Philippines Tourism Sustained Growth – DOT Report

Close to four million tourists visited the Philippines from January to May of this year, a 5.37% growth compared to last year's period, Department of Tourism (DoT) report said recently.

Based from the latest statistics from the DoT, Metro Manila is the most visited destination in the Philippines, with 848,518 foreign tourists staying in accomodation facilities found in the area, followed by Cebu which posted a 4.34% growth for the first five months of 2010. RP's famed beach destination, Boracay Island, landed third with 378,694 visitors from January to May, posting a 12.15% growth rate. Boracay is followed by Camarines Sur, Baguio, and Davao City.

Puerto Princesa City in Palawan posted the biggest growth rate in all provincial tourist destination with 35.12 percent. For the first five months of 2010, nearly 74,000 tourist have visited the city, primarily to see the Puerto Princesa Underground River, a consistent top candidate in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign.

The DoT reports also stated that a total of 80 new accommodation facilities are expected to be opened by the end of 2010 to accommodate the growing number of local and foreign tourist visiting various destinations in the country. By 2012, 57 more will be added to the total accommodation facilities in the Philippines.

In a statement, DoT Secretary Joseph 'Ace' Durano said, “The DoT has laid down the foundations for sustained growth in tourist arrivals and investments in select destinations over the past years, creating opportunities for increased local employment and harnessing entrepreneurial capabilities of local government units and the private sector to venture into and create new tourism products and services.”

Sec. Durano added that the full implementation of the Tourism Act of 2009 will strengthen the power of DoT and spearhead the development, promotion, and conservation of the tourism areas in the country.

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BiyahengPinas.com thanks the following sources for this article:
Department of Tourism. First Five Months Report – Philippine Tourism: Sustaining Growth Momentum for the Future. (Posted June 23, 2010) Retrieved June 28, 2010 from
http://www.tourism.gov.ph/Pages/IndustryPerformance.aspx

Jaymalin, Mayen, The Philippine Star. DOT reports 5.37% tourist growth (Posted June 25, 2010) Retrieved June 28, 2010 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=587311&publicationSubCategoryId=87

Lontayao, Rommel, The Manila Times. Tourist volume up in first five months – DOT (Posted June 24, 2010) Retrieved June 28, 2010 from
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/nation/20110-tourist-volume-up-in-first-five-months--dot?fontstyle=f-smaller

Philstar.com. Tourists increase in first 5 months – DOT (Posted June 24, 2010) Retrieved June 28, 2010 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=587262&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Tarlac to Host Palarong Pambansa 2010

The provincial government of Tarlac will host the 53rd edition of the Palarong Pambansa to be held on April 11-17, 2010 at the Tarlac Recreational Park (TRP) in San Jose, Tarlac.

Prior to the event, a launching was held last February 18, 2010 simultaneously in four other towns -- Bamban, Concepcion, Camiling and San Manuel-- as a signal for the start of the Palaro 2010 countdown.

Tarlac province has started the counting from the 53rd day before the event as this is the 53rd Palarong Pambansa. The theme for this year is “Play for the Region, Win for the Nation”. The activity kicked off at 6:30 a.m. with all the 17 municipalities and one city in the province held a firecracker launch, simultaneous with the ringing of all church bells. This was followed by a province-wide cycling and motorcade.

The launching also introduced “Palaro” this year’s mascot. “As first time host, we mark this event with this mascot. We named “Palaro”, -- a multi-faceted yet roundly unified ball to symbolize the energy, the discipline and the verve that go with every jump, every kick and every bounce made during the games.” Gov. Yap said.

He also said that “much like Tarlac, dubbed as the melting pot of Central Luzon where diverse cultures meet and mix, mascot ‘Palaro” also represents convergence and oneness.”

The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Tarlac government also conducted a press briefing at the TRP where mechanics, security, fraud, accommodation of athletes, transportation, traffic and other matters about the competition were tackled.

Governor Victor Yap said that he was excited with the staging of the Palarong Pambansa in the province. He said that although there are some facilities that have not yet been completed, he assured that it will be done before the event. The DepEd, for its part, said that accommodations, mechanics, safety measures and other concerns were already been set.

Gov. Yap also emphasized that Palaro is a dream come true to all Tarlaquenos. “This is our chance to showcase our warm hospitality, our ability to handle the big sports event and to show not only to our countrymen but to the whole world as well the beauty of our province,” he said.

The Palarong Pambansa 2010 hopes to boost the province’s economy, especially the tourism industry. Some 25,000 guests from the country’s 17 regions are expected to attend the annual sporting event.

The 53rd Palarong Pambansa is in cooperation with the DepEd Task Force on School Sports and sponsored by Smart Communications, Inc., and SM.

For more information about the event, contact the Palarong Pambansa - Tarlac Secretariat at (6345) 6114148, (63910) 387-3956, email palaro2010@gmail.com or visit the Palarong Pambansa 2010 blog at http://palarongpambansa2010satarlac.blogspot.com/ or Tarlac Government website at http://www.tarlac.gov.ph/

CCP Sets Stage for First Philippine Guitar Fest

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and The Guitar Friends will hold the First Philippine International Guitar Festival 2010 from January 28 to 31 at the CCP in Pasay City. With the objective of promoting the Classical Guitar, the festival offers exciting musical performances by outstanding guitarists from the Philippines and abroad.

Maestro Jose Valdez, who is considered to be one of the best guitar teachers in the country, is the director of the Festival. Maestro Valdez, who has 35 years of teaching experience, is a lecturer and professor at the University of the Philippines, Philippine Women’s University, St. Scholastica’s College, Philippine National University, La Concordia College and St. Paul University. He is a pioneer of all major guitar courses in most schools in the Philippines. The CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts ranks him as one of the pioneers of classical guitar in the country.

Among those performing in the Festival are Mr. Steve Lin, Mr. Michael Dadap, Mr. Jose Valdez, Mr. Perfecto de Castro, Mr. Sixto Roxas, Mr. Kasilag Guitar Trio, Tabs, UP Guitar Orchestra, Fundacion Centro Flamenco and the winners of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists 2009 Guitar Category. More artists and groups, including the Manila Symphony Orchestra, are expected to be added to the list of performers in the Festival. One of the highlights of the Festival will be the concert by a Spanish guitar soloist to be brought in by Instituto Cervantes.

Mr. Steve Lin is a renowned international artist who has concertized throughout the US, Italy, the Philippines and Taiwan. An award winning guitarist and a recording artist, Mr. Lin teaches guitar at the San Jose State University and Northern California School of Music. He has a master’s degree from Yale School of Music and is completing his doctorate at the New England Conservatory under Eliot Fiske.

Mr. Michael Dadap has been artistic/music director and conductor of The Children’s Orchestra Society since 1984. He studied at UP, the Mannes College of Music and the Juilliard School. As a conductor, he has conducted and collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned concert artists. As an accomplished classical guitarist, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1974 and has since performed in numerous concerts internationally.

Mr. Sixto “Butch” Roxas is a highly respected guitarist currently helping reestablish as well as playing for the UST Jazz Orchestra together with conductor/saxophonist Mr. Tots Tolentino. He studied at the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston and took guitar courses in various institutions abroad such as the Schola Cantorum in Paris and in Barcelona, Spain with Maestro Josep Henriquez under a grant from the Agencia Española. He is a faculty member of the UST Conservatory of Music.

Mr. Perfecto de Castro is hailed as one of the best Filipino guitarists. A graduate of PWU School of Music, he studied with Maestro Jose Valdez. The Laudarra, or the Ten String Classical Guitar, is Castro’s instrument of choice. He has collaborated with composers all over the world to add to the repertoire of the Ten String Guitar. He is a founding member of the Kasilag Guitar Quartet.

Fundacion Centro Flamenco is an organization dedicated to the promotion of the art of flamenco music and dance.

The Guitar Friends, which is spearheading the Festival, is composed of guitar aficionados of varying levels of expertise in guitar performance brought together by their love for guitar and their association with Maestro Jose Valdez, the Festival director. The Guitar Friends support the Guitar Immersion Program of Maestro Valdez and conducts activities such as campus concerts and master classes.

The 1st Philippine International Guitar Festival 2010 will offer master classes and lectures on topics such as “Building a Performing Career,” “Flamenco,” “A Guitarist’s Pain,” “Jazz Improvisation,” “Ensemble Playing” and “Musicality, Intelligence and Technique.” The Festival will also feature booths and displays by guitar makers and manufacturers.

The 1st Philippine International Guitar Festival 2010 is sponsored by CCP, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), SMART Communications, Inc., and Rudolf Lietz, Inc.

For details, call (63917) 526-6377, (63920) 498-2720, (63915) 921-3440, e-mail philguitarfest@gmail.com or visit http://philguitarfest.blogspot.com.