First International Skyrunning Race Set in the Philippines

Training climb at Mt. Ugo

The Pilipinas Akyathlon (Philippine Skyrunning), the country’s first ever international mountain trail high altitude race, is all set on February 18 at Mt. Ugo in Itogon, Benguet. The race will be a 32.88 km race going up the 2,150 meters above sea level summit of Mt. Ugo and back to the barangay hall of Tinongdan, Itogon.

The Philippine Skyrunning Association (PSA), a non-stock, non-profit organization that started in January 2009, says this is the first of its kind in Asia to be accredited by the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF). It is also part of the eco-tourism thrust of the PSA to advocate carry zero-waste and the use of recyclable and reusable materials in the said event. Thus, they have partnered with local environmentalist group, Cordillera Conservation Thrust (CCT).

Mt. Ugo is known for its annual summer climb which won last year in the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines’ (ATOP) Search for Best Tourism Event in the Philippines under the Sports, Adventure and Wellness Category – Municipal Level.

Source: Philippine Information Agency

Photo by clariza at Flickr.com

_

Philippine Tourism Budget Increased for Mindanao

Colorful vinta sails overlooking Basilan Strait

The former Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), now called the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), has recently reported to allocate more money to develop the tourism industry in Mindanao. The southern region of the Philippines garnered a 35 percent share of the TIEZA budget, up from the usual seven to ten percent the past decade. This was announced by Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).

She added that MinDA shall continue in its efforts to secure financing support for the Mindanao initiatives by engaging more public-private partnerships while advocating for a fair share in the national budget. According to the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework Plan (Mindanao 2020), tourism development “can be a win-win for the economy and environment and must be pursued vigorously through policy reform and public investments. The promotion of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) as premier ecotourism destination also provides substantial growth potential in Mindanao tourism.

Read more at Minda News

Photo by eric_m.e. at Flickr.com

_

Philippine Congress Backs Tourism Reforms Proposed by DOT Secretary

Visit of DOT Secretary Alberto Lim in Aurora (March 4-6, 2011). L-R: Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Department of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim.

Photo by edangara at Flickr.com

The House of Representatives of the Philippines is supporting Department of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim’s proposal to change and amend the rules and regulations of the Tourism Act of 2009. The reforms should inspire tourism industry to fulfill and carry out the intent of making the tourism industry a major player to the country’s economic growth.

Read more at PhilStar.com

_

The Positive Impact of Tourism in the Philippines

I was surfing around and found someone named “bala” from the Top10TravelSite.com who quipped this question: “What good practices from a cultural perspective being undertaken by organizations within the tourism and travel industry?”

One of the best answers I read from an “Anonymous” person read:

Gosh….I’ve written a whole thesis on this issue. But here it is in brief:

Positive impact:

• Reasonable foreign currency income for the state;
• Slight development of tourism infrastructure;
• Marginal increase in employment levels in industries related to the travel sector: hospitality, travel agencies and tour operators, transportation, etc.;
• Sustainance of domestic airlines, charters and to some extent, shipping, to some degree.
• Better awareness in the Philippines of foreign cultures and traditions, needs of tourists etc.

Negative impact:

• Sex tourism, with aged foreigners flocking to the country seeking young women as partners. Others come to indulge in pedophile activities;
• Negligence of environmental considerations in some cases by both foreign nationals and Filipinos;
• The government hurries to attract foreign tourists without the existence of a proper tourism infrastructure;
• Due to the negative image of the Philippines as a corrupt nation, visitors believe they can escape justice easily by bribing law enforcement authorities.

There are many (other positive and negative) points but these would require at least a day to list and detail.

Why Cruise Ships Do Not Pass-by the Philippines

My uncle in the U.S. recently forwarded this e-mail message to me. After I read it, I realized it answered a long forgotten question in my mind why Manila was not a destination-of-choice of the cruise ships. I recently got involved with the travel service business and wished there were cruise ships that stopped by the Philippines.

I do hope that our electoral bets for the 2010 elections could find a way to fix this erring and embarrassing situation because I’m not banking at the current administration for a “change for the good.” The writer is right to say that each ship brings thousands tourists wherever they stop. Even to stopover for two nights or so already brings in thousands of tourist Dollars that could help further boost our tourism industry. Please share this story to them.

---

Hmmmm… I’m not really sure (if this) is the only reason: I know there’s the security involved for the American passengers (remember the kidnapping scandals?) At least, that’s what Tess Tumaneng’s version was (from Princess Cruises). There is a large presence of Al Queda members in our country plus our famous “mandurukots,” of course. Judge for yourself and please read below. When you think of it, why are cruise ships docking at Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Korea and other (cities), and they’re no better than Manila or Cebu?

This was written by a Pinoy couple who now lives in the US.

(I) would like to share with you what we found out as the reason why cruise ships of the big cruise companies skip Manila. My wife and I are regular cruisers and we always talk to the Filipino crew. When we took the 12-day Mediterranean cruise I asked the Pinoy waiters (because we are in a big group, we usually request for Pinoy waiters to be assigned to us) why all their Asian cruises skip Manila when they go to all the neighboring countries of the Philippines. “Tanong ko bakit ba wala sa itinerary ninyo ang Manila?“

Ang sagot sa akin: “Noong una ho may cruises kami na humihinto sa Manila (subali’t) masyado hong matakaw ang mga taga Customs sa atin kaya ang management ho namin nag decide na i-skip na ang Manila. When inspection time comes upon our arrival and departure, yung mga Customs inspectors ho kasama ang mga pamilya nila para kumain ng libre sa ship namin. Tapos bago magbigay ng clearance para maka-depart ang ship namin maraming hinihingi ng sigarilyo at mga alak. Sa Manila lang namin na experience ang ganoon kaya nahihiya ho kaming mga Pinoy dito sa ship. Sa ibang ports sa Asia wala hong nanghihingi.

The new cruise ships have an everage of 2,000 to 3,000 passengers. Imagine the loss of tourism revenue for the Philippines because most cruise ships do not go to the Philippines. WHY???

---

How can the back crawl?

2009 Philippine Travel Mart Expo

The Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) is the flagship program of the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), which is the single largest association of registered tour operators in the Philippines that exclusively promotes in-bound and domestic tourism. It will be holding its 20th Philippine Travel Mart event on September 4-6, 2009 at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall. For inquiries, contact the PTM secretariat at+63 (2) 812-4513.