Winter escapade

MANILA, Philippines - Snowbirds from Canada and the US shed their heavy coats and winter gear last week and donned their summer outfits and flip-flops 7,000 miles away in the Visayas in a novel joint project of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) aimed at luring Canadian and American tourists and balikbayans to visit the Philippines during the cold months.

Close to 300 tourists, mostly Filipino-Canadians, participated in the first “Winter Escapade: It’s More Fun in the Philippines” from Jan. 18 to 23. The new tour package targets large concentrations of Filipino snowbirds in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary in Canada.

The tour offers a six night/seven-day stay in Kalibo, Boracay, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Manila for just CDN$850.

Filipino returnees Krista Bella, 16, and Marco Raqueno, 22, said they were amazed by the beauty of the Boracay beach, the old churches in Iloilo and the sweet mangoes in Guimaras.

Krista last visited the Philippines when she was one and a half years old. She lives in Toronto with her Filipino parents. Her mother works in a travel agency while her father works at TD Bank.

“They are all amazing places. I know that every single province has something to offer,” Krista said.

Krista’s and Marco’s inclusion in the tour was part of their prize when they won the recently concluded Lakambini and Lakan ng Turismo organized by Toronto-based Filipinos.

Packaged by Rajah Tours, the Winter Escapade is a project of the Philippine embassy in Ottawa and is supported by the DOT’s Tourism Promotions Board.

Philippine Ambassador to Canada Leslie Gatan, who joined the group, said the new campaign was aimed at increasing the country’s share of the lucrative Canadian tourist market. There are around 800,000 people of Filipino descent living in Canada, he told STARweek, and most of them are very well off.

The Winter Escapade, according to the envoy, is a combination of tourism and investment.

“Many of them are looking for projects in the Philippines where they can invest,” he said.

Gatan said they expect more participants in next year’s winter escapade in Bohol, Cebu and Dumaguete.

The Philippines averages more than 95,000 arrivals from Canada each year.

Arrivals from Canada are expected to hit 228,427 by 2016, the DOT said.

DOT Region 6 director Helen Catalbas said the Winter Escapade is a good opportunity for the government to promote other destinations in Western Visayas aside from the world-renowned Boracay Island.

“Western Visayas has various attractions. Our product portfolio is varied,” she said. “The tourists, especially the Europeans, make Boracay as their accommodation but their activities are not limited to Boracay.”

Catalbas said an additional 2,000 hotel rooms are expected to be built in the island in the next two years.

In Iloilo, two five-star hotels are currently being constructed, she added.

Last week, the DOT Region 6 launched a tour package which will connect the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental, and Guimaras, Capiz and Aklan via the roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ships.

Catalbas said the tour consists of a two-night/three-day stay and will be offered to local tourists, specifically to the people of Western Visayas, to allow them to experience their own region.

“We want the people of Western Visayas to travel within the region and know the attractions and facilities of the region so they can be better hosts to other Filipino tourists and foreigners,” Catalbas underscored.

The DOT official also announced that SilkAir will offer thrice-weekly services to Kalibo in Aklan through circular-routing flights with Cebu beginning May 27.

Kalibo will be SilkAir’s third destination in the Philippines after Cebu and Davao, she said.

Alejandra Clemente, president and chairman of the Rajah Group of Companies, said the tour operators would like to sell the whole Philippines to foreign and local tourists but the government must invest on infrastructure and human resource development.

“If there are no accommodations, no human resources, tour guides, services, how can we promote the country,” Clemente said.

Catalbas has also called on the Department of Agriculture to produce more products for the tourists.

“What use is bringing warm bodies when what they are eating are coming from other countries or outside the region,” she pointed out. “We should level up our services. At the moment, the tour guide is one of our weakest links.”

“What matters is the day-to-day activities, day-to-day experience that the tourist will have in these destinations,” she says.