World’s only five-star cruise ship visits Subic Freeport

The world’s only five-star cruise ship is here in the Subic Bay Freeport as part of its tour of the country, strengthening Subic’s position as a preeminent tourism destination.

MS Hanseatic docked at the Alava Pier of the Freeport Monday (Oct. 14). Prior to its arrival here, the cruise ship toured the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan. It arrived in the Philippines yesterday (October 13).

According to the Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships, it is the only five-star expedition-cruise ship worldwide.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia said this is first time that the luxury cruise ship has docked in Subic.

He said passengers of the ship are scheduled to visit tourist attractions in the Freeport during the ship’s one-day stay.

The ship has a capacity of 184 passengers, aside from its crew of 125.

MS Hanseatic was built in 1991 as the Society Adventurer, but was renamed when she was purchased by Hanseatic Tours, now owned by marine transportation giant Hapag-Lloyd. The ship specializes in trips to the Antarctic.

SBMA deputy administrator for business Reuel Kabigting said the arrival of the Hanseatic is a very welcome development, as it would boost the Freeport’s thrust of becoming a premier tourist destination in Asia.

The SBMA has been preparing the Freeport to be a top cruise-ship destination after it became a founding member of the Asia CruiseTerminal Association, Kabigting added. (FMD. RAV/MPD-SBMA) 

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Members of a school band presents passengers with leis upon disembarking from the MS Hanseatic cruise ship at the Subic Bay Freeport on Monday.

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Olongapo eyeing Miss World venue

OLONGAPO CITY — Mayor Rolen Paulino said Miss World organizers paid a courtesy visit in his office on Saturday with Miss World Megan Young as part of her homecoming and victory celebration.

Paulino said franchise holder Cory Quirino and Miss World Organization president Julia Morley brought up the idea for the city to host the next pageant.

Paulino said tourism sites and facilities in Olongapo and adjacent Subic Bay Freeport would be the venues of several activities for contestants representing over 120 countries across the globe.

“It will be great boost for both Philippine Tourism and Olongapo as the host city if all plans will push through,” Paulino said.

In a short program for the homecoming and victory celebration of Young held at Harbor Point-Ayala Mall, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman Roberto Garcia also batted for Subic Freeport as a suitable venue for preliminary galas and dinners.

In her reply, Quirino vowed to work on the request for the hosting of Miss World contest here.

“Since there is an invitation for us to bring Miss World, here we will work on it to make it happen,” Quirino said.

Aside from raising funds for charities around the globe under the banner of its “Beauty with a Purpose” program, Miss World is also credited with directly influencing a dramatic increase in tourism in all of host cities since it started in 1951.

In Young’s victory parade, thousands of residents lined up on the streets to welcome the first Filipina ever to win the Miss World title, and luckily she is from Olongapo.

Clad in white long sleeve knee-cut embroidered dress, Young waived to the rousing cheers of the crowd.

“You really don’t know how much happiness you all have given me this day,” teary-eyed Young said, including a visit to James L. Gordon Hospital to cheer up patients.

The motorcade passed Magsaysay drive, Rizal and Gordon avenues to the streets of Barangay Pag-Asa and East Tapinac before heading to the City Hall. (Cecille Garcia, Manila Standard Today)

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/10/14/olongapo-eyeing-miss-world-venue/

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Subic included in 10 Philippine sites short-listed for 2015 Apec meetings

TEN tourism destinations have been short-listed as various meeting sites for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum that will be hosted by the Philippines in 2015.

In an interview, Ma. Victoria Jasmin, undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation of the Department of Tourism (DOT), said the 10 “preselected” destinations are the National Capital Region, Tagaytay, Cebu, Clark, Subic, Legazpi, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod and Boracay.

The DOT is a member of the Apec-National Organizing Council (NOC) set up by President Aquino to oversee the activities and programs that will be held under Apec in 2015 and ensure the successful hosting of the event.

Jasmin told the BusinessMirror “there are several meetings spread throughout the year, and I’m pretty sure that each [destination] will get at least one, barring some fortuitous events.”

The Apec summit which that gathers the heads of state of 21 member-economies, will be preceded by other activities throughout 2015, including the Senior Officials Meeting, the Ministerial and Sectoral Ministerial Meetings, as well as meetings of technical working groups that include the support staff for officials participating in the main Apec events.

Jasmin added there has been “no final decision yet” on where the summit would be held.

Separate government sources also said it was clear that the President “doesn’t want to build a separate facility” just for the Apec meetings.

The Philippines hosted the Apec summit in 1996 at the Subic Bay Freeport. Then-President Fidel V. Ramos built 18 Mediterranean-style villas in the so-called Apec Village, specifically for the use of the heads of state in the summit. The villas reportedly cost $50 million and used for only six hours by the Apec leaders.

But visitor arrivals finally crossed the 2-million mark in 1996, ending the year at 2.05 million, up 16 percent from the 1.76 million posted in 1995, indicating the increased attraction of a country as a tourism destination once a major international summit is held there, government sources noted.

The Philippines is targeting foreign arrivals to reach 10 million by 2016, by the time Mr. Aquino steps down from office.

A team from the NOC has been going around these past few months inspecting the 10 pre-selected Apec sites. Government sources said the inspection teams are checking the hotels in each destination, its MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) facilities, the local organizing committee headed by the chief executives of the local government units, etc.

“Specifically, they check the availability of [hotel] suites, the quality and number of rooms, as well as the indicative rates, and renovation or upgrade plans,” one source added.

The Apec-NOC was set up by the President through Administrative Order (AO) 36 issued on November 28, 2012. It is chaired by the executive secretary with the secretary of foreign affairs as co-chairman, and composed of the heads of the regular line agencies.

Among the main functions of the Apec-NOC is to “approve and recommend to the President a master plan for the Philippine hosting of Apec in 2015, including an estimated budget for the proper hosting of the Apec meetings,” according to AO 36. (Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror)

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Participants in Subic Bay tourism events surge in 1st quarter

Subic Bay once again proved itself as a tourist magnet, as total visitor arrivals here rose by 12 percent for the first quarter, as against last year.

In particular, there was a noticeable upsurge in the number of participants in Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibits (MICE) and other tourism-related events, and sports events, which grew by 254 percent and 308 percent, respectively, for the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year.

Statistics from Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) deputy administrator for tourism Raul Marcelo revealed that Subic Bay succeeded in drawing some 72,780 participants in MICE and other tourism-related events, and 21,620 sports enthusiasts from January to March. In contrast, only 20,569 visitors for MICE and other tourism-related events, and 5,300 sports players were registered for the first quarter of 2012.

“This big increase really goes to show that Subic is living up to its twin title of ‘Premier Convention Capital in Northern Luzon’ and ‘one of the Top Destinations in the country’. It also validates the fact that Subic has indeed emerged as a favorite venue of sports organizers,” Marcelo said.

The biggest crowd drawer under the MICE and other tourism-related events category was Ayala Malls Harbor Point’s special event featuring the cast of the movie, “Must Be Love”, which pulled in some 10,000 fans.

On the other hand, the biggest sports event for the quarter was the Subic leg of the Philippine National Red Cross Million Volunteer Run “I choose to run to save lives”, which attracted some 9,000 participants last February.

As in other destinations, Marcelo also noted that while visitor arrivals would traditionally peak in summer, as well as during the Christmas and New Year holidays, summer visitor turnout this year had been particularly heavy.

“Vehicular count for the 2013 Holy Week alone, for instance, reached 50,000, bringing in roughly some 200,000 visitors based on a conservative estimate of four passengers per vehicle,” he added.

The said vehicular count, which compared to last year’s Holy Week increased by 25 percent, covered the total number of vehicles that entered Subic Bay Freeport via SCTEx Tipo and also via the other entry points to the Freeport during the period.

In welcoming the bright tourism developments in Subic Bay for the quarter, SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia said, “We look at these increases in our tourism figures as an undeniable sign that people of varied interests and from all walks of life truly enjoy Subic and its many attractions and year-round events, and that we're on the right track as far as attracting arrivals here is concerned." (AMF/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:
Tourism and sports events in the first quarter drew unprecedented record crowds at the Subic Bay Freeport.

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Subic Bay Freeport set for Holy Week

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), together with business locators and community organizations in this free port, is all set for the Holy Week with a program of activities planned for tourists who wanted to enrich both their body and soul.

Holy Week activities in Subic will kick off with the “Blessing of the Palms” rites on March 24, to be followed the next day by the traditional “Pabasa” at the San Roque Chapel. The latter will run until March 26.

On Holy Wednesday, a procession will be held along the parade route in the Central Business District (CBD), while a re-enactment of the Last Supper will be made on Maundy Thursday.

On Good Friday, devotees can join the guided “Way of the Cross” at the Holy Land Subic Sanctuary theme park in the morning and the “Veneration of the Cross” at the San Roque Chapel in the afternoon. There will also be the traditional Good Friday grand procession around the CBD.

On the same day, the Bethesda Springs of Hope will also hold their annual healing prayer and musical concert at the Subic Bay Boardwalk Park. The healing prayer will be led by Rev. Fr. Mario Bije while the musical concert will feature Karylle, Julie Anne San Jose, Ku Aquino, Anna Tirol, Danny Cruz and Coke Bolipata.

Black Saturday religious activities will include the “Blessing of Fire” ceremony and the Easter vigil mass at the San Roque Chapel.

Easter Sunday will start with the traditional “Salubong” and Easter mass, followed by and Easter egg hunt at the San Roque Chapel grounds.

Apart from the usual religious activities slated for the week, some fun and contemporary activities are lined up for visitors.

A food and fun festival dubbed as “Subic Pascha” will open on March 26, and run until March 31. The festival will feature events such as the Yamaha 3s display, the Kawasaki leisure bike display, and animal encounter.

Musical groups like Sub Projekt, Jeff Cifra & the Driven Band, and DJ Matthew Carbonell, as well as poi and fire dancers will entertain guests at the Subic Bay Boardwalk.

The festival, organized by Clawdaddy Restaurant with the participation of various restaurants at the Harbor Point Mall, will close with a concert featuring True Faith on Black Saturday at the Boardwalk.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia has assured visitors to the Subic Bay Freeport that emergency response teams, traffic and law enforcers will be on standby along major roads here throughout the Holy Week.

SBMA's new Tourism Info Center along Tipo Expressway, as well as several tourist info kiosks including one at Harbor Point Mall, will also be opened to assist visitors and tourists coming in for vacation in Subic.

"We expect a heavy influx of arrivals here this Holy Week, as Subic Bay has become a favorite destination at this time of the year", Garcia added. (FMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Subic reports “full house” for Holy Week

As temperature soars in this top summer destination, hotels and other lodging facilities here announce a “full house” situation, as hotel rooms get sold like cold “halo-halo” treats in the sweltering heat.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia said that hotels and other housing facilities here have been fully booked for the summer as early as February.

“Our hotel owners and operators are very happy about the huge volume of tourists coming in to Subic for the Holy Week. This only shows that Subic continues to be a favorite destination for vacationers and devotees during the Lenten Season,” Garcia said.

The high influx of local and foreign tourists in Subic only supports the Department of Tourism (DoT) citation last December that the Subic Freeport is one of the “Top Destinations in the Country” because of its “wide array of quality-standard tourist facilities and level of visitation it generated.”

The Subic Freeport was also DoT’s unequivocal choice as the “Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon” after a careful and in-depth evaluation of all convention facilities in the region in October 2012.

Garcia said that Subic Bay is now better-equipped to meet bigger tourist arrivals after several business locators built a total of 130 new hotel rooms here in 2012.

A 26 percent increase in other tourism-related establishments, like Ayala Land’s Harbor Point mall and 31 new restaurants in the area, further raised the bar for local tourism, Garcia added.

Meanwhile, SBMA deputy administrator for tourism Raul Marcelo announced that in connection with the observance of Lenten Season in Subic Bay, the SBMA Tourism Department has lined-up a mixture of more fun and religious events here.

Starting with the celebration of Palm Sunday, the re-enactment of the entry of Jesus to Jerusalem, the whole Holy Week will be highlighted by the traditional “Pabasa” or chanting of the life, passion and death of Jesus Christ, as well as a procession on Holy Wednesday around the free port’s Central Business District.

On Good Friday, a grand procession will start at 6:00 p.m., to be followed by the Healing Prayer and Musical Concert, “Five Wounds of Jesus” by Rev. Fr. Mario Bije. On Easter Sunday, “Salubong,” a procession for the Risen Christ, will be held at 4:00 a.m. along Manila-Dewey Avenue here, to be followed by Agape breakfast for all and an Easter egg hunt.

Meanwhile, live concerts by local and Manila-based bands, food festivals, inflated playground display, animal shows and encounters, sports exhibition games, bike and car displays, and film viewing, all for free will be featured at Subic Bay's Boardwalk Park.

“Subic is not just a place to enjoy music and food this time of the year. Subic is also a place to turn ourselves to God and find spiritual fulfillment during the Lenten Season,” said Marcelo. (MPD-SBMA)

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