Secretary Joseph H. Durano has recently announced the offering of stimulus tourism packages in the United States to encourage more Americans to visit the Philippines and boost its tourism industry. This government initiative is done in cooperation of Philippine Airlines, selected Metro Manila hotels, and a consortium of Philippine-based tour operators.
The tour package which costs only $999 includes roundtrip international airfare from San Francisco, Los Angeles or Las Vegas via Philippine Airlines, two (2) night hotel accommodation in any of the selected deluxe hotels, daily American breakfast and one-way transfer from the airport to hotel or vice versa. The tour operator consortium is composed of Air Travel Center, GTT International, LBC Travel, Pacific Air Leisure, and Travelfast International. The official ground-handler for this extraordinary tour package is San Francisco-based Rajah Tours International; while the participating hotels are Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Crowne Plaza Galleria, Diamond Hotel, Holiday Inn Galleria and Dusit Thani Hotel. This package is available only up to May 23, 2009.
In addition to the basic package in Metro Manila, extension adventure tours to Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Boracay and Cagayan de Oro are also offered at affordable costs. These tours would afford travelers to experience the eco-adventure activities jointly promoted by the Philippine Department of Tourism and private sector entities in the industry.
Philippine Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano has initiated this stimulus tourism program to persuade potential tourists particularly those residing in North America and Japan; the two largest sources of arrivals in the country, to visit the Philippines at very affordable costs in the light of economic crisis affecting these markets. "The Philippines remains a very attractive tourist destination in the face of worldwide economic slowdown due to its excellent tourism products and services, and availability of affordable tour programs. The tourism industry is expected to generate billions of foreign exchange and create thousands of jobs for the economy,” Durano said.
To avail of this package, please call your consolidators or travel agent. For Air Travel Center, please contact (415) 3972255 or send an email to airtravelcenter@comcast.net. For GTT, please call (415) 8370808 or (408) 4528880 or send an email to adoree.sf@gtttravel.com or girlee.sjc@gtttravel.com. For LBC Travel, please call (800) 2411304 or send an email to sandy@teamlbc.com. For Pacific Air Leisure, please call (415) 9810540 or send an email to pacificairleisure@sbcglobal.net. For Travelfast/Mango Tours, please call (866) 2-MANILA or send an email johnny@mangotours.com. For more information on this tour package, please contact Rajah Tours International at (415) 3970303 or visit www.rajahtoursphilippines.com. Additional tour programs are available in the Philippine Department of Tourism web site at www.experiencephlippines.ph.
