TOURIST NUMBERS have picked up with the arrival of some 300
Filipino-Americans and their mainstream American friends, just as the lean
travel season has set in.
The visiting Fil-Ams are in Manila for the 9th
Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour of the Philippines (ACGTDT)
from July 28 to 31, which features an audience with President Aquino, lunch at Heroes’
Hall, and a tour of Malacañang on July 30. Aquino is expected to speak to the participants
and boast of his administration’s successes on the economic front and his drive
against corruption.
“Through this successful tour program, we are able to entice
Filipino-Americans as well as their friends in the US to visit us and to deepen
their appreciation of the history, heritage and culture of our country and the
natural warmth of our people. Aside from being a safe place to travel, the
Philippines is one of the best places for medical and wellness tourism as well
as a retirement haven,” said Domingo Ramon Enerio III, chief operating officer
of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), in a press statement released over the
weekend. The TPB is the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), one
of the lead agencies that implements this tour program.
The lean travel season usually begins in June and lasts
until October-November, reflecting the country’s monsoon season which also
attracts a number of strong typhoons.
The balikbayans (returning Filipinos) and their American
friends will be coming from Washington D.C., where the Philippine Embassy in
the US is located, as well as Hagatña, Guam; Chicago; Honolulu; Los Angeles;
New York; and San Francisco, which host Philippine consular offices.
The program was launched in 2005 during the term of then
Philippine Ambassador to the US (now Foreign Affairs Secretary) Albert del
Rosario and implemented in cooperation with the DOT and TPB.
In July 2011,
it was designated as a banner tourism project under the DOT’s Pinoy
Homecoming Program. Major sponsors include the Western Union, Tourism
Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), Duty-Free Philippines
(DFP), and Philippine Retirement Authority. Tieza and DFP are also attached
agencies of the DOT.
In a separate press statement, Philippine Ambassador to the
US Jose Cuisia, Jr. described the 9th ACGTDT as “a wonderful opportunity for
balikbayans and our American friends to experience some of the Philippines’
best tourist destinations.” He
will be leading the delegation from the US.
Enerio said tour participants arrived to a VIP reception with
sampaguita leis at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday, with the
rest arriving today, Monday.
The participants paid for a basic tour package, which cost
$530 (excluding airfare) for a four-day/three-night (double occupancy) stay at
Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati with daily buffet breakfast, lunches and a welcome
dinner with entertainment at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel, and a fellowship
night hosted by Western Union. Roundrip international airfare was via
Philippine Airlines where applicable.
Enerio added that participants will also join the
wreath-laying ceremony at the historic Rizal Monument in Rizal Park (formerly
Luneta), and may opt to go on special tours to Corregidor, Intramuros, the Metropolitan
Museum at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Manila Ocean Park, shopping malls, or
have spa treatments.
“To cap this year’s visit, the participants will be brought
via guided tours to the luxurious resort of Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast
in Nasugbu, Batangas. They will arrive to a festive welcome of native songs and
dances with rondalla music with the ‘Star for All Seasons”, now Provincial
Governor, Vilma Santos-Recto, and Nasugbu Mayor Charito Apacible personally
joining them throughout their stay at Hamilo Coast,” the TPB chief said.
The participants will feast on a sumptuous Southern Tagalog
lunch and be entertained with a cultural show. They will have a free afternoon where they can enjoy indoor
games and outdoor sports, go island-hopping, swimming,
snorkelling, or scuba diving. The coastal area of Batangas is located within
the Verde Island Passage dubbed by marine biologists as the “center of the
center of marine shorefish biodiversity.” More than 65 percent of the world’s
marine species, endangered sea creatures, and some 300 coral species can be found
in this area.
Meanwhile, Rajah Tour Philippines has arranged optional
tours for the participants to other destinations Laoag-Vigan, Cagayan de
Oro-Camiguin, golf clubs in Southern Luzon, Davao, Cebu-Bohol, Iloilo-Bacolod,
Kalibo-Boracay, Camarines Sur-Albay, and Puerto Princesa-Palawan. These tours
are scheduled from July 31 to Aug. 2.
From January to April 2014, visitors from the US (266,972) and
Canada (56,571) accounted for 19 percent of the 1.7 million total visitor
arrivals for the period.
“We encourage our countrymen here to invite their relatives
and friends in the US and Canada to plan and book for these tours, especially
for ‘Visit Philippines 2015,’” said Enerio.
The DOT has targetted foreign visitor arrivals to reach 6.8
million for 2014, and 8.2 million for 2015. Foreign visitor arrivals numbered
4.7 million in 2013, falling short of the 5.2-million target for the year.
*Have no idea if my piece was published in the BusinessMirror today as its web site is under construction. So there.
