By Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:23:00 08/23/2009
MANILA, Philippines - Fly to local destinations for just one peso! Travel to the United States for less than $500!
As the global recession rages on, both the local and Asian travel industries are relying on attractive promotions and discounts by airlines to stay afloat.
According to the Abacus Travel Sentiment survey, released recently by travel solutions provider Abacus International, there were some “green shoots” in a number of markets, including the Philippines.
The study revealed that bookings in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Kazakhstan increased in the first half, vis-à-vis the same period last year.
“This is a positive indication that people are still traveling and that there are opportunities out there for businesses,” Abacus International president and chief executive Robert Bailey said in a statement posted on the company’s official website.
“Businesses must water the ground and tend these green shoots carefully by making the effort to understand local conditions so they can effectively influence consumers’ decision-making process,” he added.
Here in the Philippines, what mainly kept the travel industry afloat were the “attractive promotions and discounts” offered by airlines to stimulate travel, the survey revealed.
“Philippine Airlines’ appealing promotional fares to selected cities on its international network could have motivated Filipinos to take to the skies earlier this year,” it said.
Recession casualty
These promos included the offer of round-trip airfares to long-haul destinations such as San Francisco and Los Angeles for as low as $450.
But travel had been confined mostly to individuals in the first half, the study showed, as the corporate travel segment remained sluggish.
In China, for example, a third of the travel agents polled named the corporate travel segment as the biggest casualty of the economic downturn, with the negative impact estimated to range from 15-20 percent.
Only 16.7 percent of those surveyed said they still expected some growth from the sector, while a mere 6.7 percent believed the recession had little or no impact at all on the segment.
Travel agents in China were particularly affected by this drop in corporate travel, the Abacus study revealed, as most of them had a higher percentage of the corporate segment in their businesses.
“The financial pressures faced by companies have forced them to be more stringent about granting permission for staff travel. This has forced the corporate travel booking process to evolve and greater attention is now being placed on the pre-trip portion of the travel booking process,” Bailey said.
Airlines had also started to feel the pinch of the decline in corporate travel, he said, as this segment usually had the high-yield passengers.
Creative marketing would have to be employed to attract the fewer business travelers that were still taking to the skies, he said.
Still bullish
Despite this dampener, he remained fairly optimistic that the Asian travel industry would be able to weather the trials dealt by the global recession and the spread of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus.
He said industry players in Asia had actually done a pretty good job of staying afloat.
“Without their efforts and determination, green shoots that have started to break through the parched ground would not have appeared. What it takes now is for industry members to unite, collaborate and together innovate to address the challenges the industry is facing so that they can be turned into future opportunities. By doing so, the industry will create conditions conducive for more shoots to spring up and thrive,” he said.
These opportunities for growth could be found in the intra-Asia and domestic travel segments, he said, as long-haul international travel continued to be on the downtrend.
“The complex economic, health and safety issues facing consumers have resulted in a shift in travel patterns. Travel agents responding to the Abacus Asia Travel Sentiment survey indicated intra-Asian travel will grow in popularity in the short term,” he said.
The Abacus study revealed that as many as 40 percent of travel agents in South Asia and 51.7 percent in China believed that short getaways within the region would be the most preferred travel category among travelers over the next three months.
Domestic travel, on the other hand, would be the main preference of travelers, according to 31.7 percent of agents in South Asia and 34.5 percent of those in China.
“Faced with decreased discretionary budgets for travel as well as concerns over health and safety issues, leisure travelers are cutting back on visits to international destinations. Travel preference has shifted toward domestic holidays as these trips cost less,” Bailey said.
“They also offer peace of mind as travelers may feel safer and more confident when they stay within the familiar environment of their own countries. These domestic tourists are now the lifeline of tourism businesses and their expenditures come as much needed revenue to airlines, hotels and others in the industry,” he added.
Only 25 percent of respondents in South Asia and 10.3 percent of those polled in China said long-haul travel to the US, Europe and the Middle East would be the strongest performing segment over the next three months.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
New local carrier picks Clark as base
By Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:01:00 08/22/2009
CLARK FREEPORT — FIVE months ahead of its operations to serve the Taiwan, Macau and Middle East routes, Spirit of Manila Airlines unveiled here recently its MD-83 plane.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Clark International Airport Corp. president Victor Jose Luciano led the rites at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.
The MD-83 will be used for the Clark-Taiwan flights, Luciano said.
The firm will complete its Clark fleet—another MD-83, Boeing 747-300 and 747-400—by November, he said.
The Middle East flights to Qatar, Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait aim to serve overseas Filipino workers in Northern and Central Luzon and draw in more tourists to the four regions north of Metro Manila.
Luciano said Spirit of Manila Airlines was the “first large local carrier” to set up base at the DMIA, a 2,500-hectare airport left by the United States military in 1991.
This is the first time that a Clark-based air carrier will serve the Clark-Taiwan route, a move that then President Fidel Ramos had been advocating since 1993, Luciano said.
Mendoza said the firm’s entry would boost local tourism and serve OFWs.
The airport hosts cargo forwarder UPS, Asiana Airlines and domestic and international budget carriers like Cebu Pacific.
Singapore Airlines and Cebu Pacific have partnered to build an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the DMIA.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:01:00 08/22/2009
CLARK FREEPORT — FIVE months ahead of its operations to serve the Taiwan, Macau and Middle East routes, Spirit of Manila Airlines unveiled here recently its MD-83 plane.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Clark International Airport Corp. president Victor Jose Luciano led the rites at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.
The MD-83 will be used for the Clark-Taiwan flights, Luciano said.
The firm will complete its Clark fleet—another MD-83, Boeing 747-300 and 747-400—by November, he said.
The Middle East flights to Qatar, Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait aim to serve overseas Filipino workers in Northern and Central Luzon and draw in more tourists to the four regions north of Metro Manila.
Luciano said Spirit of Manila Airlines was the “first large local carrier” to set up base at the DMIA, a 2,500-hectare airport left by the United States military in 1991.
This is the first time that a Clark-based air carrier will serve the Clark-Taiwan route, a move that then President Fidel Ramos had been advocating since 1993, Luciano said.
Mendoza said the firm’s entry would boost local tourism and serve OFWs.
The airport hosts cargo forwarder UPS, Asiana Airlines and domestic and international budget carriers like Cebu Pacific.
Singapore Airlines and Cebu Pacific have partnered to build an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the DMIA.
Guiuan the next Boracay?
Guiuan’s secrets revealed
By Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
THAT A top-class resort exists at all in the town of Guiuan at the southern tip of Eastern Samar causes many a raised eyebrow.
Guiuan, after all, is not exactly at the top of the list of favorite destinations of business and leisure travelers. The distinction still belongs to such cities as Baguio in the north, Cebu in the Visayas and Davao in Mindanao.
Lawyer Manuel Go of Cebu, however, firmly believes that it will only be a matter of time before the secrets of this quiet, laid back second class municipality are revealed and it gets its fair share of visitors.
This explains why he and some partners decided to invest in the multi-million The Surf Camp on Guian’s Calicoan Island, which is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean and Leyte Gulf on the west.
The Surf Camp on Calicoan’s ABCD Beach opened its large wooden doors to the public in 2006 and the exclusive resort –easily the best in Eastern Visayas – was designed with relaxation and romance in mind.
There are only seven cottages set far enough from each other to ensure utmost privacy, and these spacious and tastefully appointed villas inspired by Thai, Balinese and Filipino architecture are equipped with required modern conveniences such as a television, hot shower and air conditioner.
Complementing the topnotch accommodations are the high quality of service and the acceptable range of food and beverages.
Guests can choose to have their hot meals and snacks brought to their villas, or they can enjoy the company of their fellow guests at the main cottage. And if they feel like throwing a party for family and friends, The Surf Camp staff is ready and willing to prepare a feast.
But the real attraction of The Surf Camp is its access to the best waves in this part of the Philippines, which are perfect for novice and experienced surfers alike.
Summer months are ideal for beginners training on gentle two-to-three-foot waves, while the more seasoned surfers can come during the latter months of surfing season that runs from April to November for the bigger, more challenging waves.
Visitor arrivals reach their peak in October because of the Eastern Samar Surfing Crown, a competition first held in 2005.
Backing the competition, which is part of the Philippine Surfing Circuit, are the Department of Tourism, the provincial government of Eastern Samar, the municipal government of Guiuan and the Philippine Surfing Federation.
Many of The Surf Camp’s guests, however, prefer to just sit back and relax on their lounge chairs facing the sea. The sound of silence is just too soothing to be ignored.
Among the first visitors of The Surf Camp are honeymooners from Korea who are only too happy to take either the commercial flight to Tacloban and then the two-hour shuttle service to Calicoan or The Surf Camp’s private plane from Cebu to the Guiuan airport, which once saw the landing of bombers during World War II.
These days, The Surf camp is hosting more company outings and reeling in an increasing number of corporate travelers yearning for a break from their routine.
It is this anticipation of more travelers going to the Surf Camp and Guiuan that prompted Smart Communications Inc. to invest in the upgrade of the telecommunications system in the area so that visitors would still be able to stay in touch with their office or families through their mobile phone or laptops.
Smart already boasts of the most extensive mobile phone coverage for basic services such as text messaging and phone calls, thus its next step is to expand its mobile broadband services.
“We realize that many tourists and travelers are only able to go on vacation if they get to stay in touch, like check their email,” says Smart spokesperson Ramon Isberto,” That is why we are improving not just our GSM network but also our broadband services in tourist destinations like Guiuan.”
This should give travelers one more reason to get off the beaten path and take a break in rustic Guiuan.
When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.
By Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
THAT A top-class resort exists at all in the town of Guiuan at the southern tip of Eastern Samar causes many a raised eyebrow.
Guiuan, after all, is not exactly at the top of the list of favorite destinations of business and leisure travelers. The distinction still belongs to such cities as Baguio in the north, Cebu in the Visayas and Davao in Mindanao.
Lawyer Manuel Go of Cebu, however, firmly believes that it will only be a matter of time before the secrets of this quiet, laid back second class municipality are revealed and it gets its fair share of visitors.
This explains why he and some partners decided to invest in the multi-million The Surf Camp on Guian’s Calicoan Island, which is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean and Leyte Gulf on the west.
The Surf Camp on Calicoan’s ABCD Beach opened its large wooden doors to the public in 2006 and the exclusive resort –easily the best in Eastern Visayas – was designed with relaxation and romance in mind.
There are only seven cottages set far enough from each other to ensure utmost privacy, and these spacious and tastefully appointed villas inspired by Thai, Balinese and Filipino architecture are equipped with required modern conveniences such as a television, hot shower and air conditioner.
Complementing the topnotch accommodations are the high quality of service and the acceptable range of food and beverages.
Guests can choose to have their hot meals and snacks brought to their villas, or they can enjoy the company of their fellow guests at the main cottage. And if they feel like throwing a party for family and friends, The Surf Camp staff is ready and willing to prepare a feast.
But the real attraction of The Surf Camp is its access to the best waves in this part of the Philippines, which are perfect for novice and experienced surfers alike.
Summer months are ideal for beginners training on gentle two-to-three-foot waves, while the more seasoned surfers can come during the latter months of surfing season that runs from April to November for the bigger, more challenging waves.
Visitor arrivals reach their peak in October because of the Eastern Samar Surfing Crown, a competition first held in 2005.
Backing the competition, which is part of the Philippine Surfing Circuit, are the Department of Tourism, the provincial government of Eastern Samar, the municipal government of Guiuan and the Philippine Surfing Federation.
Many of The Surf Camp’s guests, however, prefer to just sit back and relax on their lounge chairs facing the sea. The sound of silence is just too soothing to be ignored.
Among the first visitors of The Surf Camp are honeymooners from Korea who are only too happy to take either the commercial flight to Tacloban and then the two-hour shuttle service to Calicoan or The Surf Camp’s private plane from Cebu to the Guiuan airport, which once saw the landing of bombers during World War II.
These days, The Surf camp is hosting more company outings and reeling in an increasing number of corporate travelers yearning for a break from their routine.
It is this anticipation of more travelers going to the Surf Camp and Guiuan that prompted Smart Communications Inc. to invest in the upgrade of the telecommunications system in the area so that visitors would still be able to stay in touch with their office or families through their mobile phone or laptops.
Smart already boasts of the most extensive mobile phone coverage for basic services such as text messaging and phone calls, thus its next step is to expand its mobile broadband services.
“We realize that many tourists and travelers are only able to go on vacation if they get to stay in touch, like check their email,” says Smart spokesperson Ramon Isberto,” That is why we are improving not just our GSM network but also our broadband services in tourist destinations like Guiuan.”
This should give travelers one more reason to get off the beaten path and take a break in rustic Guiuan.
When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.
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