TOURISM

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EXPLORE THE PHILIPPINES' WEALTH OF WONDERS

The country may be accessed through 5 international gateways. One can explore other interesting destinations and venture out from these gateways by land, sea, or air.

MANILA offers many places of interest that are easily accessible for day excursions: Intramuros, the Walled City of Old Manila; Rizal Park, a tribute to the country's national hero; museums and some of Asia's most modern and biggest shopping malls. From Manila, the country's premiere gateway, one can access the following destinations by land:

• Cavite/Tagaytay City/

• Laguna/Batangas/Quezon

• Daet/Legaspi/Sorsogon

• Bulacan/Pampanga

• Tarlac/Pangasinan/

• La Union

• Baguio

• Banaue/Bontoc/Sagada

• Isabela/Cagayan

Being the country's capital, other international gateway and secondary travel gateway cities and provinces can be accessed by air or sea.

LAOAG is the international gateway at the northernmost province in Luzon, Ilocos Norte. Aside from offering a variety of destinations within the province, the city is also an access point to:                      

• Ilocos Sur

• La Union/Pangasinan

• Baguio/Bontoc/

• Sagada/Banaue

SUBIC the most recent addition to the country's list of international ports, offers both rest and recreation and adventure. It serves as a most convenient gateway to:

• Zambales/Bataan/

• Pampanga/Tarlac

CEBU, the country's first capital and dubbed as the "Queen City of the South", offers diverse attractions and facilities to cater to every tourist preference. Due to its location in the Visayas, it also acts as a major hub to cities in the Visayas and Mindanao, either by air or sea.

BOHOL, a favorite satellite destination from Cebu, may be accessed by fast sea craft

DAVAO offers an array of colors, shapes, tastes and textures that manifest a fusion of indigenous Filipino and Malay cultures. In terms of land area, it is the biggest city in the world, part of which is already the base of the country's highest peak, Mount Apo. Situated in the eastern part of Mindanao, Davao acts as the international gateway to its neighboring provinces:

• Davao del Norte

• Compostela Valley

• Davao Oriental

• Davao del Sur

SECONDARY TRAVEL GATEWAYS

To experience more the country's wealth of wonders, the country is dotted with strategically located secondary gateways, which can give the tourists more convenient travel connections to more remote provinces and island destinations.

BATANGAS CITY, located 3 hours south of Manila, offers its renowned dive sites and beach resorts. From the city pier, fast ferries and other sea vessels may connect the traveler to:

• Mindoro Oriental /   Occidental

• Romblon

• Marinduque

LEGASPI CITY is one's front seat to the spectacle of the Bicol region, the world-renowned Mayon Volcano, and the jump-off point to eco-tourism sites. Land and sea connections are available from this gateway to:

• Camarines Norte and Sur

• Sorsogon

• Catanduanes

• Masbate

TACLOBAN CITY is the gateway to Eastern Visayas, whose strategic location made it a perfect landing site for Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the American troops that liberated the Philippines from the Japanese forces during World Wall II. From the city, one can venture out to:

• Samar / Leyte

ILOILO CITY in Western Visayas boasts a number of historical attractions, which include churches and ancestral houses, as well as good beaches. Land and sea transportation connect Iloilo to Boracay, which is hailed as one of the best beaches in the world, and to other interesting places in the region:

• Panay provinces / Aklan-Boracay

• Negros Occidental (Bacolod City)

• Negros Oriental (Dumaguete City)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY is the capital of Palawan, known for its amazing species of wildlife and marine life, and the jump-off point to:

• Southern Palawan

• Nothern Palawan

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY is the gateway to picturesque Mindanao. The following destinations offer visitors an array of power-packed adventure activities such as white water rafting, kayaking, canopy walking, and surfing:

• Camiguin Island

• Misamis Oriental/

• Lanao del Norte

• Agusan del Norte and Sur

• Surigao Norte and Sur

• Bukidnon

ZAMBOANGA CITY offers a glimpse into the culture of 5 colorful tribal groups living in harmony with the Christian community. It is the gateway to the charming attractions and indigenous craft of the following exotic places:

• Zamboanga del Norte /  del Sur

FLY TO THE PHILIPPINES VIA THE FOLLOWING AIRLINES!

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES

www.philippineairlines.com

• Daily flights from Shanghai to Manila

CEBU PACIFIC AIRLINES

www.cebupacificair.com

• Daily flights from Shanghai to Manila

CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES

www.yeexing.com

• Twice Weekly from Shanghai direct to Cebu coming soon!

• Twice Weekly from Shanghai direct to Katiclan (Boracay) coming soon!

LIST OF ACCREDITED

TRAVEL AGENTS IN SHANGHAI

AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS

IN THE PHILIPPINES

DETAILED INFORMATION ON

TRAVEL AND TOUR PACKAGES

TO THE PHILIPPINES

BRIGHT PROSPECTS FOR

PHILIPPINE TOURISM IN CHINA

Chinese arrivals in the Philippines continue to surge with the introduction of new flight services between China and the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific, a Philippine low-cost carrier, is now operating direct flights to Manila from Shanghai (7x weekly), Xiamen (4x weekly) and Guangzhou (4x weekly). Previously, Philippine Airlines (PAL) operated the only flight service from Shanghai to Manila (7x weekly). PAL flies also to Manila from Beijing (5x weekly) and Xiamen  (7x weekly).

More gateways in the Philippines (outside of Manila) are/will be opened to enable Chinese tourists to go directly to the premier island destinations in the country. In July 2007, China Southern Air launched a regular charter flight service from Shanghai to Cebu on twice-weekly schedule.

Cebu is the most favorite tourist destination outside of Metro Manila. It is an island province known for its sweetest mangoes, delectable seafood cuisine, white sand beaches, and exciting contrast of its modern ambiance and world-class service facilities amid an idyllic natural environment, rustic countryside and friendly people.

Cebu is also the gateway to Bohol, a satellite province which is legendary for its Chocolate Hills (an odd formation of a thousand hills which resemble the Hershey’s chocolates when the hills’ grass cover turn to brown during summer), centuries-old stone churches, and rich marine life which offers some of the best sites for scuba diving.

Starting November 23, a consortium of Chinese travel agents led by Jin Yu Air will run direct twice-weekly flight service on China Eastern Air from Shanghai to Cebu (to replace the China Southern Air service) and to  Kalibo, gateway to Boracay island, cited by many travel publications and tour operators as one of the best beach destinations in the world.

The enhancement of flight access to the Philippines will improve further the traffic to the country for both leisure and business purposes.

In response to the surge of arrivals from China and other key market sources, and Philippine tourism’s overall thrust to generate 5M foreign tourists by 2010, several tourism infrastructure projects have been/are being undertaken to accommodate the bigger demand for rooms and related services in the various destinations in the country.

CONTACT US!

PHILIPPINE TOURISM OFFICE IN SHANGHAI

Address: Suite 527 Shanghai Centre

1376 Nanjing West Road, Shanghai 200040 People's Republic of China
Telephone: +86 (21) 6279-7550
Facsimile:   +86 (21) 6279-7537
Email: philtour@philcongenshanghai.org