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The Philippines has probably the loudest, if not the most festive celebration of New Year's Eve, when fireworks light up the evening sky and sounds of a million firecrackers announce the coming of a new year. This video was taken on 1st of January 2008 at a hotel somewhere in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Metro Manila. It was a spectacle of lights and sounds that dazzled the eyes and numbed the eardrums of midnight revelers. Happy New Year! Watch the video.

Arrivals top 3 million
International tourism receipts in the Philippines surged 41 percent year-on-year to about $4.9 billion in 2007, as international visitor arrivals grew 8.7 percent to a record 3.092 million.

New hotels are rising
Several large hotels are expected to open in 2008 and 2009, which would support the anticipated increase in international visitor arrivals, according to Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano.

Manila as top travel destination
Yahoo, the world's most visited website, has listed Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, as one of the planet's top travel destinations. Manila was listed at No. 10 in the list of "10 passport-worthy locations thousands Yahoo! users chose as very best."

Negros as best island to live on
A US magazine has listed Negros Oriental as one of the planet's 20 best islands to live on. In its July-August issue, Islands Magazine, one of the widest circulated and most trusted travel publications in the United States , included Negros Oriental with its capital Dumaguete as among the best islands in the whole world where expatriates may settle based on the following criteria: flip-flop wearability, strong expat communities, and affordable real estate.

Carabao Island, the New Boracay
Carabao Island, part of San Jose town south of Romblon, is a 15-minute boat ride from the smaller island of Boracay, and has the same white-sand beaches and pristine waters, according to Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano.

Pasig River attractions
A leisurely cruise of the Pasig River on board air-conditioned, 150-seater ferry boats now affords both domestic passengers and foreign tourists alike a fresh view of Manila and its historic establishments and trading places, thanks to an Asian Development Bank-financed program to rehabilitate the 27-kilometer tributary and make it an alternative transport route.

Iloilo airport opens in June
May 14, 2007 - The P8.759-billion Iloilo Airport Development Project, the the first and largest of the 16 airports that are under development in the Central Philippines tourism super region, will officially open in June 2007.

Jobs in Tourism
May 14, 2007 - A study spearheaded by the Development Academy of the Philippines claimed that more than 1.142 million jobs have been created in the tourism sector over the past three years alone.

A peace advocate for ecotourism
DONSOL, Sorsogon (April 19, 2007) - This coastal town, which calls itself the whale shark capital of the world, was shocked to hear that Julia Campbell, the friendly US Peace Corps volunteer who used to walk and ride bicycle daily around the town proper to teach children and lecture on saving the habitat was dead.

World Pyro Olympics
Millions of Filipinos and foreign tourists have witnessed the spectacular fireworks during the 2nd World Pyro Olympics that lit up the sky of the Esplanade area of the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City. The Philippines and nine competing countries - Australia (defending champion), China, Germany, Korea, Russia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States - participated in the amazing displays of fireworks on the 5th to the 7th and 12th to 13th of January 2007.

Boracay tourism recovers from typhoon
BORACAY (December 25, 2006) - Most hotels in this resort island reported full occupancy rates during the Christmas holiday, just two weeks after typhoon Seniang, internationally known as Utor, left a trail of destruction on the island and the province of Aklan.

Subic regains lost glory
SUBIC Bay Freeport - Once envisioned as the new Hong Kong, this former American naval base hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Summit in 1996, making it a banner year not only for the freeport but also for the whole country.

Cebu Pacific is now largest domestic airline
Cebu Pacific Air, the budget airline unit of the Gokongwei group, has edged out the Philippine Airlines (PAL) as the largest domestic carrier in the country as of August 2006, following the arrival of its new Airbus 319s and 320s under its refleeting program.

Arrivals up 10.4 percent in first half of 2006
International visitor arrivals to the Philippines increased by 10.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2006, led by the double-digit growth in arrivals from South Korea, China and Singapore.

New hotel to rise in Cebu
A Korean group, which is constructing a 616-room resort hotel complex in Lapu Lapu City, has unveiled its plan to also construct a retirement village and a golf course in the coastal town of Cordova located at the southeastern tip of Mactan Island, Cebu. Phil BXT Corp., a Korean firm led by Yong Jun Park, will pursue the Retirement Home Enclaves and Golf Community Development on a 100-hectare lot in Cordova.

Arrivals up 14 percent in April
international arrivals grew 14.1 percent to 238,941 in April 2006 from 209,381 a year ago. more...

Ifugao Farmers Leave Rice Terraces
In search of greener ricefields, many Ifugao farmers have migrated to nearby provinces, leaving large portions of the famous Ifugao Rice Terraces untilled and eroding, former Ifugao Gov. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said over the weekend.

Spa Seminar
The Department of Tourism will participate in the Spa Industry Seminar, an international spa event to be held at Shangri-la Mactan Island and Resort in Cebu on September 15 to 17, 2006. The country will also host the Wellness Summit in 2007 at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City where some 500 to 800 foreign participants are expected to attend.

Philippines eyes three million foreign tourists
The Philippines is on target of drawing three million foreign tourists in 2006, as international arrivals posted double-digit growth in the first quarter of the year.

Siargao Event This May 2006
The AdvenTurista Backpackers Club is organizing a trip to the Siargao Islands from May 13-23, 2006. Everyone is dared to join the adventure!

Seminar for tourism executives
The Department of Tourism with the United Nations World Tourism Organization has recently spearheaded a seminar on managing tourism destinations with full attendance of the tourism department’s top executives.

Hotels' occupancy rates rise in February 2006
Deluxe hotels in Metro Manila posted their highest average occupancy rate in February 2006, amid a political noise that failed to scare away foreign investors and tourists in the Philippines.

Philippines, Russia ink Tourism Agreement
Tourism Secretary Ace Durano met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Strzhalkovsky after the official signing of the mutual accord in Moscow, Russia that will provide for the strengthening of tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Tourists keep coming despite February coup
International visitor arrivals to the country grew by 11.5 percent year-on-year in February 2006, despite the botched coup attempt against the Arroyo administration that forced several foreign embassies to issue negative advisories on Philippine travel.

First Tourism Jobs Fair
At the First Tourism Jobs Fair held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on April 6 to 8 , Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said more than 34,000 jobs are available to college graduates in Manila, Cebu and Davao in the first quarter of 2006 alone.

Bohol Beach Club on expansion
At the First Tourism Jobs Fair held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on April 6 to 8 , Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said more than 34,000 jobs are available to college graduates in Manila, Cebu and Davao in the first quarter of 2006 alone.

Flora Filipina 2006
Commercial growers and hobbyists have cited the great potential of the Philippines as a major exporter of ornamental horticulture products. At the opening ceremony of the Flora Filipina Expo in February 2006, the Philippine Horticultural Society Inc. and the Philippine Orchid Society have committed to join together in putting the local industry at par with those of Thailand and Singapore.

Boracay's tourism revenues hit PhP9 billion
The paradise island of Boracay earned a record-high PhP9.182 billion in revenues from the arrivals of nearly half a million foreign and local tourists in 2005, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Hotels’ occupancy rates up in January 2006
Deluxe hotels in Metro Manila have reported higher occupancy rates in January 2006. According to the Department of Tourism, the average occupancy rate of the 18 deluxe hotels in the region improved to a record high of 78.90 percent in January 2006 from 74.49 percent a year ago.

Tourist arrivals up 22 percent in January
After growing 14 percent to around 2.6 million in 2005, international visitor arrivals to the Philippines surged 22.1 percent year-on-year in January, buoyed by the staging of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Tourism Forum in Davao City.

Tourism investments surge in the Philippines
New tourism projects endorsed by the Department of Tourism to the Board of Investments (BoI) soared 827 percent year-on-year in 2005, as local and foreign investors pledged more money for the development of hotels, resorts, tourism estates and other related establishments.

Sex industry throbs with tourism growth
With the recent resurgence of Philippine tourism, Claris, 19, has been getting big tips lately. Working as a sex worker in a poor country, which tries to rediscover tourism as a growth driver of the economy, Claris uses her pretty face and charm to entertain foreign tourists searching for a wonderful experience in the island paradise. She works in a place where paid sex is P2,500 an hour.

Spa industry picking up in the Philippines
The Philippines, a newcomer in the $24-billion global wellness tourism, is promoting two traditional massages in order to lure foreign tourists to its world-class spa destinations.

High standards urged in medical tourism
Two Filipino plastic surgeons have urged the government to set high standards in medical tourism if it is really determined to make the country a top regional destination for foreign patients.

Pearl Farm now attracts corporate clients
Pearl Farm Beach Resort, a world-class tourism destination in the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao, has put up new investments to accommodate corporate gatherings and other large events.

Philippine billboards in Sydney
The country’s white sandy beaches, blue tropical skies and pristine waters of two popular tourism destinations, Boracay and Palawan, were the focus of the Department of Tourism (DOT) billboard campaign theme to attract nature-lover outbound tourists of Sydney, Australia.

Biak na Bato
By Roderick dela Cruz
It all started when our group arranged a trip to Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan. Biak-na-Bato is at the edge of Bulacan and is about a two-hour drive from Metro Manila. I went there without any idea of what's in store for the group. Being a Bulakeño, I thought I have already seen the best of what the province has to offer.

College graduates in search of jobs
Cherry, a 22-year-old graduate of Mass Communication from a Manila-based university, ended up working at a health club that is actually a high-class brothel in Quezon City. Unable to get a job for which she was qualified, she had dabbled in low-paying jobs to help support her family before finding her way to Quezon Avenue. Her desperation eventually led her to become a sex worker earning as much as P5,000 a night.

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