Bridging relations through the Ambassadors’ Tour

Now on its 12th year, the “Ambassadors’ Tour” kicked off with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument in Manila, one of the featured destinations for the flagship project of Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the US to give Filipinos and Americans an opportunity to visit the Philippines and experience its unique beauty and culture, and the famed hospitality of Filipinos.

Made possible with the cooperation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism and Rajah Tours, the Ambassadors’ Tour is an annual program that allows tour participants to interact with local communities, thereby encouraging them to become ambassadors of goodwill who can also serve as the bridge that would enhance relations between the Philippines and the United States.

Leading the wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument in Manila.

Aside from Manila, this year’s featured destinations are the “Queen City of the South,” Cebu; and the “natural paradise” that is Bohol — both of which offer an exciting combination of adventure, dining, shopping activities and visits to historical sites at affordable rates.

The US was the third largest source of international tourist arrivals in the Philippines in 2017 (after South Korea and China), with American visitors usually staying longer. Compared to other tourists, Americans are a bigger source of revenue for local businessmen. 

Since the time the Ambassadors’ Tour was launched, it has continued to attract hundreds of participants from across the United States — many of them balikbayans and third-generation Filipino-Americans who wish to reconnect with their relatives and get to know the homeland of their parents or grandparents.