At this period, Baguio City has started to have a few hundred of early visitors of its flower festival or "Panagbenga" and more are expected during the main events like street dancing and float parade on February 25 and 26.

Gov. Fongwan said that during this month, there will be mountain climbing expeditions at Mount Pulag in Kabayan town; while first international skyrunning competition will be held in Itogon municipality on February 18.

He also said that the capital town of La Trinidad offers a good spot for a side trip of the Baguio visitors as the strawberry farmers have started to have initial harvests, and Benguet State University (BSU) has diversified products to offer for sale to visitors like the vegetable noodles.

Fongwan added that the period prior to the rainy month of June is the best time to have a trip to Benguet as there are no thick fog which normally block the good view of the panoramic view of wide hectares of vegetable gardens with the back drop of blue green mountains. (PNA)

FFC/AAG

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MANILA, Feb. 10 — Ilocos Norte Governor Maria Imelda "Imee" Marcos recently called on travel writers at the Bahia Room of Hotel Intercontinental Manila to help boost her tourism revival campaign for her province with the slogan "Paoay Kumakaway" or "Paoay Calling."

Marcos said the tourism sector up north, particularly in the Ilocos region, is now vibrant with the "open skies policy" allowing foreign airlines to bring in and out travellers at the Laoag International Airport.

"Air travel has become more vibrant with tourists from China, Japan and Taiwan constantly coming for business, sports, pleasure and nature tripping. This has given jobs to our locals in the restaurants, beaches, resorts and convention centers," the lady governor said.

"Our province is replete with history and historical places like the Paoay Church that was declared as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage in 1993. You should see its unique earthquake baroque architecture," she added.

The governor also mentioned the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse built in the 1890s and the country's tallest at that. It stands on the rugged coastlines of Ilocos and provides a breathtaking view of the ocean.

Then there's the Museo Ilocos Norte which is actually a gallery showcasing vignettes of Ilocano culture. The museum's center piece is a life-size Ilocano house from the Spanish period. Ilocano cigars, which are famous souvenirs for local and foreign tourists, are also found at the Museo.

Ms. Marcos, who herself is a sportsman, was ecstatic when she mentioned Pagudpud — the best place for water sports with blue waves at Blue Lagoon in Balaoi, according to pro-surfers as well as the Kingfisher Resort in Caparispisan where wind and wave combine for wave lovers. For the adventure seekers, Ms. Marcos talked of the Ilocos Norte sand dunes in an 85-square kilometer land formation unique in Southeast Asia and a popular spot for 4X4 truck races early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Sand boarding is also popular in the sinking yellow-grey sands.

Of course, not to be forgotten is the Bangui windmills where international pro surfers Pete Cabrinha and Susi Mai say that Ilocos Norte is the future of wind sports and the beach at the Bangui windmills provide a dynamic backdrop for kite boarding.

The governor said additional interesting destinations in Ilocos include the Marcos birthplace in Sarrat, which is a traditional "Bahay na Bato," Malacanang of the North, the official residence of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos built on a high point of land projecting into the sea right beyond the coastline of the legendary Paoay Lake which has been turned into a museum, the Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center or the ancestral home of the Marcoses in Batac which showcases the memorabilia of the late President and honors his remains in a mausoleum.

"If I am not so busy, I might even be your tour guide because I know the place like the palm of my hand," she said.

When asked about the locals' wearing a mustache "a la- Juan Luna," Ms. Marcos said it's their way of showing honor and remembrance of one of the world's greatest painters who was a native of Badoc, Ilocos Norte.

Luna, a painter and sculpture shipped in May 1884 the large canvas of the Spoliarium to Madrid for the year's Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes. He was the first recipient of the three gold medals awarded in the exhibition and Luna gained fame worldwide. (PNA)

scs/LOR

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The name Pook is a barangay where the KIA is located in this town.

Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez said that if plans would materialize, both foreign and local tourists will be encouraged to visit Aklan Product Showcases at the Pook terminal. After which, they will be transported to the nearby jetty port to which a fast track (Catamarans) to Boracay Island would be made available.

"The water-based route will pass through the Bakhawan Eco-Park, Jawili Beach in Tangalan and other tourism sites on the way to Boracay. Along this route, restaurants and resorts may spring up with water sports activities," Marquez said.

She said the water-based route will also improve traffic congestion in the province making tourists arrive in Boracay at the shortest possible time.

Currently, a tourist via KIA could reached Boracay two hours by land. (PNA) FFC/AJP/JNA/vlo

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A total of 152,300 North Koreans visited the neighboring country last year, up 31 percent from 2010, according to the Voice of America, which quoted data from the China National Tourism Administration.

The figure is 21 percent larger than the previous record of 125,800 set in 2005, the report said.

About half, or 75,266 visitors, were seeking work in China's manufacturing or service industries, while another 39,042 visitors arrived for business purposes, the report said.

Of the remainder, 4,589 were tourists and 99 traveled to see family, while 33,304 fell under the category of other purposes.

By age group, nearly half, or 72,885 visitors, were aged between 45 and 64, followed by 64,823 people who were aged between 25 and 44.

Ferries were the most popular means of transport for the North Koreans at 62,160 passengers, followed by 33,933 who arrived by plane, 31,829 by car, 19,132 by train and 5,246 by foot.

The number of male visitors at 130,472 far exceeded the number of females.

The data did not include defectors or other North Korean visitors who arrived by unofficial means, the report said. (PNA/Yonhap)

DCT/ebp

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The number of international ferry passengers to and from the country totaled 2,702,432 last year, down 2.4 percent from 2,769,808 in 2010, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The number of ferry passengers between South Korea and China surged to an all-time high in 2011, growing 15 percent on-year to 1,708,153.

However, the overall number of people on international passenger ships to and from South Korea dropped as passengers to and from Japan plunged 22.6 percent from over 1.2 million in 2010 to only about 949,000 last year.

"Both passenger and cargo traffic had been expected to reach new highs last year but passenger traffic slightly decreased from 2010 as the number of passengers to and from Japan dropped significantly following the strong earthquake there," the ministry said.

The volume of cargo on international ships gained 5.8 percent from a year earlier to 581,248 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) with cargo shipped between South Korea and China growing 8.6 percent to 471,810 TEUs. (PNA/Yonhap) DCT/ebp

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"We will try to increase the number of tourists here by holding and organizing various activities and programs," head of the South Sumatra culture and tourism agency Toni Panggarbesi said in Palembang Thursday.

He said to reach the number of tourists he will cooperate with the relevant authorities in the area.

He said Indonesia last year had 7.6 million tourists, and was planned to reach eight million, but they reached only 7.8 million.

The tourists in South Sumatra came from Malaysia, and also from Jakarta, Bali, Yogyakarta, and Batam, and he will try to increase their number by 20 percent this year, he said.

He said while in 2011 the number of Indonesian tourists reached 2.7 million, the number of foreign tourists reached 36,000 to 40,000 to South Sumatra.

"This year we need to cooperate with the world of tourists and shareholders. We make souvenirs, but the readiness of the regencies and cities are also expected in the development and arrangements of tourism objects and destinations," he said.

He said it is also necessary to hold activities such as holding a festival like the recent "cap go meh" (end of Chinese new year), for instance.

He will also invite the South Sumatra Arts Council to hold regional dances on Saturdays and Sundays, especially to entertain tourists.

The cultural and tourism agency will also cooperate with tourist operators in Malaysia, and the promotion of hotels in the province, he said.

South Sulawesi has a number of tourist objects and destinations including Pulau Kemarau (dry season island), Bukit Siguntang, Plaza Benteng Kuto Besak, and Lake Ranau, Gunung Dempo and many others. (PNA/Antara) DCT/ebp

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“I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful time in Iloilo on the occasion of the unforgettable Dinagyang Festival. My wife and I are very grateful for the warm welcome you gave us,” Hugues-Antoine Suin, deputy head of mission of French Embassy, wrote Mayor Jed Patrick E. Mabilog.

“I wish you continuous success in all your endeavors for the benefit of your beautiful City of Love and your people,” Suin said in his email to Mabilog on Jan. 25.

The mayor said the great compliments that Dinagyang got from foreign dignitaries and visitors bolstered the city’s growing reputation as home to world-class festivals and best tourism events in the country.

The festival, celebrated in honor of Sr. Sto Nino, is held every third Sunday of January. (PNA)

DCT/LAM/ajp/JVF/vlo

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The new additional routes are from Clark to Davao, Cebu, Kalibo and Puerto Prinsesa, and the same brings the total number of AirPhil Express’s daily scheduled trips to 32 local destinations.

The Clark to Cebu route will fly twice in the morning every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday while the Clark to Davao route will fly twice in the morning every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The Clark to Kalibo route, meanwhile, will fly four times (two in the morning, two in the afternoon) every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

The Clark to Puerto Princesa route, on the other hand, will fly four times every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

“With its highly improved road network and increasing flights, Clark is setting out to become a natural entry point to major tourist destinations and a major hub for business and tourism in the country,” Alfredo Herrera, AirPhil Express senior vice president for sales and marketing, said.

“Aside from being a major part of the company’s growth plans this year, one other reason why we have decided to offer flights from Clark is so we may bring our services closer to people in Pampanga and the nearby areas. It goes hand in hand with our commitment to help spur growth for the country’s economy via the promotion of local tourism in the area,” Herrera said.

Due to the immense volume of passengers expected to be shuttling to and from the area, the budget carrier’s hub in Clark will likewise be made a separate center that is dedicated to the city.

The newly opened routes from Clark is also expected to allow for more visitors, who often travel for the purpose of business and leisure, to take advantage of the latest express sale promo fares of AirPhil Express en route to enjoying resource-rich destinations in Clark and the nearby areas.

In line with its new routes, AirPhil Express is also continuously expanding its fleet.

Early this year, the company added three 180-seater Airbus A320s, which can fly at longer flight distances with lesser fuel consumption. This brings the total number of AirPhil Express aircrafts to 11 Airbus 320s, three Q300s and five Q400s.

Aside from operating in 32 local destinations throughout the country, AirPhil Express also serves the Manila-Singapore and Cebu-Hong Kong international routes. (PNA)

DCT/FFC/zst/MDDR/ps

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This is one one the reasons why last year breached the expected 3.917 million mark of foreign travel arrivals with the help of gains made by regional markets, according to Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

In 2010, the record was 3.52 million but clear improvement was on the upswing due to change in government and the people's hopefulness for a new life and a better future.

"When the industry exceeds expectations as it had done last year, we feel very encouraged. And with the overwhelming response to our new brand campaign launched last month, we know that we have broken ground on crowd sourcing. The people’s campaign will help bring more numbers,” said Jimenez.

Former Tourism Secretary Albert Lim contributed to the milestone even before the new campaign was launched.

Thus, for the first time in the history of Philippine tourism, total visitor arrivals in the country in 2011 reached close to four million which is 11.28% higher than the 3.520 million posted in 2010 and surpassed by 4.6% DOT’s 2011 target visitor expectation of 3.7 million.

December was the strongest in 2011 with 394,567 tourists last year, but November proved to be the biggest gainer with an improvement of 19.80% from the same month in 2010 with 337,021 visitors.

Ten out of the 12 months last year saw figures of 300,000, including the 2011 figure of 207,152 returning overseas Filipinos.

East Asia continued to lead all regional markets with 1,837,681 arrivals, 46.91% of the entire number last year. South Korea repeated as the strongest single market with 925,204 arrivals for a 23.62% share of visitor volume. Japan contributed with 375,496 visitors or 9.59% share, China (243,137, 6.21%) and Taiwan (181,738, 4.64%).

Hongkong sent in 112,106 visitors, even as China and Taiwan were the greatest gainers — up 29.71% and 27.58% from 2010, respectively.

Tourists from the US which is the country's second-largest tourist market, totaled 624,527 or 15.94% of all tourist traffic.

Australia and Canada experienced double-digit growth with 170,736 and 117,423 arrivals.

Meanwhile, Singapore and Malaysia provided the majority of the 331,672 visitors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with which the Philippines expects greater integration in tourism following the 15th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers in Manado, Indonesia last month.

Northern and Western Europe posted near-identical numbers with modest growth of 164,205 and 157,265 arrivals, respectively.

So, who says touring the more than 7,000 scattered Philippine islands isn't fun? In Europe and the Americas, tourists can't sunbathe when it's winter with ice sheets covering the earth. (PNA) DCT/LOR

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Harper made the remark while attending an opening ceremony held in Beijing for the Canadian Tourism Commission's 2012 summer tourism marketing campaign.

"The tourism industry is particularly valuable," Harper said, adding that the industry has created jobs and economic growth in every region of Canada.

Harper said Canada has enjoyed increasing numbers of Chinese visitors since China granted Canada approved destination status during Harper's first visit in 2009.

In the past year, nearly a quarter of a million Chinese have visited China, a 25-percent year-on-year increase, Harper said.

Harper is currently paying a five-day official visit to China, with Canadian Minister of International Trade Edward Fast joining his delegation.

According to the Canadian Embassy to China, tourism is an important source of revenue for the country, bringing in 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2010. (PNA/Xinhua) DCT/mmg

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NEW DELHI, Feb. 8 — Russian literary master Leon Tolstoi once said all happy families are alike whereas every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. <P>South Asia or the Indian subcontinent somewhat reflects the latter as well, like many other parts of the world.

Tuesday's turmoil in the island nation of Maldives again showed a collection of unhappy neighbors — unhappy with each other and unhappy among themselves.

Grappling with internal crisis and as a result hampering economic development is a chronic problem for South Asian countries, according to political analysts here.

After decades of civil war, Sri Lanka has regained stability and is seeking economic recovery and rehabilitation of war-torn areas in the north.

Pakistan is fighting with Islamic extremism for nearly two decades with a prolonged war waged by NATO in its western neighbor Afghanistan. <P>Rumors of military taking over again gained front pages of Indian newspapers last month, against the background of a renewed Pakistan-U.S. tension of relations.

According to Prof. Ajay Singh, a Delhi-based political analyst, "Pakistan has a democratic government but it's also tackling with Taliban and al-Qaida militants causing blasts — almost on a regular basis — in the country. "Besides, it is faced with NATO operation on its border on a daily basis, while Islamic militant groups from outside the country are active there."

After a space of nearly two years when its capital saw violent fighting between the army and dissident soldiers, Bangladesh army last month claimed to have foiled a coup planned against the government of Hasina.

Singh said the attempt by some fanatic military officers had been thwarted by the "whole-hearted efforts of army soldiers".

"In recent years, certain government policies, such as its attempts to push Bangladesh in a more secular direction and its closeness to neighboring India, have proved divisive. Islamist groups openly challenged the government and it seems the discord spread to elements of the army," said Prof. S.K. Gupta, a South Asia analyst.

Nepal, another India's close neighbor, is also troubled by political uncertainty but it is trying its best to return from the edge by experimenting with a democratic system, according to the experts.

Singh said: "The decade long civil war transformed Nepal from a monarchy into a republic in 2008. But internal political crisis has grappled the Himalayan nation, though India is playing the role of a big brother to stabilize the country.

"India wants Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's government stays on even though there are some vocal Maoist factions stridently opposed to any agreement with ' hegemonic' New Delhi."

In fact, late last year, India agreed to provide 250 million U. S. dollars in credit for developing Nepal's infrastructure.

"New Delhi's 'generosity' is intended to free Indo-Nepal relations from political nettles and ground it in economic realities that make Nepal an attractive investment destination for countries. Nepal's economic partnership with India augurs well for both the neighboring nations," said Professor Singh.

The Indian Ocean nation's first democratically elected President Mohamed Nasheed Tuesday resigned bowing to pressure.

This followed police mutiny and weeks of protest over his controversial decision to sack a criminal judge he had accused of favoring the opposition.

Basab Sen Sharma, a former Mumbai University political teacher, said: "Though it can't be called a military coup of sorts, trouble in Maldives is trouble in the Indian subcontinent.

"More or less a peaceful nation, Maldives is strategically important to India's security being in the backyard.

"For India, which has close security and trade links with Maldives and is now poised to provide greater developmental assistance after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit, negatives have emerged from the sudden turn of events Tuesday."

"As I have always said, we live in perhaps the most troubled neighborhood in the world. In this neighborhood there are countries with governments that are extremely fragile and all this increases the level of threat to our security and our defense," Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram once said. (PNA/Xinhua) DCT/hbc/LOR/utb

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The Tourism department is even optimistic that tourist arrivals will reach a 10-million mark in the next five years since Filipinos and industry stakeholders are promoting the country as a first class vacation place for both foreign and local tourists.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. on Wednesday said the Philippines started getting over the hump in the tourism sector after it exceeded the 3.9 million visitors arrivals in 2011.

"Now, we have to start working to get into 10 million tourists by year 2016. Once we achieve that target, it will mean we would be truly competitive among our Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) big-getters like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia," said Jimenez.

Jimenez, whom the Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) named as responsible for bringing harmony to the tourism industry, said that finally, the Filipinos were beginning to learn to accept and say:"It's my job and source of pride to promote my country."

Philtoa is the biggest body of Philippine tour operators.

"After meeting headlong challenges like negative advisories from foreign embassies regarding security threat, some bad publicity here and abroad and lack of infrastructure, we are now on the road to recovery with our slogan, "It's really more fun in the Philippines," Jimenez said.

He said that in the first place, it was the people's superior ability to make the Philippines a first class vacation place — the biggest factor that attracts tourists/visitors to come and stay even longer than their usual schedule.

Jimenez said that the Filipinos' way of making foreigners comfortable and well-taken care of was something that could not be replicated by other nationalities.

"Our constant smiling despite unlucky or painful experiences make us strong but genial people who know how to enjoy life," he said.

Meanwhile, Philtoa members expressed their full support to Jimenez by adopting the "It's more fun in the Philippines" campaign for the 23rd Philippine Travel Mart (PTM), the biggest annual travel trade show in the country showcasing Philippine tourism destinations and offering big discounted tour packages.

Using the slogan as the official theme, the event to be held at SMX Convention Center on August 10 to 12, is set to boost the campaign for sustainable domestic and inbound tourism.

With the recent developments, organizers of the 2012 PTM, expect an increase in both the number of participants and visitors.

Last year's expo recorded a total of 76,195 individuals in foot traffic, which generated a total of P32,801.280.79 gross sales.

Contributing to the event's success was the huge participation of tour operators from among the country's finest travel locations, which comprised a total of 366 booths from 179 companies during the three-day event last Sept. 2 to 4, 2011 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.

Philtoa president Cesar Cruz said that ultimately, any campaign would only be as good as its product. Cruz is a longtime advocate of sustainable tourism.

"We believe that community-based tourism projects products, coupled with experiential activities such as eco-adventure and cultural thematic tours will be the way to go if the country really wants to meet its projections," said Cruz. (PNA) RMA/LOR

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This is higher than the official forecast range of 12 million to 13 million, and the strong growth is attributable to the increasing number of visitors coming from countries in the region, it said.

Some 76 percent of the visitors were from Asia, with Indonesia leading with a contribution of 2.59 million and China contributing 1.58 million, respectively. About 1.14 million visitors were from Malaysia, 0.96 million from Australia and 0.87 million from India, respectively.

Tourism receipts were at a record 22.2 billion Singapore dollars (17.8 billion U.S. dollars) for 2011, although this was at the low end of the official forecast range of 22 billion to 24 billion Singapore dollars.

The hotel revenue came in at an estimated 2.6 billion Singapore dollars, up 27.8 percent year on year. Both the average room rate and the average occupancy rate were robust, leading to a 15 percent growth in revenue per available room.

Aw Kah Peng, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, said he expected the growth to moderate this year because of the uncertainty in the global economy.

"For the first three, maybe even up to six months of the year, the bookings are fairly strong — meaning they have been sustained. Beyond that, it's harder to see," he said.

"We do know that people are in general more cautious, they are still looking for growth. I do think we have the ability to grow but the uncertainties are there," he added.

Analysts have forecast a 6 percent growth to 14 million tourist arrivals in 2012.(PNA/Xinhua) LAM/LOR/mmg

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DOT officer-in-charge, Atty. Helen Catalbas in her overview of tourism in Western Visayas during Wednesday’s brainstorming and tasking session with tourism stakeholders from Iloilo and Guimaras provinces, cited that this region alone has 6,843,643 outbound market based on its 2007 census of population.

Catalbas said travel between and among provinces is encouraged.

Today’s brainstorming spearheaded by the department, she said, was geared towards addressing “perceived and existing problems of the tourism industry in Iloilo and Guimaras.”

“This brainstorming and tasking session is to consult various stakeholders of tourism in Iloilo and Guimaras on the review of the direction of the tourism industry in this part of Western Visayas,” she said.

Further, along with stakeholders, they will determine what are need to facilitate or hasten the opening of Iloilo airport; Korea being its main target market.

DOT statistics revealed that of the 740,622 Koreans who visited the Philippines in 2010, 169,454 went to Western Visayas with 4,096 visiting Iloilo City; 1,776 in Guimaras and only three went to Iloilo province.

“We hope that after this there will be a series of discussions, actions that will follow in order to realize ultimate goal of having more intra regional travel, inter-regional travel and international travel to Iloilo and Guimaras,” she added. (PNA)

LDV/ajp/PGLena/vlo

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Also, some 180 farmers here are about to harvest tons of their fresh strawberries in time for the festival.

Charles Canuto, the municipal administrator, said "this year's festival would be better because we are promoting organic strawberries and its by-products."

Among this year's festival activities include trade fair, biggest strawberry cake parade and program strawberry fields walk through.

Last year, an estimated 26,000 visitors graced the strawberry festival.

For the past 13 years, the thousands of foreign and local visitors found the festival to have been instrumental in making strawberry as an export product of the town by the use of modern farm technologies, primarily organic farming.

Organic farming over the past decade had increased the acceptability of the world market of products here as consumers have become more health conscious.

This was manifested when some two years ago, Benguet farmers raising primarily organic broccoli had started to export their fresh produce to Japan.

Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan had earlier confirmed that other foreign countries are also potential importers of the fresh organic vegetables from the highland farms in the area which were confirmed to be excellent quality. (PNA)

FFC/AAG/Nikki S. Pangilinan

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The MOA signing, led by Department of Tourism (DOT) OIC Regional Director Helen J. Catalbas, intends to conduct trainings of security and safety, courtesy, grooming and basic tour-guiding to all duly licensed taxi and tourist land transport operators/drivers in Western Visayas.

It also recommends compulsory drug testing of all tourist land transport operators and drivers in Region 6.

Other signatories to the MOA are Efren N. Nagrama, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines area manager; Gerard M. Camina, Land Transportation Office (LTO) regional director; and Romulo V. Bernardes, Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional director.

Catalbas said that they are signing a MOA to ensure that tourists in Western Visayas are “safe and secure” from the time they touch down at the airport and as they travel to different tourism destinations of the region.

She said that the tour-guiding seminar has already been started by the DOT years ago but there is still a need to retrain new drivers.

She said that there are also new taxi drivers who have to be oriented on how to deal with tourists/passengers and promote destinations.

The basic tour guiding seminar will be conducted for free at the DOT regional office along Bonifacio Drive here for their scheduled seminar or one-on-one orientation. Drivers, after undergoing the seminar, will then be issued Certificate of Training or identification cards signed by the four officials.

Camina said taxi drivers are the frontliners of tourism and the great part of their impression about the region depends so much on their interaction with the drivers who must be courteous, accommodating, knowledgeable and not influenced by illegal drugs.

In Western Visayas, there are around 4,000 taxi drivers being expected to undergo the training which will commence soon. (PNA)

DCT/LAM/AJP/vlo

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Carmelo Arcilla, executive director of Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said that Air Asia Philippines plans to fly to Singapore, Japan, Macau, Malaysia and Hog Kong.

Arcilla said that AirAsia had already secured a temporary operating permit (TOP) from CAB, but the budget airline needs to get an air operator certificate (AOC) from CAAP.

The AOC of Air Asia is set to be signed by CAAP on Tuesday.

AirAsia Philippines is also looking forward to fly in Palawan and Kalibo, Aklan from Clark.

AirAsia Philippines earlier secured 1,260 weekly seat entitlements for flights from Clark to Kuala Lumpur.

AirAsia’s first Airbus A320 aircraft arrived in August last year at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport for use in flights to Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong.

Air Asia holds a 40 percent equity in AirAsia Philippines, through AA International, while the remaining 60-percent will be held in equal partnership by Marianne Hontiveros., Michael Romero, and Antonio Cojuangco.

Under the joint venture agreement, Air Asia will provide technical, operational and commercial support to AirAsia Philippines.

Besides the Philippines, Air Asia successfully launched LCC subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Air Asia operates a domestic and regional network, which include services within Malaysia and to China, Southeast Asia and the Asian subcontinent.

Data from Center for Asia Pacific Aviation showed that Air Asia’s fleet stood at 152 Airbus A320 as of March this year. (PNA)

DCT/DGA/ssc

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The ministry launched the initiative to revive the tourist industry in quake-hit northeastern Japan.

It wants foreign guests to write about the progress made in rebuilding disaster-ravaged communities and let the world know that the area still remains an appealing holiday destination.

At the ministry's invitation, Spanish blogger Roger Ortuno Flamerich came to Japan in December, followed by Louisa Liu Chu, 45, a food blogger from Chicago, and Khaled Hamza, 48, editor-in-chief of the official website of the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt, who arrived here on Jan. 31. (PNA/Kyodo) DCT/hbc/mec

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Norma Monfort, owner of Monfort Bat Sanctuary, said the event is the first ever night viewing of migratory bats dubbed as the Bat Emergence Night Tour.

Monfort said the viewing of the bat will start at the nightfall of Feb. 8, which will fall exactly on the first full moon of the year 2012, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

She said the event is still part of the Year of the Bat celebration supported by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), EUROBATS and Bat Conservational International, which formally started last year.

Monfort said the objective of the one-night event would be to raise awareness about bats, which are often misunderstood by many, emphasizing that these night creatures should not be feared of. During the celebration, guests will be entertained with a reggae band, fire dancers, and even more the bats themselves said to be migrating temporarily to Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Davao Oriental every night.

“At 6 p.m., bats start migrating. They follow the circadian flight. It’s a manner where bats emerge while whirling in an orderly fashioned way. The moment you see it, you are really convinced that bats are not harmful and they won’t harm you,” she said.

She said while the migration is in progress, visitors will not be allowed to take photos so that flashes won’t destruct the bats.

The Monfort Bat Sanctuary is a home to millions of bats. It is currently a world record-holder of having the largest colony of fruit bats.

Meanwhile, Monfort said she also invited entrepreneurs to come over and participate in its first “BATtianggee”.

“The BATtiangee allows the vendors, resort owners to join the fair for free,” she said.

She is hoping that the event will run successfully since it is still in line with the Chinese celebration of the Year of the Dragon, which started on Jan. 23, and to be concluded on Feb. 6. (PNA) RMA/Digna D. Banzon/ldp

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The airways' first route to Macau will operate two flights daily, and ticket selling is scheduled for April. The passenger load is expected to reach over 70 percent per flight, said Chokchai Panyayon, THAI Executive Vice President for Strategy and Business Development.

THAI President Piyasvasti Amranand said the new carrier is positioned to be a light-premium sub-brand of THAI, offering passengers another option for flight services.

The airline's image will be based on a trendy, friendly and worthy concept, different than the general concept of other low-cost airliners, Piyasavasti added. (PNA/Xinhua)

LDV/jnc

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