Summer sizzles in Subic
As the summer season begins to sizzle, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has come up with new and affordable tour packages to offer local and foreign tourists alike to make the Subic Bay Freeport the Asian mecca of business and leisure.
The packages, which will be offered for the first time, are part of the SBMA’s ongoing effort to transform the Freeport to an exciting world-class destination.
This effort includes the improvement of tourism facilities, upgrading of standards and services and hosting of special events and cultural activities to fully make Subic Bay the best nature and industrial theme park in the country.
SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga expressed confidence that Subic Bay will soon emerge as the number one destination and investment site in the country.
“We should not be contented that Subic is considered an excellent industrial zone in the country, but we should make Subic Bay a place where the top executives and managers work competently while their families and friends are safe while enjoying our best services and facilities others do not have,” Salonga said.
According to Venancio Triguero II, SBMA Tourism Department manager, the new packages will be a bevy of truly exciting and affordable tour packages designed to suit every visitor who comes to the Subic Freeport.
“This is a very exciting time for us here, for the first time in years, we are finally offering packages that will cater to everyone. Now, everyone who comes to the Subic Freeport can really make the most of their stay here,” he said.
Tour packages
The new summer tour packages cover day tours which provide the tourists a visit to all recreational facilities here as well as discounts and freebies of all sorts.
There are also Family, Corporate and Gimmick Barkada Overnight packages, the Subic Day Tour package for P800 per person and the Subic Overnight Tours ranging from P899 to P1,999 per person with accommodation and day tour activities.
For the more adventurous type of visitors, there is the Nature Adventure package which offers treks and other scenic views of the Freeport.
All packages come with discounts and give-aways from the facilities they will visit.
Triguero said that the packages are the offshoot of the recently held Tourism Branding Seminar where Freeport tourism stakeholders and employees identified what would make Subic boom as a premier tourism hub.
Two other equally important projects launched were the official tourism Web site of the SBMA, which showcases the numerous activities, places and other information that the public needs to know about the Subic Freeport; and the new Subic Bay tagline “Nature, Fun, and More”—a definitive description of what the Freeport can actually offer.
“Coming to the Subic Freeport is nature at its best. We have eco-tours of lush jungles, beaches and natural wonders like wildlife and marine creatures,” Triguero said.
He added that while these new packages are as exciting as can be, the department is still committed to making your stay the most fruitful one.
Meanwhile, tourism stakeholders based in the Subic Freeport have expressed their commitment and support as partners of the SBMA in promoting the Subic Tour Packages.
Triguero further said that some hotel operators have committed to provide special corporate rates for the use of their facilities, such as 15 percent discounts, as well as freebies and standard accommodation rate of P1,200 per person per night with breakfast and other special privileges.
Asian chartered flights
More than a month earlier, SBMA administrator and chief executive officer Armand Arreza announced a huge cut-off on aeronautical fees being implemented at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) to attract more airline operators to utilize Subic’s airport to bring in foreign and domestic tourists.
“Airline operators using the SBIA facilities are now enjoying the 80 percent discount on aeronautical fees from Mondays to Thursdays, and 60 percent from Fridays to Sundays,” Arreza said.
Some of the services covered by the aeronautical fees include landing, takeoff, parking, lighting, and the use of the navigational and communication equipment, such as radar, and others.
“The implementation of this big cut on aeronautical fees is part of SBMA’s effort which is aimed at attracting more airline operators to use Subic’s airport facilities, and more tourists will definitely come in,” Arreza said.
“Our airport is one of the most modern in the country and we’re trying to have more airlines look at servicing the route of Subic Bay to any point in Asia,” he added.
SBIA general manager Marcelo Santos disclosed that at present, the SBIA offers a bevy of domestic flights and international flights to some key points in Asia.
Inter-Island Airlines offers chartered flights to Manila and also to Taiwan. Mandarin Air currently offers flights from Subic-Taiwan and back, while Cebu Pacific offers flights from Incheon, Korea- Subic and Air Philippines flies the Subic-Hong Kong route.
Aside from these chartered flights, the SBMA has also received support from the Chinese provincial and municipal governments for the opening of two chartered flights in the SBIA direct from Mainland China, according to Arreza.
He expressed optimism that with the several improvements being implemented to upgrade the facilities of the SBIA and the start of the Subic Bay Port Development project, more Asian cities would want to establish direct flights to Subic.
“From a tourism standpoint, the upgrade of facilities in the SBIA will be a major factor for more Asian cities to have their own direct flights to Subic. In fact, top officials of Shijiazhuang and Taizhou cities and one municipality in the southern part of China have expressed keen interest to have direct flights to Subic. We want to explore these with priorities,” Arreza said.
Moreover, the SBMA has tied up with domestic and international airline operators as it hosted the regular meeting of the Airline Operators’ Council’s (AOC), which is an organization created under the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
AOC is an organization composed of 30 airline carrier-members and 11 airport ground handlers and airport concessionaires, which was created in 1984 by a group of foreign airline stations and airport managers with the help of the national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL).
Salonga acknowledged the important role of the AOC in promoting service quality standards or best practices in the aviation industry as the SBMA is determined to pursue President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s vision of transforming the entire Subic Freeport into one of the most competitive international service and logistics centers in the Southeast Asian region.
“From global professionals like the AOC members, we could learn how to address current competition and consumer concerns. Quality professionalism is important to us to make Subic a truly world-class investment and tourist site,” he said as he signified his intention to work hand in hand with the AOC to effectively put into Subic’s airport the same quality professionalism it espouses.
AOC chairman Leoncio Dakila Nakpil II lauded the transformation of the Subic Freeport from a US military base into a bustling business and industry hub as well as one of the best tourist destinations in the country.
Manila Standard Today
The packages, which will be offered for the first time, are part of the SBMA’s ongoing effort to transform the Freeport to an exciting world-class destination.
This effort includes the improvement of tourism facilities, upgrading of standards and services and hosting of special events and cultural activities to fully make Subic Bay the best nature and industrial theme park in the country.
SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga expressed confidence that Subic Bay will soon emerge as the number one destination and investment site in the country.
“We should not be contented that Subic is considered an excellent industrial zone in the country, but we should make Subic Bay a place where the top executives and managers work competently while their families and friends are safe while enjoying our best services and facilities others do not have,” Salonga said.
According to Venancio Triguero II, SBMA Tourism Department manager, the new packages will be a bevy of truly exciting and affordable tour packages designed to suit every visitor who comes to the Subic Freeport.
“This is a very exciting time for us here, for the first time in years, we are finally offering packages that will cater to everyone. Now, everyone who comes to the Subic Freeport can really make the most of their stay here,” he said.
Tour packages
The new summer tour packages cover day tours which provide the tourists a visit to all recreational facilities here as well as discounts and freebies of all sorts.
There are also Family, Corporate and Gimmick Barkada Overnight packages, the Subic Day Tour package for P800 per person and the Subic Overnight Tours ranging from P899 to P1,999 per person with accommodation and day tour activities.
For the more adventurous type of visitors, there is the Nature Adventure package which offers treks and other scenic views of the Freeport.
All packages come with discounts and give-aways from the facilities they will visit.
Triguero said that the packages are the offshoot of the recently held Tourism Branding Seminar where Freeport tourism stakeholders and employees identified what would make Subic boom as a premier tourism hub.
Two other equally important projects launched were the official tourism Web site of the SBMA, which showcases the numerous activities, places and other information that the public needs to know about the Subic Freeport; and the new Subic Bay tagline “Nature, Fun, and More”—a definitive description of what the Freeport can actually offer.
“Coming to the Subic Freeport is nature at its best. We have eco-tours of lush jungles, beaches and natural wonders like wildlife and marine creatures,” Triguero said.
He added that while these new packages are as exciting as can be, the department is still committed to making your stay the most fruitful one.
Meanwhile, tourism stakeholders based in the Subic Freeport have expressed their commitment and support as partners of the SBMA in promoting the Subic Tour Packages.
Triguero further said that some hotel operators have committed to provide special corporate rates for the use of their facilities, such as 15 percent discounts, as well as freebies and standard accommodation rate of P1,200 per person per night with breakfast and other special privileges.
Asian chartered flights
More than a month earlier, SBMA administrator and chief executive officer Armand Arreza announced a huge cut-off on aeronautical fees being implemented at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) to attract more airline operators to utilize Subic’s airport to bring in foreign and domestic tourists.
“Airline operators using the SBIA facilities are now enjoying the 80 percent discount on aeronautical fees from Mondays to Thursdays, and 60 percent from Fridays to Sundays,” Arreza said.
Some of the services covered by the aeronautical fees include landing, takeoff, parking, lighting, and the use of the navigational and communication equipment, such as radar, and others.
“The implementation of this big cut on aeronautical fees is part of SBMA’s effort which is aimed at attracting more airline operators to use Subic’s airport facilities, and more tourists will definitely come in,” Arreza said.
“Our airport is one of the most modern in the country and we’re trying to have more airlines look at servicing the route of Subic Bay to any point in Asia,” he added.
SBIA general manager Marcelo Santos disclosed that at present, the SBIA offers a bevy of domestic flights and international flights to some key points in Asia.
Inter-Island Airlines offers chartered flights to Manila and also to Taiwan. Mandarin Air currently offers flights from Subic-Taiwan and back, while Cebu Pacific offers flights from Incheon, Korea- Subic and Air Philippines flies the Subic-Hong Kong route.
Aside from these chartered flights, the SBMA has also received support from the Chinese provincial and municipal governments for the opening of two chartered flights in the SBIA direct from Mainland China, according to Arreza.
He expressed optimism that with the several improvements being implemented to upgrade the facilities of the SBIA and the start of the Subic Bay Port Development project, more Asian cities would want to establish direct flights to Subic.
“From a tourism standpoint, the upgrade of facilities in the SBIA will be a major factor for more Asian cities to have their own direct flights to Subic. In fact, top officials of Shijiazhuang and Taizhou cities and one municipality in the southern part of China have expressed keen interest to have direct flights to Subic. We want to explore these with priorities,” Arreza said.
Moreover, the SBMA has tied up with domestic and international airline operators as it hosted the regular meeting of the Airline Operators’ Council’s (AOC), which is an organization created under the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
AOC is an organization composed of 30 airline carrier-members and 11 airport ground handlers and airport concessionaires, which was created in 1984 by a group of foreign airline stations and airport managers with the help of the national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL).
Salonga acknowledged the important role of the AOC in promoting service quality standards or best practices in the aviation industry as the SBMA is determined to pursue President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s vision of transforming the entire Subic Freeport into one of the most competitive international service and logistics centers in the Southeast Asian region.
“From global professionals like the AOC members, we could learn how to address current competition and consumer concerns. Quality professionalism is important to us to make Subic a truly world-class investment and tourist site,” he said as he signified his intention to work hand in hand with the AOC to effectively put into Subic’s airport the same quality professionalism it espouses.
AOC chairman Leoncio Dakila Nakpil II lauded the transformation of the Subic Freeport from a US military base into a bustling business and industry hub as well as one of the best tourist destinations in the country.
Manila Standard Today
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