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| PHILIPPINES TRAVEL NEWS AND FEATURES |
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12 January 2005
Holiday economics boosts Philippines domestic travel
The holiday economics pursued by the Arroyo Administration as a way of boosting domestic tourism, trade and investment activities in the country paid off during the two consecutive long weekends in time with the holiday season.
Hotels and resorts, including transportation companies reported doing good business during the two long weekends, which allowed Filipino families to get to vacation places they could not possibly reach before at much affordable costs, according to Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano.
Based on the reports of the regional offices of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Durano said the popular destinations during the holiday season were Boracay, Cebu, Davao, Bicol and Baguio; all modes of transport, particularly the RO-RO service traversing the RP Nautical Highway, leading to these destinations were fully booked.
Also notable during this period was the increase in the number of Filipino travelers that stayed in hotels, breaking a tradition of staying with relatives and friends, a development which Durano held significant in that this helped boost job opportunities in the tourism sector.
100% occupancy rate
In Boracay, five out of seven resorts obtained a 100% occupancy rate from Dec. 24 to 27 and Dec. 30, 2004 to January 2 this year. Some 1,129 rooms were occupied by 2,708 tourists, 2,172 of whom were locals and 536 foreigners.
Sea Wind, Villa de Oro, Nirvana and Fridays were the top resorts in Boracay with an average occupancy rate of of 96%.
Meanwhile in Cebu, more tourists preferred to stay in beach resorts than hotels during the holiday season. They posted a 14.68% average hike in occupancy rate for the period Dec. 24-27 and Dec. 30, 2004 to January 2, 2005.
The top beach resorts in Cebu during the long weekend vacation were Cebu Marine, Costabella Tropical and Alegre Beach Resort.
Moreover, air, land and sea transports in Region 7 in the same period recorded an average seat occupancy of 100%.
Four beach resorts in Davao recorded an 86% occupancy rate during the period in review: Paradise Island beach Resort and Megrande Beach Resort -- 100% occupancy rate, Barcelo Pearl Farm - 75% and Eden Nature Park and Resort - 82%.
Despite the meningococcemia tourists continued to troop to Baguio City during the yuletide as the average room occupancy was recorded at 70-90% during the Dec. 24 to 31, 2004 period. While majority of the travelers opted to stay in the cheaper type of accommodations, not to mention the transient houses in the city, Burnham Hotel recorded a 100% room occupancy in Dec. 28 to 31.
Land and sea average seat occupancy in Central Mindanao (Region 12) during the two long weekends stood at 100%. The air average seat occupancy was recorded at 93%.
The average occupany rates in Dec. 24-27 in Camarines Norte, Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate were reported at 51.77%, down a bit from 57.36% recorded in Dec. 24-28, 2003.
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