SEAIR to Boracay

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Puerto Princesa Palawan Underground River

Votation for the second stage began in January 7, 2009. A total of 261 nominees and multinational nominees have been classified into 7 groups which are: Landscapes/Ice Formations, Islands, Mountains/Volcanoes, Caves/Rock Formations/Valleys, Forests/National Parks/Nature Reserves, Lakes/Rivers/Waterfalls, and Seascapes. Palawan’s Underground River is at second place under the category of Forests/National Parks/Nature Reserves, with the Amazon River at no. 1 (source: Ranking © www.new7wonders.com). Only 77 of the 261 nominees will remain after voting ends in July 7, 2009. People who took part in the first stage of the poll may vote again in the ongoing second stage.

Sec. Ace Durano in Palawan

“Once again we urge Filipinos from all over the world to keep their eye on the prize. All the voting and support have already generated immense publicity for our country. It would indeed be a feat for the Philippines if the Puerto Princesa Subterranean Park becomes one of the 7 phenomenal sights in the world,” said Ace Durano, Secretary of Tourism.

Renowned as the world’s longest underground river, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park also features a stunning limestone karst mountain landscape. Inside its large chambers are stalactites and stalagmites formations, while at the mouth of its cave
thrives a bustling ecosystem which includes monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels.

“We ask everyone to join us on this long but gratifying road to victory. But more than the people’s votes, we urge preservation and protection of our natural sites because they are the irreplaceable
wealth of our country,” said Eduardo Jarque, Jr., Tourism Undersecretary for Planning and Promotions.

After the top 77 candidates have been determined, the New7Wonders Panel of Experts, led by Prof. Dr. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO, will then take over to select the 21
Finalists.

Voting will resume after selection of the 21 Finalists. The nominees will compete for vote against candidates within their category. Simultaneous with the voting, the New7Wonders World Tour will visit the 21 Finalists to give each a chance to be seen by the whole world.
The final 7 will be announced in 2011.

This is the biggest give-away of Lakbay Pilipinas – Philippine Travel Blog and the SEAIR Adventure Club ever! You and five friends can fly to Busuanga with six SEAIR airfare gift certificates up for grabs!

SEAIR has been providing the longest-running uninterrupted service to Busuanga, and now provides the fastest flights with its Dornier 328 aircraft.

So how do you join? All you have to do is tell us why you want to go to Busuanga via SEAIR, by Friday, 20 June 2008, at 8:00 p.m. You can use your personal blog, Multiply, Friendster, or any other social networking site, or any website for that matter for as long as your entry has a link to the SEAIR website. The entry which best captures the attention of our judges will get the 6 gift certificates!

To let us know you joined this contest, post the link or your entry as a comment in SEAIR starts 35-minute flights to Northern Palawan http://www.flyseair.com/seair-starts-35-minute-flights-to-northern-palawan/. Like the previous raffle, make sure you place your full name in the name field since you will need a valid ID to claim the tickets if you win.

The winner will be drawn at random and will be notified by e-mail so make sure you double check your e-mail address before submitting your comment. Tickets will be valid from now until 15 October 2008. Good luck!

When the Philippines hosts the Meier’s Weltreisen Far East Live Seminar (FELS) next year, 220 top performing travel agents are expected to come here for a round of exposure trips and workshops.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said his department is now preparing for the May 2009 event.

“The department looks forward to hosting the event, especially since the organizers will be celebrating FELS’ 20th anniversary,” he said.

“We’ve decided to hold it in a tropical island environment, as opposed to the city setting where previous workshops were done. We see this as an opportunity to show what we can provide beyond the usual incentive trips and conventions.”

Durano said Meier’s Weltreisen is the largest Asian travel specialist in Germany, and that the company’s annual Far East Live Seminar brings together hundreds of top performing travel agents.

One of the company’s goals is to develop the skills of its frontline sellers by immersing them in the places frequented by their clientele, he added.

Durano said supporting the FELS “strategically helps boost our tourism industry.”

“The influx of delegates for the week-long event will positively benefit our establishments,” he said.

Sponsors of previous seminars reported a high return on investment, he added.

Durano said in the long term, Philippines can be assured that there are travel agents in Germany and Austria who are well-equipped and enthusiastic about promoting the country to clients.

Durano expects FELS 2009 to encourage more European tour operators to develop a wider variety of packages that feature the tropical beaches, nature adventures and cultural attractions of the islands.

A total of 92,863 tourists came from different points in Europe between January and March this year.

The United Kingdom and Germany are the region’s two highest providers of foreign arrivals and in the top 12 source countries for the Philippines.

The program is touted to be one of the major incentive events in the German and Austrian tourism trade.

The Philippines was formally recognized as the 2009 sponsor country during the concluding activities of this year’s FELS held in Shanghai.

A city tour of Manila before the delegates transfer to the Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa for the main workshop is being considered as possible itinerary in 2009.

FELS participants are first organized into 12 groups and designated to conduct inspection tours (also called “pre-tours”) in a country included in Meier’s Weltreisen Asian package listing.

After the pre-tours, the agents congregate at the plenary session and present their experiences in their assigned destinations.

Countries identified for the pre-tour section of FELS 2009 include the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, Myanmar, Nepal and China. – Mayen Jaymalin/Philstar

It was a sunny Friday when we left Manila Domestic Airport via South East Asian Airlines at around 8:30am. I was with a group of travel bloggers for a Boracay familiarization tour organized by Abe which was made possible by Microtel Boracay, Seair and Zuzuni Boutique Hotel and Restaurant.

Me and Gail Villanueva (www.kutitots.com ) Boracay Arrival (photo courtesy of Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet)

After almost 35 minutes of Air Travel, I’m already seeing the Tropical Paradise Island of Boracay on a bird’s eye view from the Aircraft’s window which made me more excited.

Boracay Welcomes Abe, Marc, Gail, Ferdz and Anton

After almost 30 minutes of boat ride, Pinoy Travel Bloggers finally invaded Boracay, The Worlds most beautiful Island Paradise.

Ferdz Decena, the author and Carla Redor ( photos courtesy of Eric Dee of Byahilo)

From Boracay Port, we headed to Diniwid Beach where Microtel is located. We immediately unpacked our things and went straight to their in house restaurant “al fresco” (fronting the pristine Diniwid Beach) to have our first meal of the day. Diniwid Beach is a 200-meter long stretch of powdery white sand Beach located on a secluded cove which is perfect for people who loves quiet and relaxing place to stay in Boracay.

( Eric Dee, Gail De la Cruz Villanueva and Karla Redor in Diniwid Beach)

After our power lunch, we decided to go to white beach by walking the beach trail which involves crossing a rocky cliff, a few nice bamboo inspired resorts and restaurants until we reached the boat station 1.

(Some of the Pinoy Travel Bloggers in Boracay’s biggest sand castle)

While walking along the beach shore from Microtel resort, we often stop to take photos of some interesting things our camera can focus on.

Gail Villanueva of www.Kutitots.com with Boracay’s friendliest Dog

On a regular walk, you can actually reach boat station one for about 15-20 minutes but since we are enjoying the sceneries and several pit stops, it took us around an hour to reach the Willy’s Rock.

Beachcombers in search for the best Fruit Shake in Boracay (photos courtesy of Eric Dee of www.byahilo.com )

While walking, I invited them to try my favorite fruit shake at Jonah’s. Most of their ever popular flavors like strawberry, pineapple rum and yes banana choco peanut can be grabbed for only Php75 to Php150 each for a large 16oz glass. Unfortunately we were not able to locate Jonah’s Fruit shake and we ended up buying our shakes at a cozy restaurant near station 2.

After the fruit shake fever, we headed back to the hotel to have a power snap to prepare for our afternoon fun games hosted by Norsan of Microtel. While having fun, we stopped to capture Boracay’s beautiful sunset. Before our dinner started, Ted of Microtel showed us some of Microtel Prime Properties through a PowerPoint presentation.

Microtel Inn & Suites Boracay
Diniwid Beach, Malay, Aklan
Tel No. +63 36 2884311
Fax +63 36 2884312
Mobile +63 917 7165004
E-mail: boracay@microtelphilippines.com

Travel Bloggers who joined the Boracay Weekend Getaway:

• Abe Olandres of Yugatech
• Noemi Dado of About My Recovery
• Laureen Dado of Flail at Life
• Ivan Henares of Ivan About Town
• Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet
• Ferdz Decena of Ironwulf
• Gail Villanueva of Kutitots
• Marc Villanueva of SheeroMedia
• Eric Dee of Byahilo
• Eugene Villar of Lakbayan
• Karla Redor of RockersWorld
• Fernando Martinez of ShutterBox

Oh wait there’s more!

Read Continuation here – Microtel Boracay Inns and Suites: Perfect Weekend Hideaway..