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Editorial &
Publishing Consultant
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Murray Hertz |
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President &
Managing Director
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Butch C. Bonsol |
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Editor
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Agnes M. Abrau
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Managing
Editor
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Francesca L. Ortigas
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Associate
Editors
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Carmencita Acosta
C. Jude Defensor
Jacqueline L. Ong
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Writer/Reporter
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Richard A. Ramos (Cebu)
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Account
Executive
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Vicky Araneta-Linsangan
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Credit &
Collection
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Aldi Lozano
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Circulation
Staff |
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Narciso Lorete |
WHAT’S ON &
EXPAT is published weekly by
Expat Communications, Inc.
Suite 415 Manila Bank Building
6772 Ayala Avenue Makati City
Telephone Nos: (02)840-2996 • 812-0987 Fax No:
840-2988
Email: expat@pldtdsl.net
whatsonexpat@yahoo.com
Cebu Mailing Address: MJ. Cuenco Avenue
cor. C. Mina St., Mabolo, Cebu City
Telefax: (032) 412-8000
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European... from page 1
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tour
operators now feature other destinations
such as Cebu, Boracay, Bohol and Palawan
for a better heterogeneous outlook of
the entire country. Our target is more
on the Western Europeans consisting of
Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the
Scandinavian region, since these have
been proven to be our most lucrative
markets, Jarque detailed.
In Moscow, the event was the Leisure and Travel Fair which won the
“Best Marketing Support” award for the
Philippines where Cebu was well
represented through its
stakeholder-establishments.
Backpackers Reign
The tourism official also agreed that the backpackers
outweigh the tour groups as the largest
contributors to the tourism industry
since the former stay much longer,
travel more often and always patronize
the sari-sari stores and small-scale
establishments in the rural
areas—leading to more income
opportunities for the locals.
Another advantage for the backpackers is that they do not seek
fancy amenities or five-star
accommodations since they do not have
much need or budget for such facilities.
Instead, they look for modest and clean
surroundings since the rooms would be
utilized only for sleeping purposes.
Fortunately, such rooms may be found in big numbers among the
less expensive pension houses, Special
Interest Resorts and even homestay
programs benefit immensely from their
intended markets which usually seek
no-frills accommodations. “Dive
enthusiasts also spread the word to
their fellow divers regarding
little-known but attractive dive sites.
They also don’t care how long they
travel as long as they get quality dive
sites in the end. Unlike the typical
beachgoer who prefers only a half-hour
ride from the airport and hardly shares
great beach finds to his or her
counterparts,” he disclosed.
Jarque also observed that present queries now center on the
readiness of the rooms and hotels,
instead of previous questions focusing
mainly on the peace and order situation
in the place. This indicates a high
level of visitor confidence and maturity
on the locale itself, he said. |
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OUR DOUBLE PRICING ITEM is getting a lot
of attention. Says Philippe Bartholome;
the GM of Fridays resort in Boracay:
“I’ve been fighting this insidious
practice for many years. I have one
price at Fridays for Filipinos or
foreigners. It gives the Philippine
tourist industry and the country in
general, a very bad name.” Continued
Philippe: “How would Filipinos feel if
they walked into a restaurant or hotel
and saw a sign in the window:
‘Foreigners – 20 percent discount on all
prices.’ (They’d probably toss a rock
through the window and who could blame
them?) Or in reverse: ‘Filipinos – 20
percent discount on all prices.’ Either
way it’s blatant discrimination and in
the end you lose business over this
antiquated thinking.” Philippe also
reminded me that even the government
used to think that way. If you recall
the long-gone Nayong Pilipino attraction
near the airport, you’ll recall they had
a sign right in front of the cashier’s
booth: “Foreigners USD1.00. Filipinos
PhP10. Grrr! That really angered a lot
of visitors. Yeah for Philippe. More
like him.
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SOME DEFENDANTS OF DOUBLE PRICING
crowed that it’s only fair because
Filipinos earn less than expats. Not a
valid excuse, says I. Expats working in
this country end up getting the same
discounts by showing an ACR proving that
they are residents of the Philippines.
Even if they earn more than Filipinos,
they still get the discount. Simply put,
if everyone based prices on people’s
income, the world economy would be in a
chaotic situation. We all earn different
amounts of money, so does that mean you
have to fit your prices to each
customers income? Why penalize someone
because they may have worked hard to
earn that income? Businesses have a
commodity to sell and they put a value
and price on that commodity. It should
not matter who buys it, but only that
someone does. Those who can afford it
can pay it and if not, just cannot avail
of it. If the Philippines wants to be
competitive in the world tourism
industry, they must put an end to the
practice of discriminatory
double-pricing. The fact that many
customers have said loud and clear that
they would not return to or patronize a
business with this practice should be
enough incentive for a businessman to
stop doing it.
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PEEPING IN
KEYHOLES: Tita Trillo, the power behind
Titania Wines and La Vigne Restaurant
off on a one month sabbatical to France
and – naturally – a visit to zee
vineyards… So who’s holding the reins in
her absence? Her no. 1, Maricar Avellano,
that’s who… My hands still ache from
shaking so many hands at the recent
Fuego party at Rockwell. Ran into Simon
Halley, former editor of the Foreign
Post, now CEO of a hot new online
magazine called my Philippines online
community. Check it out on
www.myPH.com.ph… And then |
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there was Richard Ostrowski, the exec
veep of Concept One, the ANC TV show on
ABS-CBN, hosted by Cory Quirino… Don’t
run away! I ran into old pal Dr. Ricky
Soler who was proudly admiring his
daughter who was performing on stage as
a serious Flamenco dancer with a serious
and talented Flamenco dance
group…Lourdes Senn was there. Remember
Lourdes? She was the managing partner in
the old La Tasca Restaurant and San Mig
Pub in Greenbelt and now runs a
successful food catering business…Babe
Romualdez, impeccably dressed, as
always, stood out in the huge crowd.
Babe is the famous Philippine Star
columnist and the CEO and publisher of
People Asia Magazine.
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HOW SMART ARE YOU? Well, sit on this
one for awhile: Did you know that 23
percent of all photocopying machines
faults worldwide are caused by people
sitting on them and photo copying their
buttocks. I swear. That’s a factoid…Okay
then. Would you be surprised to know
that Charlie Chaplin once won 3rd prize
in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest?
I know I was…Go ahead and if you can
handle this one, amaze your friends, if
you have any left after you ask them to
repeat this: “The sixth sick sheik’s
sixth sheep’s sick.” Don’t feel bad.
This is said to be the toughest tongue
twister in the English language…
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THEY’RE BACK! “Who are they?” you
ask. They are the folks who just
reopened the old (but a new version) New
Orleans Restaurant that held shop at
Greenbelt in Makati for so many years.
And where are they, you want to know?
Just opened and now running at Fort
Bonifacio High Street, just an eyeball’s
glance from Serendra and they are the
other half (whaddya mean, “which half”)
of a twin restaurant, Clawdaddy, the
Great American Picnic. New Orleans is
highly-themed and you get the feeling
you are actually on Bourbon Street in
the Big Easy, as New Orleans is so often
called. Chef Peter Ayson, fresh from an
eating orgy in that famous US city, has
brought back some brand new authentic
Cajun and Creole dishes from N.O. and
has maintained the old popular
favorites, like baby back ribs,
blackened steaks, fish, oysters,
authentic Andouille sausages and all the
etoufee’s you can force down your
throat. Great outdoor, but climate
controlled bar, makes life even better
for N.O. customers. Kitchen has many of
the old cooking staff and if you’re an
old customer, you’ll recognize many of
the serving staff and bartenders as
well.
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MURRAY’S COLUMN CAN ALSO BE READ ON THE
INTERNET AT
www.whatson-expat.com.ph
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Choice Dive Sites
Agreeing with Jarque, Tourism Regional Director Dawnie Roa
expressed full confidence that the dive visitors
would find the dive sites much to their liking
since four of the top 10 dive sites in the
country come from Central Visayas. She
identified the four choice places as Malapascua
and Moalboal in Cebu, Balicasag in Bohol and Apo
Island in Negros Oriental. She also expressed
satisfaction that more foreign dive operators
are setting up shop in Oriental Negros to cater
to the growing market.
PDP Digital Inc. released a few years ago a dive guidebook
highlighting these four locales a few years ago,
thus serving as a useful reference guide for the
dive enthusiasts for years to come. A Japanese
edition of the book has also been released.
Situated 90 kilometers south of Cebu, Moalboal hosts
Panagsama Village, home to over 10 dive schools
and dozens of small-scale accommodations,
restaurants, pubs and retail outlets owned
mostly by expatriates. Malapascua, an island
situated over 150 kilometers up north in the
municipality of Daan Bantayan,
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is known as a little Boracay with wondrous dive
sites. Balicasag and Apo Island are also well
known for their whale and dolphin-watching tours
to the delight of the general public.
On the topic of upgrading dive facilities and services, Roa
replied that only DOT-accredited establishments
are allowed to go on overseas sales missions
with DOT personnel because her office imposes
strict conditions in order for the properties to
meet world-class standards and expectations.
This will encourage the stakeholders to upgrade
their facilities in order to gain the
much-needed exposure on the global front and
compete more favorably with overseas
counterparts, she concluded.
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