Some 2.5 million foreign and domestic tourists joined the month-long activities of the 17th Panagbenga or the Baguio flower festival, according to Ms. Purificacion Molintas, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Tourism.

Two new hotels opened in the city while two others expanded their facilities to serve the increasing number of visitors in the country’s summer capital.

Boracay Island drew 910,000 visitors in 2011, up by 16 percent from 2010.  Aklan’s provincial government expects Boracay to draw one million visitors this year.

Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI), the tourism and leisure arm of business tycoon Andrew Tan, anticipates the need to prepare Boracay for more tourist arrivals. Through Boracay Newcoast, the only integrated tourism estate in Boracay, GERI expects to redefine tourism by enhancing visitors’ experience of the island.

Covering 14 percent of the island, Boracay Newcoast is the island’s only integrated tourism estate. It has the island’s only championship golf course and will soon boast of the island’s first shophouse district, boutique hotel district, and exclusive residential village.

Tourist receipts in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan are projected to reach the PhP9.8 billion mark, with the global recognition of the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Ms. Rebecca V. Labit, the concurrent assistant city administrator and head of the city tourism office, said the projected increase in tourist receipts was based on the computation of tourists’ spending per day of stay in the city, currently pegged at PhP5,000 per day per tourist.

The Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office expects visitors to reach 1.2 million by 2016, more than double the number of visitors at 500,146 in 2011.

About 80 percent of the tourists that visit this city are local tourists, while the remaining 20 percent are foreigners, mostly Americans, Koreans and Japanese. The city’s more than 100 accredited hotels, pension houses, and inns can accommodate as much as 4,000 tourists at any given time.

Meanwhile, Philippines AirAsia will soon launch flights to Puerto Princesa, Palawan from its hub in Clark International Airport. “We have decided to open the Puerto Princesa route earlier than we had planned because of the overwhelming demand. Its new found fame as one of the new seven wonders of nature has generated a lot of interest from both local and international tourists," said AirAsia Inc. CEO Maan Hontiveros.

Passenger volume using the Clark International Airport in Pampanga rose 38 percent year-on-year to 160,847 in the first two months of 2012.  Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Victor Jose I. Luciano said this clearly shows Clark is becoming the airport of choice for international passengers.

Passenger traffic at Clark is expected to rise further with the operation of three more budget airlines.  AirAsia Philippines, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Air Asia Berhad, will launch domestic flights to Davao and Kalibo from its hub at the Clark airport on 28th March. 

Airphil Express will also launch maiden flights to Cebu, Puerto Princesa, Davao and Kalibo also from Clark on 29th March.  South East Asian Airlines (Seair) is set to fly to Kalibo as well as to international destinations such as Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and Bangkok in May.

Mr. Luciano said the operation of more flights this year would enable the facility to serve close to a million passengers, up from 730,000 passengers in 2011.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has agreed to provide incentives to airlines that will operate flights in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

CAAP director general Ramon S. Gutierrez said the air linkage technical working group of the BIMP-EAGA is working towards the designation of more entry points and (entrants will) enjoy the privileges provided for under the Fifth Freedom air services agreement.

Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas said he has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese firm Takenaka Corp. to complete the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.  He said the terminal could be fully operational either by end of 2012 or early 2013.

Twenty-three different areas of construction are still lacking at the terminal, including baggage handling, fire alarm, flight information and closed circuit television surveillance systems.

The deal with Takenaka will reportedly cost about US$45 million.   “We would like to thank Takenaka Corporation for both being thorough and sincere in negotiating with us,” said Mr. Roxas.

Takenaka Corp. was the original contractor for NAIA 3. Its work at the facility was not completed because the airport was expropriated after the concessionaire, Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) was declared a mere dummy firm for partner Fraport AG from Germany.

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) has launched the AIM-Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism which aims to promote sustainable tourism development in the country.

The center aims to address current issues on the effectiveness of MICE (Meetings,Incentives, Conferences and Events), the use of technology to enhance tourism promotions, develop better airline policies, and longer-term concerns, including the future of community-based tourism and the impact of climate change on tourism development, said Lim.

The Philippine Hotel Federation Inc. asked the Board of Investments (BOI) to relax the requirements to qualify for longer tax holidays under the proposed 2012 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).  In a position paper, the group asked the BOI to cut by half the minimum investment requirement per room for hotel projects to enjoy pioneer status and qualify for six years of income tax holiday to attract investments in accommodation facilities.

Under the present IPP, new investments in hotels, apartment hotels, serviced apartments and condotels with a minimum investment of US$100,000 per room in the deluxe and first-class category are qualified for six-years of income tax holidays

No less than Congress has begun looking into the complaints of passengers regarding the promotional fares of budget airlines.  A resolution was filed to conduct an inquiry into the allegation that local carriers are issuing tickets that are non-refundable, non-reroutable, non-endorsable and which, if unused, are forfeited. 

Another bill also mentioned the inconveniences experienced by passengers because budget airlines tend to over-book, cancel flights and, at times, deny boarding of some passengers.

International visitor arrivals to the Philippines rose 17.5 percent year-on-year in January 2012, led by a double-digit increase in visitors from China and Taiwan during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
The Department of Tourism said arrivals from abroad reached a record 411,064 in January, up from 349,713 arrivals a year ago.  It also surpassed the previous monthly record of 394,567 arrivals registered in December 2011.

The department said the increase in arrivals in January marked a good start for 2012 as the government aims to attract 4.2 million foreign tourists this year, up from 3.917 million in 2011.  The medium term goal is to register 10 million arrivals by 2016.

The Department of Tourism warned that it has received several complaints/reports regarding tours and travel bookings made on the internet through on-line booking websites for non-delivery of service or unethical business operations.

“This is to remind the public to be more cautious and conscientious in transacting business with these types of operators.  Before booking or purchasing any tour or travel services on-line, please check if the agent/operator is DOT-accredited.  A list of DOT-accredited enterprises is available at the DOT website,” it said.
 

Data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) show that the number of passengers going in and out of the Philippines reached 15.66 million last year, up by 9.6 percent from 14.28 million in 2010.   Combined with the domestic passengers, the country’s total air travel industry grew by 11.57 percent in 2011.

“Overall, 2011 was a year of contrasts. Healthy passenger growth, primarily in the first half of the year, was offset by a declining cargo market. Optimism in China contrasted with gloom in Europe. Ironically, the weak euro supported business travel demand,” International Air Travel Association (IATA) CEO Tony Tyler said.

A study by the National Statistics Office (NSO) counted a total of 14,998 hotels and restaurants in the Philippines as of 2009.  Results of the 2009 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) show that of the total, hotels and other accommodation facilities accounted for 1,650 or 11.0 percent.  The rest of the 13,348 establishments are either restaurants, bars, canteens or other drinking and eating places.

Employment in the hotel and restaurant sector reached 290,672 as of 2009. Of the total employment, 283,171 or 97.4 percent were paid employees and the rest, 7,501 or 2.6 percent, were working owners and unpaid workers.

Siargao n Surigao del Norte was ranked the eighth best surf spot in the world, according to the travel news website of the Cable News Network (CNN).  The list was compiled by CNNGo writer and "avid surfer" Jade Bremmer.

"This dramatic and powerful reef break, which crashes onto shallow razor-sharp coral, offers right and left death rides to those who dare. Those who do will experience a slice of paradise, or magic mushroom-like hallucinations, as the wave wraps over them like a Cornish pasty-shaped cocoon of water. Don't slip, or your skin and bones will be ripped to shreds by the ocean bed," Mr. Bremmer said about Siargao's famous "Cloud Nine".

Boracay Island was listed as the second best beach destination in the world and the No. 1 in Asia for the second year in a row, according to travel website TripAdvisor.  "At only 4.5 miles long, Boracay is small enough to navigate by rented bicycle or motorbike. But don't let its small size fool you -- you'll have several excellent beaches to choose from," TripAdvisor said on its website.

The tiny island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos was voted the world's best beach destination according to TripAdvisor's list, which is based on travellers' reviews and ratings.

South Korea was the largest source of international guests in the Philippines in 2011.  The Department of Tourism (DOT) said Korea repeated its status as the strongest single market with 925,204 arrivals last year, for a 23.62 percent share of all visitor volume of 3.917 million.  The US remained the Philippines’ second-largest tourist market, with 624,527 visitors or 15.94 percent of all tourist traffic.

Helped by gains in all regional markets, the Philippines eclipsed the previous 3.52-million record for foreign visitors set in 2010 with 3.917 million visitors last year, according to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

Pilar town in Bataan built what could be the longest zipline in Luzon.  Pilar Mayor Charlie Pizarro said the Mt. Samat zipline is expected to attract environment and mountain lovers and boost awareness on environmental protection.  The zipline, measuring 540 metres long, is considered to be the longest in Luzon.  It was built on an area that is 43 metres above sea level overlooking Manila Bay, Pampanga and Bulacan.

A photograph taken by Mr. George Tapan on Onuk Island in Balabac, Palawan has bested 21,000 entries from 130 countries to be the winner of the National Geographic Photo Contest 2011.  The winning photograph titled “Into the Green Zone” bagged the first place in the Places Category of the highly prestigitious National Geographic photo contest.  The winning photos were judged by respected National Geographic magazine photographers Tim Laman, Amy Toensing, and Peter Essick.

A comprehensive study by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) found that for the years 2000 to 2010, the tourism sector contributed about 5.8 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) annually.  Its total contribution in 2010 reached PhP518.5 billion, or 13.0 percent higher than previous year’s PhP459 billion, according to the Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts (PTSA) compiled by the NSCB in coordination with the Department of Tourism.

Among the tourism industries, shopping had the largest contribution at 20.3 percent, followed by accommodation with 14.8 percent, and entertainment and recreation with 6.8 percent.  Other industries and their corresponding shares include travel agencies (5.6 percent), food and beverage (5.3 percent), transport (3.5 percent), and miscellaneous (0.9 percent).

A global survey conducted by Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. has ranked the Philippines 8th in the list of the world’s friendliest countries.  The Expat Explorer Survey 2011 was conducted among 3,885 expatriates in 100 countries between May and July 2011 and rated countries based on the preference of expatriates to make them “their second home.”

The Philippines, which is known for hospitality, was the third highest ranked Asia-Pacific country in the survey.  New Zealand and Australia topped the global list, followed by South Africa, Canada, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Spain, and Malaysia.