Subic to develop system in cruise ship handling

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) plans to develop a cruise ship-handling protocol to sustain the growth of this booming industry.

SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma said she had instructed the agency’s cruise ship committee to produce a manual or guidebook for better management and sustainability of cruise ship arrivals.

“We have been successful so far in carving a new tourism niche in Subic with this booming cruise industry, and in order to sustain this growth we have to incorporate best practices into a structured system,” Eisma said.

“We also have to institutionalize the process of handling cruise ships so that we can provide quality service and effective assistance to the passengers and crew of the visiting vessels, as well as their ship agents,” she added.

According to the SBMA Tourism Department, a total of 19 cruise ship arrivals were recorded here last year, with the Italian-flagged Costa Atlantica setting the record at 14 visits. The rest were made by three other cruise ships: twice by SuperStar Gemini, which is operated by Star Cruises; once by Ovation of the Seas, which is owned by Royal Caribbean International; and twice by World Dream, operated by Dream Cruises.

Each of the arrivals brought in an average of 3,500 tourists who disembark in Subic and then go on tours of various destinations in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, as well as the neighboring communities of Olongapo City, Clark Freeport, and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan.

Last year, the Central Luzon Regional Development Council cited the SBMA for developing Subic into a premier cruise ship destination in the country and noted that cruise ship arrivals in Subic had generated more than P85 million worth of economic activity in the first eight months alone.

Meanwhile, 11 cruise ship arrivals have been recorded this year: seven for World Dream and four for Costa Atlantica. The latest was on May 16, when Costa Atlantica docked with 2,000 passengers and 800 crew and officers.

Eisma also said that the SBMA’s successful initiative to develop complementation programs with nearby communities to offer curated experiences to tourists now make it necessary to develop a protocol for handling cruise ship arrivals.

Marcelino Sanqui, SBMA senior deputy administrator for port operations who is also chairman of the SBMA Cruise Ship Committee, said that they will produce a handbook that will contain step-by-step procedures from the moment a cruise ship enters Subic Bay, drops anchor at Alava Wharf, disembarks its passengers, and so forth.

“The handbook may also help inform the passengers of the dos and don’ts in Subic, such as our No Smoking and No Littering policies. This will also include road directions and emergency numbers,” Sanqui added.

The handbook, Sanqui also said, may be uploaded on the SBMA webpage so that would-be visitors to Subic may get to know the attractions in and around Subic Bay area and learn how to conduct themselves while in the area. (Ric Sapnu, Sun Star)

PHOTO:

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority employees line up along Alava Wharf to welcome the arrival of the cruise ship Costa Atlantica. (MPD-SBMA)

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1807146

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Subic remains top tourist magnet in Region 3

This premier commercial and industrial center has maintained its hold as the best tourist destination in Central Luzon in the last six years based on the number of local and foreign tourist arrivals.

According to the Department of Tourism (DoT) in Region 3 in its 2018 Report on the Regional Distribution of Travelers, the Subic Bay Freeport recorded a total of 1,729,435 guest arrivals last year out of the total 4,144,130 posted in the region.

This represented 41.73% of the total guest arrivals recorded the seven provinces of Central Luzon and the two economic zones of Subic and Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

Of these nine destinations, Zambales followed as second best destination with 674,359 arrivals, while Clark was a distant third with 473,162.

The rest performed as follows: Bulacan, 451,426; Nueva Ecija, 305,603; Pampanga, 266,612; Aurora, 176,818; Bataan, 53,339; and Tarlac, 13,376.

The DoT report indicated that most of the guests that arrived in Central Luzon were domestic tourists, with a total count of 3,798,848. Foreign arrivals were recorded at 338,305 while overseas guests numbered 6,977.

Subic recorded the most number of guest arrivals in December last year with 182,885, followed by 166,799 in April and 163,384 in May.

Central Luzon’s top tourist markets, the DoT also said, were Korea at 107,247 arrivals; Unites States of America, 52,249; China, 26,497; Japan, 12,686; and Australia, 9,823.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma took pride in the DoT findings and said that SBMA efforts to surpass its own tourism performance in the last few years were paying off.

“This is the result not only of the SBMA, or of the tourism establishments in Subic to draw more tourists, but of the whole Freeport community to make our place cleaner, safer, more secure and providing more memorable experiences,” Eisma said.

“The SBMA, the residents of the Freeport, and the companies, schools and other institutions that operate in the Subic Bay Freeport have been working hard together to maintain this outstanding tourism rating, and I’m so glad that we’re getting outstanding results,” she added.

The Subic Bay Freeport Zone has registered that highest number of local and foreign tourists in Central Luzon since 2013, according to figures compiled by the Department of Tourism.

In 2012, the DoT also named Subic the “Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon.”

Subic has also been variously referred to as “Triathlon Capital” and “Theme Park Capital” of the country in recognition of its drawing power in sports and adventure tourism.

Chairman Eisma also noted that Subic has been named the fifth “hottest” destination in the Philippines today by Traveloka, which is Southeast Asia’s leading online booking platform for hotels.

This was after Subic recorded a +95% in tourist arrivals from 2018 to 2019, which was higher than the average 74% increase for the top 12 local destinations that Traveloka has monitored for the same period.

As the fifth hottest destination in terms of visitors count, Subic only came after Basco in Batanes, which was at the top slot with +386% arrivals; Legazpi City, +197%; General Santos City, +174%; and Laoag City, +160%. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

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