Philippine tourist sites attract Malaysians

More tourists from Malaysia are discovering Philippine destinations, according to a Philippine ambassador.

Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malay attributed the increase in Malaysian visitors to the frequent flights by AirAsia and Cebu Pacific.Last year, 80,000 Malaysians visited the country, Malay said, making Malaysia the Philippines’ 11th major tourist market.

Starting this month, Cebu Pacific will fly the Manila-Kuala Lumpur route with 14 flights per week, twice daily. For the Manila-Kota Kinabalu route, Cebu Pacific will fly three times per week. The Philippine carrier also announced plans to fly to Kuching, Sarawak.

Speaking during an Appreciation Night for Malaysian travel agents and members of the media hosted by the Philippine Embassy's tourism marketing representative in Kuala Lumpur recently, Malaya vowed to work closely with them in increasing the tourist arrivals from Malaysia in 2012.

Malaya cited the countless tourist attractions in the Philippines, notably five, the World Heritage sites, Boracay, and other world-renowned beaches at very competitive rates.

The World Heritage sites in the Philippines are the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, the Rice Terraces in the Cordilleras, the historic town of Vigan, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the Baroque churches of Iloilo, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Manila.

The embassy recreated a Philippine Christmas tiangge or bazaar when it staged a trade and tourism fair during the first-ever Christmas Open House held at the Embassy Chancery in Malaysia.

This is a growing, robust presence of Philippine and Filipino-owned businesses here in Malaysia. Petron Corporation, PLDT Malaysia, Cebu Pacific airlines and many others which have made recent headway are much deserving of the support and encouragement of our country and the Filipino community in Malaysia,” Malaya said.

Businesses which displayed their products and services included Tatak Pinoy (clothes, souvenir items), Potato Corner (food items), PLDT Global/Malaysia (cell phone cards), travel agency TLM Leisure/Grand Voyages Sdn Bhd, and AirAsia airlines.

A special feature at the fair were halal food items, Filipiniana gift wares and tourism packages to the Philippines.Malaya emphasized that the fair was the embassy’s way of promoting Philippine and Filipino owned businesses in Malaysia.

Source - mb.com.ph