

The Philippine venture will be formed with Antonio Cojuangco, a former chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and start flying domestic and overseas routes in 2011, Panlilio said by phone today. Cojuangco is President Benigno Aquino’s cousin and a nephew of San Miguel Corp. Chairman Eduardo Cojuangco.

Sepang, Malaysia-based AirAsia may expand into the Philippines as airlines including Cebu Air Inc. increase their fleets and services to meet rising demand in the archipelago. The government has set a target to double tourism arrivals in six years to help spur economic growth.

Today is a national holiday in Malaysia. An e-mail to AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes didn’t immediately receive a reply.

Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd., the budget carrier backed by Singapore Airlines Ltd., on Nov. 23 said it will lease two planes to South East Asian Airlines or SEAir and form a marketing venture to expand into the Philippines.

SEAir flights from Clark, north of Manila, to Singapore will start Dec. 16 and be offered through Tiger Air’s website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cecilia Yap in Manila at cyap19@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: To contact the editor responsible for Rebecca Evans at revans6@bloomberg.net

So will this be the birth of Philippine Air Asia?

the people who go to cebu are the ones who are tired of skylines. they want to see the beaches and have linggam services in spas.

^^ I really feel that linggam could be a good niche market of Cebu. Meron dito sa Makati kaso hindi naman ganun kaganda ang service.

"linggam capital" of the Philippines :D

san sa makati? hehe

So will this be the birth of Philippine Air Asia?

yes.

I wonder how ailing PAL could ever compete with Cebu Pacific and now Air Asia.

Ni raid na mga linggam sa cebu...

^^
the people who go to cebu are the ones who are tired of skylines. they want to see the beaches and have linggam services in spas.

linggam is actually healthy pero sabi nila, immoral daw kaya wala na atang linggam sa cebu:lol:
good for oldies ang linggam.....:lol:

"linggam capital" of the Philippines :D

san sa makati? hehe

coco foot spa along makati ave.

Ni raid na mga linggam sa cebu...

ang corny naman. dagdag revenue din yan aayaw pa ang LGU nyo. kung itodo promote nyo yan dadayuhin kayo ng mga turista and that includes me :lol:

Ok lang sana kung hindi ma uwi sa masama pero parang ganun ang nangyari kaya tama lang yan at hindi Corny... Samga bastusin, ok lang siguro...

yes.

I wonder how ailing PAL could ever compete with Cebu Pacific and now Air Asia.

That would really be interesting. PR could do long haul flights instead.

I still can't find any reason for massaging the genital parts other than sexual...So, I guess it it better to say bye bye to linggam sa Cebu, because Cebu is trying to nurture medical tourism which includes legitimate and wholesome massage and spas.

If indeed the urge for a "foot" massage is uncontrollable, maraming ibang paraan dyan... :)

^^tama, hindi maganda para sa imahe ng cebu..... kung linggam lang ang pag-uusapan ehh you dont need someone to do it,,,,hehe you can do it yourself naman hahahaha:lol::nuts:

sabi nila therapeutic ang lingggam.... :D so medical tourism yun, technically

^^maganda para sa mga may prostate disorder na mga oldies pero medyo immoral kasi kadalasan hindi ang therapy ang pakay nila kundi se_x......

I think he means the general look of the city. Maraming kalat, di sya organized, I mean if we're going to compare cebu to say HK, singapore, seoul, taipei,malayo pa talaga ang kakailangan panahon at pera at cooperation ng mga cebuano to make it really a worth tourist destination. From a conversation with a korean friend, I asked how did she find cebu. She said the weather is fine, some people are not as honest, the place is not as organized but the resorts are great.

no. sir @shadow has already clarified his so there's nothing more to say and i agree with him.

^^ i dunno about you guys, but i think Cebu is alright for its size.. :)
the last time i was there (may-june this year) i thought the city was impressive, the skyline has indeed changed a lot. having arrived from Manila, i thought Cebu was clean and pleasant overall. the streets are smaller compared to here of course but they were much much cleaner. i remember the trip from the airport in mactan to Fuente Osmeña, having to cross the bridge and pass through Mandaue, this area with like so many vacant industrial lots or abandoned buildings, i thought if it was here, theyd be swelling with IS and homeless people, with garbage and pollution? but at least they aren't. and Ayala, Fuente, even the old downtown were all pleasant to the eyes i thought? where do you hide your squatters anyway?

but of course, the point of comparison here is not as high i guess hehe! :D

hehehe... thank goodness you never saw em! :D but yeah, most of the bigger IS in Cebu City are found along the city coastline and you could actually see them when you pass by the SRP area. its like this way, in Rio the favelas are in the mountains while the rich are in the coastlines however in Cebu, the IS are in the coastline while the rich are in the mountains. :D

I agree, doc...We welcome the changing of Cebu's skyline...Pero yong gusto talaga namin ay ma-arrange yong Cebu on the street level. Kasi naman, pag naglalakad yong tao, di naman palaging nakatingala.

I think this is a common problem in majority of our cities - lousy sidewalks. Most of them are too narrow and crowded to be pedestrian-friendly.

The figure was about airport arrivals...

precisely....do you believe the figures?.....they were saying bb and tourists...

Yeah maybe 90% of the sidewalks in Manila are not in good condition. The only large area in the country which I considered as worldclass and comparable to those major cities abroad is the Fort Bonifacio Global City with a wide and tree shaded sidewalk .

Yeah maybe 90% of the sidewalks in Manila are not in good condition. The only large area in the country which I considered as worldclass and comparable to those major cities abroad is the Fort Bonifacio Global City with a wide and tree shaded sidewalk .

Nope! its Makati's CBD sidewalks. It just looks wide in FBGC because all lots are not yet used. Look at makati, even in rush hours it could still accomodate people on sidewalks with ties fresh.hehe

precisely....do you believe the figures?.....they were saying bb and tourists...



The title is misleading because it makes you think that the 10 million will arrive only during the holiday season but upon reading, you'd learn that 6 million have already used the airport to enter the country from January 1 to December 6, 2010. Because 200,000 have come in from December 1 to December 7, it is projected that the number of people who would fly in through the NAIA would reach 8 to 10 million.

BI expects 8-10M tourists, ‘Balikbayan’ to arrive for holidays
Tuesday, 07 December 2010 23:28 Recto Mercene / Reporter


CHRISTMAS is very much in the air at the airport, but it also means the nearly monthlong holiday crunch has begun for its employees, as arrivals are starting to build up with thousands of balikbayan (visiting overseas Filipinos), overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and tourists arriving by the planeload every day since last week to spend the holidays in the country.

It is estimated that about 8 million to 10 million overseas Filipinos and tourists will spend their Christmas in the Philippines this year, Immigration records show.

Lawyer Antonette Mangrobang, chief of the Airport Operations Division of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), said that from December 1 to December 7 more than 200,000 passengers flew into the country through the premier airport.
“You can see for yourself that there are long lines of passengers every day at the Immigration arrival despite [the presence of] some 22 Immigration officers at the counters to facilitate the stamping of their passports.”

Mangrobang said more passengers are expected to show up this month because overseas Filipinos usually request their employers for permission to be with their families to celebrate Christmas.

She also said that from January 1 to December 6, Immigration statistics show that more than 6 million people have arrived. She added: “We are expecting more arrivals within the end of the month, hopefully it will reach 8 million to 10 million arrivals.”

The peak hours of arrivals are from 8 to 10 a.m.; from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and from 4 to 6 p.m. This is followed by the arrivals at 8:30 p.m. up to the last flight at 12 midnight, Mangrobang added.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia1) manager Octavio Lina said the airport had almost run out of pushcarts during peak arrivals.

He said Naia has 1,200 pushcarts assigned at the arrival area while some 800 more are at the departure level for Naia1 alone.

“Every day we have to pull out some 500-600 pushcarts from the departure and bring it to arrival area because of the [big] volume of passengers,” Lina said.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Honrado, meanwhile, has renewed his appeal to airport workers to cease greeting “Merry Christmas” arriving passengers, lest it be construed as a subtle request for gifts or bribe.

Honrado advised airport workers to just give visitors their best smiles.


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/4669-bi-expects-8-10m-tourists-balikbayan-to-arrive-for-holidays


The figure 8 to 10 million refers to the number of people which will have used the international gateway to enter the country. The traffic includes both the balikbayans and the tourists.

According to Wikipedia, the 2009 figure for NAIA is 24,108,825. I'm assuming this is composed of both arrivals and departures. Based on this figure, 8-10 million arrivals for 2010 isn't too fantastic.

hehehe... thank goodness you never saw em! :D but yeah, most of the bigger IS in Cebu City are found along the city coastline and you could actually see them when you pass by the SRP area. its like this way, in Rio the favelas are in the mountains while the rich are in the coastlines however in Cebu, the IS are in the coastline while the rich are in the mountains. :D

ah ok. just look at it this way, at least in Cebu and Rio you have this kind of setup where you have the rich in one side, and the poor in the other.
In Manila, both the coastline (Port Area, Tondo, Navotas) and the mountains (Smokey Mountain?) are all IS turf. :lol: j/k
i guess as a tourist specially those who only stay a few days, you don't really have time to really look for those or notice them when your only activity is to see the good sights and attractions unless theyre right smack in the middle of those touristy areas of course, which i didn't see in Cebu :)

The title is misleading because it makes you think that the 10 million will arrive only during the holiday season but upon reading, you'd learn that 6 million have already used the airport to enter the country from January 1 to December 6, 2010. Because 200,000 have come in from December 1 to December 7, it is projected that the number of people who would fly in through the NAIA would reach 8 to 10 million.


The figure 8 to 10 million refers to the number of people which will have used the international gateway to enter the country. The traffic includes both the balikbayans and the tourists.

According to Wikipedia, the 2009 figure for NAIA is 24,108,825. I'm assuming this is composed of both arrivals and departures. Based on this figure, 8-10 million arrivals for 2010 isn't too fantastic.

tumpak.....it is misleading.....imagine pipol not reading the details.....:lol: wow epektib is bertie lim.....sa pinay kay ganda campaign nya....:lol:

Tourism chief represents foreign interests, CA told

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:37:00 12/09/2010

Filed Under: Congress, Government, Civil & Public Services, Tourism, Air Transport

MANILA, Philippines—The congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) has deferred the confirmation of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim after private tourism groups used the Senate confirmation hearings as a battleground to block fresh moves to adopt an “open skies” policy.

Robert Lim Joseph, chair of the Travel Cooperative of the Philippines, called Lim an “idiot,” a “liar,” and an “incompetent” for coming up with the widely derided “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” slogan, for allegedly washing his hands of the fiasco, and for proposing to liberalize the country’s airline industry to the detriment of local carriers.

Not personal, but...

Lim was sitting right behind Joseph as the latter was excoriating him before the 24-member commission.

In an interview following the hearing, Lim said Joseph was entitled to his own opinion.

“He said it’s not personal but the words he used were very personal. I am a public servant so I have to face these criticisms,” he said.

Joseph said Lim’s championing of open skies betrayed his “deep-seated bias” for foreign carriers.

He said Lim was a co-founder and member of the Freedom to Fly Coalition (FFC) which he claimed was “unmasked as a mere front” of the US group AGILE (Accelerating Growth, Investment and Liberalization with Equity) in the Senate in 2003.

“Lim cannot function properly as a secretary of tourism because he has represented, and continues to represent, foreign interests to the detriment of our national interest,” he said.

Joseph also castigated Lim for supposedly downplaying the effects of the Aug. 23, 2010 hostage-taking tragedy when he told the press the incident “doesn’t have that much of an effect because Hong Kong is a small market.”

Other oppositors

“Lim misses the obvious fact that Hong Kong and China have tremendous potential as a source of tourists given their close geography, sheer population and spending power,” he said.

Besides Joseph, those opposing Lim’s appointment were the Cebu Interline Operators, Chamber of Real Estate Builders Association, Davao Association of Tour Operators, Davao Tourism Association, Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, among others.

Meanwhile, though Education Secretary Armin Luistro has patched things up with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who earlier threatened to block his confirmation, Luistro Wednesday encountered some fresh opposition to his appointment.

This time the objection came from two complainants who took Luistro to task for “numerous violations” of Department of Education orders in Caloocan City.

Luistro promised to look into the complaints of a certain Rolando Ocampo and Victorino Mendoza, who submitted a joint affidavit to the CA.

“This is nothing personal,” Ocampo told Luistro at the end of the hearing.

The commission decided to defer decision on Luistro’s nomination despite a letter from Santiago withdrawing her opposition.

“The nominee and I have engaged in a fruitful dialogue, and we have cordially agreed to disagree,” Santiago said in a letter to Sen. Edgardo Angara, education committee chair and a CA member.

The title is misleading because it makes you think that the 10 million will arrive only during the holiday season but upon reading, you'd learn that 6 million have already used the airport to enter the country from January 1 to December 6, 2010. Because 200,000 have come in from December 1 to December 7, it is projected that the number of people who would fly in through the NAIA would reach 8 to 10 million.




The figure 8 to 10 million refers to the number of people which will have used the international gateway to enter the country. The traffic includes both the balikbayans and the tourists.

According to Wikipedia, the 2009 figure for NAIA is 24,108,825. I'm assuming this is composed of both arrivals and departures. Based on this figure, 8-10 million arrivals for 2010 isn't too fantastic.

Agree. I was about to reply to this yesterday but had something else to do and wasn't able to reply until now. But the title of the article is indeed misleading, poor journalistic sense on the part of the reporter. The airports can't process 6-10 million passengers in a month.

You said exactly what I had meant to say.

Tourism chief represents foreign interests, CA told

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:37:00 12/09/2010

Filed Under: Congress, Government, Civil & Public Services, Tourism, Air Transport

MANILA, Philippines—The congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) has deferred the confirmation of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim after private tourism groups used the Senate confirmation hearings as a battleground to block fresh moves to adopt an “open skies” policy.

Robert Lim Joseph, chair of the Travel Cooperative of the Philippines, called Lim an “idiot,” a “liar,” and an “incompetent” for coming up with the widely derided “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” slogan, for allegedly washing his hands of the fiasco, and for proposing to liberalize the country’s airline industry to the detriment of local carriers.

Not personal, but...

Lim was sitting right behind Joseph as the latter was excoriating him before the 24-member commission.

In an interview following the hearing, Lim said Joseph was entitled to his own opinion.

“He said it’s not personal but the words he used were very personal. I am a public servant so I have to face these criticisms,” he said.

Joseph said Lim’s championing of open skies betrayed his “deep-seated bias” for foreign carriers.

He said Lim was a co-founder and member of the Freedom to Fly Coalition (FFC) which he claimed was “unmasked as a mere front” of the US group AGILE (Accelerating Growth, Investment and Liberalization with Equity) in the Senate in 2003.

“Lim cannot function properly as a secretary of tourism because he has represented, and continues to represent, foreign interests to the detriment of our national interest,” he said.

Joseph also castigated Lim for supposedly downplaying the effects of the Aug. 23, 2010 hostage-taking tragedy when he told the press the incident “doesn’t have that much of an effect because Hong Kong is a small market.”

Other oppositors

“Lim misses the obvious fact that Hong Kong and China have tremendous potential as a source of tourists given their close geography, sheer population and spending power,” he said.

Besides Joseph, those opposing Lim’s appointment were the Cebu Interline Operators, Chamber of Real Estate Builders Association, Davao Association of Tour Operators, Davao Tourism Association, Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, among others.

Meanwhile, though Education Secretary Armin Luistro has patched things up with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who earlier threatened to block his confirmation, Luistro Wednesday encountered some fresh opposition to his appointment.

This time the objection came from two complainants who took Luistro to task for “numerous violations” of Department of Education orders in Caloocan City.

Luistro promised to look into the complaints of a certain Rolando Ocampo and Victorino Mendoza, who submitted a joint affidavit to the CA.

“This is nothing personal,” Ocampo told Luistro at the end of the hearing.

The commission decided to defer decision on Luistro’s nomination despite a letter from Santiago withdrawing her opposition.

“The nominee and I have engaged in a fruitful dialogue, and we have cordially agreed to disagree,” Santiago said in a letter to Sen. Edgardo Angara, education committee chair and a CA member.
If you know Bobby Joseph, his behavior is no different from some of the forumers in SSC who seek attention and troll the boards. In this case, Bobby Joseph has some valid concerns but it's obvious that he will be on the other side of the fence as Bertie Lim (Freedom to Fly Coalition) as Bobby Joseph heads the Fair Open Skies Movement.

Bobby should sort the mess at NITAS (Network of Independent Travel Agencies - Philippines) and seek ways for the travel agencies to become more relevant in this day and age of the internet and online bookings/electronic ticketing instead of hopping from one issue to another and trying to hog the headlines.

Despite what people say about Bertie Lim, I admire his being able to withstand the flak from all sectors and not say bad words against his detractors. That can't be said of Bobby J.

Now the failed "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" is another story...:bash:

^^ yeah.. I agree with his stand for an open skies policy.

Wounds between the Philippines and China starting to heal? South China Morning Post features 'picturesque Philippines'.

Idyll time in the picturesque Philippines
by Robin EsrockNov 02, 2009

The Beach, by Alex Garland, is a must-read book in traveller circles. Before it was turned into an overblown Hollywood movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, The Beach captured the idea of the traveller's paradise.

Ewan McGregor was originally supposed to star in the film adaptation about a British backpacker who stumbles upon a secret beach in Thailand, a Utopia free of Lonely Planet-clutching hordes. Filmed on the southern Thai island of Koh Phi Phi, there's a little known fact about both the book and movie: Thailand wasn't the inspiration for either - it was El Nido, a picturesque region on one of the thousands of islands in the Philippines, and one spared by the recent typhoons and flooding.

And Bacuit Bay in southwest El Nido is probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Crystal-clear warm seawater, sharp limestone cliffs, luminous tropical fish, sea turtles, white powdery beaches, sparkling lagoons, coconut trees and world-class diving abound.

Well before Garland wrote about backpackers searching for Utopia, El Nido was known to and written about by the Chinese, whose traders collected birds' nests from the limestone cliffs. Caho Ju-kua, a Chinese nobleman, wrote about his time in the land of beautiful harbours, in his book Chu Fan Chai. The name El Nido was given to the province by the Spanish, after the same swiftlets' nests.

There are 45 islands around El Nido, located on the northern tip of Palawan and known as the one of the last ecological frontiers in the Philippines. The islands are mostly deserted, protected by law, and boast beaches as isolated as they are beautiful. Tourism is still in its infancy: the first foreign visitors came in the early 1980s for the superb diving, and when the crew of their stranded dive boat woke one morning to El Nido's towering cliffs, a tourism destination was born.

Besides the small town, also called El Nido, there are a couple of swish resorts in the bay including Lagen Island and the decidedly more rustic Miniloc Island (site of the first dive operation), both owned by the El Nido group, as well as Aman Resorts' Amanpulo, on its own private island. There are also plenty of affordable bungalows in town and in the coastal villages. Expect stunning views from your bedroom, world-class snorkelling and diving, yachting and long happy hours at the beachfront bars. From the second I arrive, all I can think about is how I'm going to be able to tear myself away.

Turquoise light blinds me as I prod my sea kayak through the limestone channel of the Big Lagoon. Visitors come from all over the archipelago to visit this stunning natural feature, lined by cliffs and crowded with tropical fish and schools of massive jacks. They come on traditional boats and sea kayaks, which can shore up to unoccupied beaches, the gift of your own island for a day. Pack a picnic, leave enough time to get back, and channel your Robinson Crusoe.

Underwater legend Jacques Cousteau said Palawan had one of the most beautiful seascapes he had ever seen. Wade into the water from the beach or island jetties and you'll quickly discover an underwater wonderland. I've never had the opportunity to scuba dive, and this is the perfect place to do it.

If you can remember the first time you flew in a plane, saw a lion, tasted a perfect steak, or heard your favourite song, that's what it's like to have your introductory scuba dive in El Nido. The buzz is so huge that the risk of the bends, lungs bursting, ears exploding, shark attacks and anything else you can think of is simply not risk enough. Just a few metres deep, I'm already surrounded by myriad luminous tropical fish - a new world has been opened up, one which I return to as often as I can, snorkel at the ready, over the days to come.

There's not much in town besides a couple guest houses and a local bar, but you don't come to a tropical El Dorado like El Nido for the nightlife. Enjoy the blue seas, the great food, smiling hospitality, the emerald islands, and save your nights for a bit of reading.

May I recommend The Beach, by Alex Garland? His description of this paradise is enough to fill a novel.


http://interests.scmp.com/travel/south-east-asia/idyll-time-picturesque-philippines

^^
nice find there! :okay:

^^
nice find there! :okay:

Thanks. I get updates from SCMP by mail occasionally. :)

Ways to boost RP’s tourism

by Mila C. Espina

Recently the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tourism Team led by president Sam Chioson and the stakeholders, media and friends troop to the venue host, Diamond Suites, for the first of a series of luncheon press briefing and interaction on the long-term Tourism projects of the organization. Team is led by Nestor Archival, Tess Chan and this writer.

For the past months, the organization has been working with the Province and City of Cebu , the Tourism Department and the various travel on tour groups to realize some feasible programs which could enrich Cebu’s tourist attractions.

So far, the organization had finished several ocular surveys of new and existing environment-friendly sites with travel/tour keyplayers and succeeded in printing 10,000 brochures to be distributed to the tour operators, travel agencies; hotels/resorts/restaurants; media; airlines; airports;and other interested groups. Called CCCI Eco-Tourism Trails, (First of a Series), this information channel hopes to trigger-off more interest in the yet, not fully explored eco-adventure resources of Cebu.

Next, the group will study how to implement the Hop-On-Hop-Off city tour where bus rides are available for local and foreign tourists who wish to take affordable bus rides to designated tourism spots. A dry-run on the time zone/ places within the tour loop (with the City tourism officers, CITOM and tour operators) was done and the results were quite encouraging. But, the sustainability of this project may only succeed with the help of the city government, DoT, and , of course, the tour groups. Can you imagine if Cebu makes this program work,( just like in London and other Asian cities), first in the Philippines, indeed. We can only utter ‘wow’!

Still in the process of study are the much-awaited Windows of Cebu, a one-stop showcase of Cebu’s products and landmarks; the Information Networking Center; and the resumption of Coffee Break with the organization. Meanwhile, I will launch a tourism show in one of our local channels and it will be called Windows of Cebu, a prelude to the one-stop showcase of the organization. This concept, which I conceived years ago will soon be realized and will complement the group’s tourism thrusts.

The press briefing expects to get some insights from our media friends and the tourism stakeholders.



http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideLifestyle.htm?f=/2010/december/10/lifestyle2.isx&d=2010/december/10

^^Nice article you got there.

Diba plans before na ilipat ang DOT HQ sa Cebu? I really think we should do that.

dati yun:D

sa Tarlac na raw ngayon:D j/k

Of Sun, Sand, and Starfishes
With 7,107 islands, the Philippines is a country to behold. There is a local folklore that attributes the country’s formation from a necklace of pearls scattered on the rim of the Pacific Ocean by the gods. It is not hard to believe the tale because its tiny islands are like jewels that have been sought after by travelers, year in and year out.
It is, therefore, a must for a first-time traveler, who finds his path leading to this archipelago, to put “going to the beaches” at the top of his checklist. Take note, it is in the plural form because it is not easy to choose only one among the thousands of beach destinations that the country can offer.

http://camsur.com/images/stories/aaaaaaap1010227.jpg

Sun-kissed, From Sun Up Till Sunset
The tropical weather in the Philippines is one of the factors that attract people from the colder regions to its shores. The sun shines all year round, except during the rainy season. Along with its warm climate, Philippine residents also carry a sunshiny disposition that easily draws foreigners to their charms.

Some of the isolated beaches where vacationers can lie all day under the sun and get that glowing golden tan are found in Caramoan, Camarines Sur. These are Matukad Beach, Big-ang Beach and Gota Beach. One can even watch the orange sun taking a bow at dusk and then spend the night camping at the long stretch of Big-ang Beach.
Another perfect getaway is the sand bar off Camiguin, the “Island of Fire,” located at the southern region of the country. Apart from enjoying the warmth of the sun, travelers to Camiguin can either dip in its famous hot springs and cold springs or trek its highest peak, Mt. Hibok-Hibok. One spot that shouldn’t be missed in the island, apart from its Sunken Cemetery, is the Kebila Clam Nursery where various clam species are cultivated and protected.

The Philippines also boast of beautiful sunsets, especially the one that can be viewed at the Manila Bay.

http://camsur.com/images/stories/aaap1010302.jpg

Sand castles and Sandwiches

Boracay is considered to be one of the best beaches in the Philippines and in Asia. Be it day or night, there is so much energy and vigor in this popular island destination. Its powdery white sand has been a delight to visitors. Because of its fine sand, towering sand castles built by locals have become a landmark in itself and have been attracting tourists and photography enthusiasts.

When not in the water, tourists fill their cravings at the rows of bars and restaurants where they can choose from the variety of cuisines and local delicacies offered. At night, the beach comes alive with music, strobe lights, drinks, and food that bring together the people spending their vacation in Boracay.

Filipinos are known for their hospitality, and preparing food for its visitors is just one facet of this local custom. With this, one can expect to find a food joint in many public beaches. That, or excursionists bring packs of food whenever they head for a swim.

http://camsur.com/images/stories/aaap5040512.jpg

A Star(fish) Was Born

Finding a starfish in the Philippines is an easy feat. One can find them in various sizes and colors all over the country. Here are some places where they abound.

Palawan’s rich underwater life in Busuanga or in Puerto Princesa beckons travelers to these pieces of paradise in the western part of the Philippines. Whether it is the shipwrecks at Coron or the coral beds in Honda Bay, renting a boat all day for some snorkeling or diving sessions is definitely a worthy outlay.

When it comes to marine attraction, Negros Oriental has a lot to boast about. Apo Island is one of the best diving spots in the archipelago. Bais City prides itself for its fascinating frequent visitors--the dolphins at Tañon Strait. They love to show off whenever visitors come to their territory. The expansive sand bar off the strait serves like a giant pool with the added attraction of starfishes that abound in the area.

Bohol is another prime beach destination because of its serene seaside ambiance. It also has protected areas where corals, starfishes, dolphins, and manta rays thrive. The added bonus with Bohol is its one-of-a-kind tourism icons like the Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers.

As winter approaches, the Philippines becomes a warm haven from the biting cold. Its beaches are always ready to welcome seekers of tranquility and quietness. First-time travelers will definitely find a way to come back for more and respond to the tempting invitation of its sun, sand, and starfishes.
http://camsur.com/CamSur-News/latest-news/of-sun-sand-and-starfishes.html

dati yun:D

sa Tarlac na raw ngayon:D j/k

:okay:

ComVal town unveils more natural wonders
December 11, 2010, 8:54pm

NABUNTURAN, Philippines (PIA) – Tucked in a corner of Compostela Valley (ComVal) Province, this municipality is unmasking its natural wonders as the town makes a serious pitch for tourism.

“This year is the year for discovery, the next year will be the year for packaging,” said Municipal Administrator Karen Santiago Malaki.

She also disclosed that more potential sites are still being explored and discovered in this town. One such spot is a newly found waterfalls located in the boundary of this town and the municipality of San Isidro in Davao Oriental, she said.

Former mountaineer now Nabunturan Municipal Councilor Mario Angelo Sotto said the falls has been named as Namec Falls which is taken after the Nabunturan Mountaineering Ecological Club, which made expeditions to the previously hidden wonder.

Another new find is a 100-meter sinkhole, where about 60 meters had been officially mapped, according to Sotto.

A previous expedition which touched around 100 meters recounted that the bottom of the sinkhole is an underground river that leads to a sub-surface lake.

The municipality is trying to explore and map out new sites including cave systems which are scattered over the town.

This municipality was once known as the caving capital of ComVal before yielding the title to Laak town.

According to Malaki, the town is now placing premium on tourism under the new leadership of town Mayor Romeo Clarin.

“Tourism was not given emphasis before, now after we’ve discovered new geological attractions and recent developments in other areas, we are now focusing on tourism,” Malaki said.

The municipal official said the first step of the administration was strengthening the town’s tourism council.

Aside from being home to new tourism wonders, the town is gearing up as the hub of a ComVal tourism highway being located in the center of the province.


http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/292301/comval-town-unveils-more-natural-wonders

Macau Tourism promoter to be awarded P15 Million bid for formulating Philippine National Tourism Development Plan

Monday, December 13, 2010 Posted by Paul Farol


DoT Bidding for National Tourism Development Plan, LUTONG MACAU?

The Department of Tourism (DoT) is about to award or has already awarded a P15 Million contract to Indra Philippines/Asia Pacific Projects despite failing to pass the score requirement for the bid.

The DoT recently bid out a contract for the development of a 5-Year National Tourism Development Plan and required that the winning bidder should garner a score of at least 85 %. The National Tourism Development Plan will basically tell the entire Philippine Tourism industry what areas will be developed for tourism and how it will be marketed to the entire world. Read that as crafting the master plan which will mark out where billions of pesos of tourism development and promotion funds will go.

Suddenly, the P 5 Million spent on the non-launch of the failed "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" tourism slogan seems like a drop in the bucket.

Indra Philippines/Asia Pacific Projects consortium scored 83.5 in the technical proposal submitted to the department’s bid and awards committee. Palafox Associates, the architectural firm of Felino Palafox Jr., got a score of 76 percent. SMEC Philippines/Tourism Resource Consultants, P-Square Associates and Woodfields Consultants participated in the bid and garnered even lower scores.

Asia Pacific Projects' key principal is Narz Lim, the Macau Government Tourist Office-Philippines General Manager. (Refer to the last paragraph of an article by Inquirer Lifestyle columnist Maurice Arcache http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20090317-194682/Dazzling-golden-anniversary)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/TQWJ7YDru_I/AAAAAAAABX8/B8DuMlF3JLc/s1600/narzalina+lim2.jpg


What is funny is that after informing the bidders of the scores of their respective bids where in all failed to meet the required 85%, they were informed in another meeting that Asia Pacific Projects actually won the bid after the scores were "transmuted".

From a "raw score" of 83 percent, Indra Philippines/Asia Pacific Projects suddenly got a grade of 87 percent -- meeting the score requirement for the bid.


LUTONG MACAU

Under other circumstances, perhaps the other bidders would have asked for a re-bidding of the project and given themselves additional time to make the grade. However, for some reason, all the other participating bidders just decided to walk away from the table.

And that some reason is Narzalina "Narz" Z. Lim -- who is of no relation to the current Tourism Secretary Alberto "Bertie" Lim. But that is not to say that the two don't have a history, working together in the Freedom-to-Fly Coalition that advocated open-skies in the Philippines. Both are also staunch Cory and Noynoy supporters.

According to the Asia Pacific Projects website, comprising the other part of the consortium
Narzalina Z. Lim is a key principal who established APPI in 1992 after many years serving as Undersecretary and later Secretary of Tourism of the Philippines. Her areas of expertise are in tourism planning and development, policy formulation, and human resource development and training. She graduated with a Masters degree in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Narz Lim was Undersecretary of Tourism during Cory Aquino's time from 1986 to 1991 and then served as Secretary of Tourism in 1992.

In addition to this, word is that Narz Lim led Asia Pacific Projects in helping craft the previous National Tourism Development Plan which didn't fair too well.

A number of people have said that the previous National Tourism Development Plan was of dubious value since not many in the tourism industry knew about it and those who knew about it found it "unimplementable."

A tourism business operator opined:
I had been in the INBOUND Tourism business since 1984, more than 25 years now, and there had been TOURISM MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLANS galore. All these brilliant Touirsm Master Plans were just rotting away in file , even their old rusty filing cabinets cannot be found already! I had been looking for this in Boracay too but to no avail! Each Administration to each his own political agenda... or worse kanya kanyang kurakot so no solid long term SUSTAINABLE Development & Tourism plans are implemented!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/TQWEhhdj3_I/AAAAAAAABX0/vFhsFNe3L5I/s1600/tourism+operator+doubts+value+of+tourism+plan.jpg

Apart from ignoring the dubious value of the previous NTDP, the more disconcerting fact perhaps is the tip off that Narz Lim is already working as the representative of the Macau Tourism Office in Manila.

See this Google Search for Narz Lim and Macau Tourism here.


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/TQWHzOZcuwI/AAAAAAAABX4/NjjqiY3DDmg/s1600/narz+lim+macau+tourism.jpg

I don't know if the Department of Tourism took it into consideration that the head of the corporation that is going to create our country's tourism plan for the next five years is actually being paid a bigger amount to sell Macau Tourism.

The thing is, the news media ain't picking this up... Masarap siguro ang Lechong Macau.
:ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno:

Macau Tourism promoter to be awarded P15 Million bid for formulating Philippine National Tourism Development Plan

Monday, December 13, 2010 Posted by Paul Farol


DoT Bidding for National Tourism Development Plan, LUTONG MACAU?

The Department of Tourism (DoT) is about to award or has already awarded a P15 Million contract to Indra Philippines/Asia Pacific Projects despite failing to pass the score requirement for the bid.

The DoT recently bid out a contract for the development of a 5-Year National Tourism Development Plan and required that the winning bidder should garner a score of at least 85 %. The National Tourism Development Plan will basically tell the entire Philippine Tourism industry what areas will be developed for tourism and how it will be marketed to the entire world. Read that as crafting the master plan which will mark out where billions of pesos of tourism development and promotion funds will go.

Suddenly, the P 5 Million spent on the non-launch of the failed "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" tourism slogan seems like a drop in the bucket.

Indra Philippines/Asia Pacific Projects consortium scored 83.5 in the technical proposal submitted to the department’s bid and awards committee. Palafox Associates, the architectural firm of Felino Palafox Jr., got a score of 76 percent. SMEC Philippines/Tourism Resource Consultants, P-Square Associates and Woodfields Consultants participated in the bid and garnered even lower scores.

Asia Pacific Projects' key principal is Narz Lim, the Macau Government Tourist Office-Philippines General Manager. (Refer to the last paragraph of an article by Inquirer Lifestyle columnist Maurice Arcache http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20090317-194682/Dazzling-golden-anniversary)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/TQWJ7YDru_I/AAAAAAAABX8/B8DuMlF3JLc/s1600/narzalina+lim2.jpg


What is funny is that after informing the bidders of the scores of their respective bids where in all failed to meet the required 85%, they were informed in another meeting that Asia Pacific Projects actually won the bid after the scores were "transmuted".

From a "raw score" of 83 percent, Indra Philippines/Asia Pacific Projects suddenly got a grade of 87 percent -- meeting the score requirement for the bid.


LUTONG MACAU

Under other circumstances, perhaps the other bidders would have asked for a re-bidding of the project and given themselves additional time to make the grade. However, for some reason, all the other participating bidders just decided to walk away from the table.

And that some reason is Narzalina "Narz" Z. Lim -- who is of no relation to the current Tourism Secretary Alberto "Bertie" Lim. But that is not to say that the two don't have a history, working together in the Freedom-to-Fly Coalition that advocated open-skies in the Philippines. Both are also staunch Cory and Noynoy supporters.

According to the Asia Pacific Projects website, comprising the other part of the consortium
Narzalina Z. Lim is a key principal who established APPI in 1992 after many years serving as Undersecretary and later Secretary of Tourism of the Philippines. Her areas of expertise are in tourism planning and development, policy formulation, and human resource development and training. She graduated with a Masters degree in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Narz Lim was Undersecretary of Tourism during Cory Aquino's time from 1986 to 1991 and then served as Secretary of Tourism in 1992.

In addition to this, word is that Narz Lim led Asia Pacific Projects in helping craft the previous National Tourism Development Plan which didn't fair too well.

A number of people have said that the previous National Tourism Development Plan was of dubious value since not many in the tourism industry knew about it and those who knew about it found it "unimplementable."

A tourism business operator opined:
I had been in the INBOUND Tourism business since 1984, more than 25 years now, and there had been TOURISM MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLANS galore. All these brilliant Touirsm Master Plans were just rotting away in file , even their old rusty filing cabinets cannot be found already! I had been looking for this in Boracay too but to no avail! Each Administration to each his own political agenda... or worse kanya kanyang kurakot so no solid long term SUSTAINABLE Development & Tourism plans are implemented!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/TQWEhhdj3_I/AAAAAAAABX0/vFhsFNe3L5I/s1600/tourism+operator+doubts+value+of+tourism+plan.jpg

Apart from ignoring the dubious value of the previous NTDP, the more disconcerting fact perhaps is the tip off that Narz Lim is already working as the representative of the Macau Tourism Office in Manila.

See this Google Search for Narz Lim and Macau Tourism here.


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/TQWHzOZcuwI/AAAAAAAABX4/NjjqiY3DDmg/s1600/narz+lim+macau+tourism.jpg

I don't know if the Department of Tourism took it into consideration that the head of the corporation that is going to create our country's tourism plan for the next five years is actually being paid a bigger amount to sell Macau Tourism.

The thing is, the news media ain't picking this up... Masarap siguro ang Lechong Macau.
:ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno:

the media is not picking it up kasi hindi kayang gumawa ng ka kurapan ang admin ni pnoy.....:lol: kapalpakan lang....:lol:

ooohhhh:D

lutong macau pala :D

^^Ayan ang totoong tuwid na tuwid na daan... :)

I don't know if the Department of Tourism took it into consideration that the head of the corporation that is going to create our country's tourism plan for the next five years is actually being paid a bigger amount to sell Macau Tourism.

The thing is, the news media ain't picking this up... Masarap siguro ang Lechong Macau.
:ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno:

The media might not pick it up but Pinoy bloggers from around the world surely will.

The bloggers gave a negative view on The "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" campaign, but lets see how they will react to this one.