Following its aggressive campaign to boost tourism traffic from unconventional source markets, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is pleased to announce the arrival of more and bigger cruise ships from Costa Cruises, Europe’s top cruise company. The luxury liner has scheduled a total of 15 visits to the country this year.
“Cruise ship tourists are a valuable segment of our arrivals as they come from the high-spending, silver markets of Europe and the US. I am pleased to note that beginning October of this year, Costa Cruises will upgrade to a bigger vessel that carries twice the number of passengers on board,” Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said.
“The new ship can carry 1,600 passengers which is a two-fold increase from the 800 passenger-capacity of Costa Allegra. This year, we have also augmented our scheduled ports of call in Manila compared to last year’s record,” cited Jenica Ferrer, Sales and Operations Officer of Costa Cruises in Manila.
The Philippines has been praised by guests for having the warmest arrival reception from among the ship’s destinations. “We make sure that they are treated to our one-of-a-kind Filipino hospitality. Even before the ship has completely docked, we greet guests with spectacular cultural performances amidst the festive atmosphere of various stalls offering handicrafts, delicacies and other home-made products on the wharf. We also give them a glimpse of the country by bringing them to a historical exploration of Corregidor, nature discovery of Tagaytay and Pagsanjan, and heritage tour and shopping in Manila,” shared Eduardo Jarque, Jr., Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions.
Costa Cruises targets more than 18,000 passenger arrivals in Manila this year, which is almost twice the figure of last year’s record of 10,000 passengers.
Touted as a ‘romantic ship,’ Costa Classica holds an astonishing number of sculpture, original painting, hangings, murals, and crafts. It has ten decks, two swimming pools and 2 theaters, and is built with a tonnage of 52,926 tons, and a length of 723 feet.
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(I) would like to share with you what we found out as the reason why cruise ships of the big cruise companies skip Manila. My wife and I are regular cruisers and we always talk to the Filipino crew. When we took the 12-day Mediterranean cruise I asked the Pinoy waiters (because we are in a big group, we usually request for Pinoy waiters to be assigned to us) why all their Asian cruises skip Manila when they go to all the neighboring countries of the Philippines. “Tanong ko bakit ba wala sa itinerary ninyo ang Manila?“
Ang sagot sa akin: “Noong una ho may cruises kami na humihinto sa Manila (subali’t) masyado hong matakaw ang mga taga Customs sa atin kaya ang management ho namin nag decide na i-skip na ang Manila. When inspection time comes upon our arrival and departure, yung mga Customs inspectors ho kasama ang mga pamilya nila para kumain ng libre sa ship namin. Tapos bago magbigay ng clearance para maka-depart ang ship namin maraming hinihingi ng sigarilyo at mga alak. Sa Manila lang namin na experience ang ganoon kaya nahihiya ho kaming mga Pinoy dito sa ship. Sa ibang ports sa Asia wala hong nanghihingi.
The new cruise ships have an everage of 2,000 to 3,000 passengers. Imagine the loss of tourism revenue for the Philippines because most cruise ships do not go to the Philippines. WHY???