Ruel Hinaloc asked:


Explore Paradise Philippines. Take a peek at Filipino’s culture and history as mirrored in century-old churches, ancient forts and modern museums. Paradise Philippines have the top of nature’s paradise pictured thru white-sand beaches and three-layered virgin forests.

Paradise Philippines is blessed with an extensive coastline, ringed with unspoiled beaches and first-class resort facilities. Paradise Philippines’ deep-blue, crystal-clear waters offers about 40,000 square kilometers of coastal reefs teeming with a variety of marine life.

Top Philippine Destination and Paradise Spots

Paradise Philippines is endowed amid a tropical climate offering perfect paradise treat to enjoy the sunlight. Lying in Southeast Asia and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Paradise Philippines boasts of unsullied beaches, spectacular sunsets, luxuriant pastoral lands, cool mountain weather, brilliant man-made paradise resorts, and dazzling 7,000+ islands.

Paradise Philippines boasts of one or two of the best beaches and scuba diving waters in the world. Witness the vast expanse of nature’s paradise Philippines’ splendor underneath the spell of cool paradise Philippines mountain breeze.

Here are some featured destinations and paradise regions that is living proof of Paradise Philippines reputation of being referred to as Paradise Philippines.

Alona Beach, Paradise Philippines

Panglao Island, Bohol (May 6, 2007) – The Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano has inaugurated the first age of a P600-million upscale resort complex that is riding on the tourism boom in this province. Durano said, referring to the 16-hectare Eskaya Beach Resort & Spa, which is making 70 luxurious villas catering to the rich Filipino tourists and visitors from Europe, the United States, Australia, Japan and Korea.

Donsol, Whale Shark Capital, Paradise Philippines

Once a sleepy coastal village located at the northwestern tip of Sorsogon province, this town now eyes to be a first-class municipality, thanks to giant sea creatures that are now attracting hordes of foreign and local tourists who infuse millions of pesos to the local economy.

Boracay Paradise, Paradise Philippines

Widely known as one of the best swimming destinations in the world, Boracay is blessed with unsullied fine talcum powder-sand beaches. Its tranquil crystal simple waters are best for swimming, sailing, fishing and sunbathing. Boracay in addition boasts of sapphire seas and spectacular sunsets. Countless hidden coves dot the island and tall coconut trees line up along the beaches. Boracay lies at the northwest tip of Panay, in the west Visayas region, off the Sibuyan Sea.

Captivating Guimaras, Paradise Philippines

Nueva Valencia, Guimaras – An Italian couple on a two-month holiday in the Philippines chose to include the present paradise in this itinerary and stayed at the Raymen Beach Resort in December 2006, unperturbed by to know about the oil spill that brought the island province to world attention in August of the same year. “We are just here to see good beaches,” said the Boldo couple, who are just among the hundreds of intercontinental guests who kept coming to Guimaras even in the aftermath of the infamous oil spill.

Wonderful Palawan, Paradise Philippines

The exotic beauty of Palawan remains undefiled. Branded as the country’s survive frontier, Palawan is a sanctuary to an amazing variety of exotic flora and fauna which are found nowhere else. With more as opposed to a thousand islands and islets, Palawan boasts of white-sand beaches, scenic rock formations, underwater rivers and magnificent caves. Palawan is additionally structure to Tubbataha Reef, the only nationwide marine park that made it to the World Heritage List and whose grandeur is comparable to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Banaue Rice Terraces, Paradise Philippines

Traversing the rugged terrains of Cordillera highlands in a duration of one week is an adventure in itself and could be an immense learning experience for someone who has the guts to be on the look down to the depths of mountain cliffs to get a good view of the rice terraces. With tall rice terraces at the backdrop and cool breeze shuttling between mountain peaks, a journey across the Cordillera heap ranges exposes one to an atmosphere strangely different from the daily offering of Manila and its suburbs.

Amazing Coron, Paradise Philippines

Coron, a town in the Busuanga Island in Northern Palawan, can charm much the most insensitive amongst men. Its natural beauty can only be described as seductive, giving first-time visitors and repeaters alike a sense of wonder so is hard to shake off.

Cebu City, Paradise Philippines

Cebu City drew 403,326 worldwide visitors in 2005, making the “queen city of the south” the top provincial destination of worldwide travelers. Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) also showed such a Cebu City attracted 1,813 distant Filipinos and 712,938 domestic travelers.

Pagudpud, Paradise Philippines

If Aklan has Boracay, Ilocos has Pagudpud, its northernmost town bordering the South China Sea. The coastal town of Pagudpud is the perfect setting for panoramic movies and photoshoot for travel magazines cover. The town’s main attractions are Saud Beach, famous for its fine white sand stretching for hundreds of meters and Maira-Ira Point, which hides a secluded beach called Blue Lagoon. Other breathtaking landscapes in Pagudpud include Bantay Abot-abot, a natural sculpture carved by the wind and sea, the Mabogabog Falls and the Patapat viaduct that treats motorists to a scenic view of red lushes and green waters of South China Sea.

Bohol, Paradise Philippines

Bohol is one of the loveliest islands in southern Philippines. It is situated at the heart of Visayas and with coastline skimmed by gentle coves and white-sand beaches. Many highways snake along sparkling beaches or leafy rivers where one can stop at any point and jump in. With its rolling hills and plateaus, crystal springs and beaches, the province of Bohol is a picturesque province replete amidst ancestral structures and centuries-old churches.

Business Local Listings asked:


Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc. is the official web site developer of Amnesty International Philippines.

Amnesty International is a global movement of people campaigning actively for the protection of human rights and taking action against human rights abuses. Such action comes in the form of information campaigns through communication and media channels, as well as public pressure through mass demonstrations, vigils and lobbying.

Amnesty International Philippines was officially recognized as an Amnesty International section on January 27, 1987. Among its many accomplishments is its role in the repeal of the Death Penalty Law in the Philippines in 2005 and its participation in the successful campaign to get UN approval for a moratorium on executions in 2007, with the Philippines as co-author and signatory of the resolution.

The Amnesty International Philippines web site developed by Web Dot Com is packed with information that is systematically categorized and labeled. Despite the huge amount of data on the entire site, the visitor is not overwhelmed. Perhaps this is because the landing pages are bright and feature a clean layout which clearly displays the various sections. Navigation is definitely not a problem since links are properly labeled.

Given a prominent position is the link to the Amnesty International Report of 2009. There are Spotlights on Human Rights and Poverty, Violence against Women, Counter Terror with Justice, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). There is a section on News and Updates alongside a section on Appeals for Action. There is a special link to Good News and another one to CampAIgn, the Amnesty International newsletter.

There are buttons labeled Donate to Amnesty International, Join Amnesty International, and More ways to get involved.

There are also several search buttons. One is to select a country where Amnesty International is active and another is to select a country with human rights abuses.

There are buttons leading to the sections on Amnesty International in the Philippines, Act Now, Join Us, Activities and Publications.

The Amnesty International Philippines section is comprised of subsections titled Who We Are, explaining Amnesty International; AI Philippines; Networks, Statute of AI, AIPh ByLaws, UDHR and FAQ.

The Act Now section is comprised of subsections titled Direct Appeals, Urgent Actions and Donate.

The Join Us sections has subsections titled Members, Local Groups, Form a Group and Volunteers.

The Activities section has a list of AI Philippines activities since 1998, categorized by year.

The Publications section contains downloadable materials as well as subsections for the Newsletter, Reports, Library and Archives.

Indeed, the Amnesty International Philippines is a fitting showcase of the web development and design skills of Web Dot Com.

Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc. has been successfully serving an international clientele from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Korea, the British Virgin Islands and the Philippines for the last ten years. From Manila, Web Dot Com offers various business process outsourcing (BPO) services, including outsourcing web development and contact center services.

In the area of web development, the web hosting provider also offers domain name registration and low cost advanced web site development packages. Depending on the client’s needs, this may include advanced interactive database driven web site development, advanced portal development, heavy web based programming, web application development, content management systems, good website design, graphic design and multimedia components including flash animation development, e-commerce site solutions including a shopping cart using osCommerce, web site maintenance and support, search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social media marketing. Its programmers and developers are highly skilled at php, mysql, JavaScript and other internet languages and tools.

Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc. is your One Stop Shop Internet and Contact Center Solutions Vendor for the Global Market. Make it your own web site developer, as well.

Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc.

Address:

2nd Floor, BT&T Center

#20 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Libis (C-5),

Quezon City, 1110 Philippines

E-mail: info@webdc.com.ph

Telephone numbers: (632) 634-4625; (632) 635-6104

Roberto L. Bacasong asked:


Yuppie Filipinos get the chance to be employed easily once they obtained their bachelor or diploma degrees because of the emergence of contact centers everywhere in the Philippines. These workers started to fill the 24-hour skyscrapers that gives a colorful background to metro Manila’s financial districts at nighttime.

This only shows that people employed in this job for a couple of years were used to on their ticking biological sleeping habit. They slept all day long just to regain their strength and wake up again at the wee hours to prepare themselves for a nightlong work. Clad in casual attire with matching fashionable coats are the most common props if you are a customer service representative. During break time some even used to occupy the al fresco various dining areas in Manila. In Ortigas for instance, call center agents enjoy their 30-minute to 1 hour break at McDonald’s, Starbucks, among others. For those who have extra pennies, they enjoy the hot aroma of Brazilian coffee in various blend. Others may sit on the corner and lit up their cigarette in a way of releasing their stress from work. It is enjoying isn’t it?

At 8 pm. about 100 people, most 25 younger, sit in a room of enclosed cubicles outfitted with phones and computers. They’ll be working until 4 am. or depends on the schedule of their shifts. As their shifts starts, it is usually morning in the US. These contact centers are following US standard zones such as Pacific, Eastern, Mountain and Central.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Luisa Geneta disclosed that call center is her first job when she finished her bachelor’s degree on May 4, 2007. At 12 am., Geneta left her house in Tondo, a suburb village in Manila, as her shift starts at 2 am. This Banking and Finance graduate from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) is one of the top caliber representatives for Unique Interaction, an American call center based in Ortigas.

“Working in a call center in the Philippines is really a big challenge for me especially that I’m new to this business. I spent most of my time and energy on this job,” she said, who handles an inbound account.

It is a very risky to leave my house at midnight for a young lady like me. However, I consider that this is the most rewarding career that we have nowadays and this will be a big help in creating another means of livelihood for us Filipinos especially for fresh graduates like me, she claimed.

On the other hand, Margaret Estanislao, 19, a team leader of the same company, disclosed that placing the agents into action challenge her in keeping her job.

Estanislao, who started as an agent added that they tried everything in sorting out the problem of the customers. “We need to maintain our empathy if the customer is upset. They are pissed and upset not because of the representatives but to the products itself”.

Both Geneta and Estanislao agreed that this job has given them the opportunity to enhance their skills and boost their confidence when it comes of interaction with their clients in a phone-to-phone conversation.

“Not to mention the financial aid that it gives to me and my family. I think this industry will continue to prosper in the succeeding years and it will continue to be one of the leading providers of career opportunities for Filipinos,” Geneta further said.

It cannot be denied that outsourcing business is one of the most flavored industries in the Philippines and other Asian countries. It appears that contact center executives preferred this country because of the number of students produced every year, which can speak English in American way. As the third largest English-speaking country in Asia no doubt that business process outsourcing is in demand today.

BPO companies provides a state-of-the-art equipment in outsourcing their business in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. These companies trained their employees to speak like American way. In Unique Interaction, they provide fundamental call center training before the call center trainees will be allowed to take calls. The trainees has to learn account information first. Once they know the account then they are deployed ready on the floor and receive as many calls as they want. The company also teach their employees on how to handle their customers well. It is so hard to lose a customer, we know that they are considered as the lifeblood that gives full stream of support to make the company up and running and stay on the business for long.

The fact is call centers are part of the Philippine economic activity. Almost half of the 86.2 million people in the Philippines are younger than 20 years old. So don’t be surprised if you will be able to meet supervisors, team leaders, managers below 25. This is because that call center has the fastest way of promoting a career development. If the agent is performing better and receiving good CSAT ratings then no doubt that within six months or less than, this certain employee is entitled to move to another level in his or her career path. The Philippines is also one of the potential factors for outsourcing. It has been also forecast by the XMG Inc., Manila-based research and advisory firm that the nation will surpass India by 2008 as home to the world’s largest call center companies.

The Philippines offers attractive environment for the BPO companies, which is one of the key requirements by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) in applying for this business. Even now big contact center firms also expanded their centers not only in Manila but targeting the provincial levels. So it means, the revenues will not only take place within the National Capital Region (NCR) but it will also circulate to the provincial areas after passing the standard set by the Peza. Largest call centers are also found operating in Pampanga, Laguna and Baguio in Luzon; Bacolod, Cebu, Dumaguete and Iloilo in the Visayas; and Cagayan de Oro and Davao in Mindanao.

The Philippine Government is very supportive to this. Under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, she said that BPO companies will generate billions of pesos in the country with target by 2010. When it starts to operate in 2000, now off-shore call center industry estimates to employs 60,000 people.*

Deirdre Gonzales asked:


the many brands of deodorants around the world and in the Philippines, Rexona is considered as one of the top brands in providing sweat free lifestyle for all the people that use it. So where did it come from? According to rexona philippines, Rexona is one of the many brands manufactured by Unilever, a multi-national corporation that owns many of the world’s consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. One of its best personal care products is Rexona.

Rexona was first developed in 1908 by an Australian pharmacist and his wife. Because of the successful marketing of Rexona, both by rexona philippines and rexona UK (known as Sure in UK and Ireland), it now has 8 lines of deodorant, each having different effects than the other. For example, there is a formula to eliminate white marks on dark clothing and a product line developed for low-income consumers. Rexona products are created with “body-responsive technology.”

Scientists from Rexona recently noted that the body produces two types of sweat, one from over-heating and another from emotional stress. These two types of sweat generate different chemicals and odors from different glands in the body. Cooling sweat is created all over the body, but sweat from emotional strain is created in fewer, more specific sites, including under the arms. Rexona has a formula to address both types of sweat. The over-heating sweat formula was tested on people in a sauna. The emotional stress sweat was tested on people interrogated in a mean and fast-paced manner to answer riddles and sums.

Rexona’s recognition in line with personal care products were mainly because of its unique features rarely found on other brands. Another reason for it’s popularity is with its commercials. Several commercials made by rexona philippines became very popular. One is the First Day Funk by Parokya ni Edgar and another is the First Day High by Kamikazee. Rexona was also featured on some popular-culture. The Filipino *** show Bubble Gang made notable spoofs of the product. Another one is the Sistah Fun. The Stunt City commercial filmed in Australia for the UK audience won a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in 2005. In 2008 Rexona Mexico won the Silver Cyber Lion with the letssavefermin.com. Visit at http://www.myayala.com.

A. Hathaway asked:


Where to go when you need Answers

The Philippines has been, and continues to be, a major exporter of brides. What drives this exportation of women is not exactly known, but clearly the corruption, poverty and limited amount of opportunity in the Philippines is a factor. The supply and demand continue to be strong, with the women choosing men in Western Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada. With this international match making, has come some problems.

International marriages and relationships begun on the Internet have contributed to a sharp rise in fraud cases and relationship scams. In addition to the unknown factor of getting to know a Filipina on the Internet, the fact is that the Philippine culture is one where many things are for sale, including love. That is to say in a poor country like the Philippines, opportunity and money talks. The problem for the Western men in the United States, Canada and Western Europe is how to know if it’s love or money talking. To be sure, in most cases, it pays to hire a PI.

Whether you’re looking for a background check to confirm her story, or if you suspect infidelity and require surveillance for clear evidence, we recommend hiring a reputable firm like Wymoo International. Wymoo and its subsidiary, Philippine PI, have offices in Manila and Cebu with years of experience assisting clients in uncovering the truth. You can view their commercial at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkopyZK3P1o. Depending on your specific needs, you might need surveillance on the subject or a comprehensive background check to verify claims of education, employment, marital status, address, etc.

Surveillance and professional investigations can be somewhat costly. However, not knowing the truth about a relationship in the Philippines can be even more expensive. Find out the truth by contacting a professional. In the Philippines, a land of fraud and scams, one cannot afford to simply hope for the best.

Best of luck,

A. Hathaway Copyright

© 2005-2007 Wymoo International, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Business Local Listings asked:


It could have been a daunting task designing a website for the Wedding and Portrait Photographers of the Philippines (WPPP) considering the fact that this organization is comprised of masters of aesthetics. Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc., did not, however, flinch from the task. Its web developers and web designers stood up to the challenge and produced wppp.ph. Indeed, the flash website displays the breathtaking photographs of WPPP members at their best.

Founded on March 31, 2001 and duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the WPPP is an organization of professional wedding photographers. With a mere ten members in the original group, the organization has now grown to include 78 active members from Metro Manila, Baguio, Boracay, Bulacan, Cavite, Davao, Iloilo, Laguna, Batangas, La Union, Pampanga, Vigan, Bacolod, Legazpi City and Sorsogon.

The WPPP goal is to be the leading organization of wedding photographers locally to represent Philippine wedding photographers internationally. Its mission and vision encompasses the upliftment of photography and production work in order to shape the future of the industry. It aims to develop artistic and technical proficiency, competence and dedication among professional wedding photographers.

As part of its program, the WPPP fosters knowledge and idea sharing and learning among its members, upgrading skills and techniques through technical trainings, seminars and symposia. Networking is encouraged so that the most number of members benefit from resources.

All these are directed toward continually improving services to clients so as to gain their trust and respect, and to build and nurture lasting relationships with them. The WPPP believes that only such level of quality service will create a truly positive public perception of the industry.

Part of the image building efforts of the WPPP is its website. Aside from showcasing some of the stunning photographs of members, it features news on WPPP events and activities. The website also contains information on membership requirements and application to the organization.

It is not surprising that Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc. would deliver excellent results on the WPPP website. After all, Web Dot Com has been providing full and advanced website development services to corporate and individual clients around the world for the past ten years. Its clientele comes from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Korea and the British Virgin Islands, aside from the Philippines.

Web Dot Com has in-house programmers and designers highly skilled in advanced interactive database driven web site development, advanced portal development, heavy web based programming, web application development, content management systems, web site design, graphic design and multimedia components including flash animation development, e-commerce site solutions, web site maintenance and support, search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social media marketing.

The partnership between the WPPP and Web Dot Com led to the conceptualization and actualization of a Philippine-based site providing individual websites that could stand as online portfolios for professional photographers. This was envisioned to enable professional Filipino photographers to promote their world class talent to the world market. The result is azuldomain.com. It offers free hosting, free domain name registration and free email accounts, as well as a choice of unique and beautiful templates that are ideal frames for exquisite photographs. Each template is customizable and unlimited updates can be done any time through intuitive website creation tools and easy web management tools.

Azuldomain.com stands as a concrete testimony to the unified goals of the WPPP and Web Dot Com Website Development Philippines, Inc. to highlight and endorse the capabilities of Filipinos globally. With azuldomain.com, the bond between these two organizations is affirmed.

Rajinder Dogra asked:

The SMERFs, a hardy and growing bunch, are travelling Asia for Social, Military, Education, Religious, and Fraternity reasons, offering vast untapped potential for this regions developing and recovering travel markets says Abacus International.

Their reasons for travelling are as diverse as war and peace, study and learning, seeking their god or just to catch up with like-minded people, but what they have in common is a will to travel even if times get tough. They do not mind even gathering in non peak times if it will help keep the costs down.

They are the SMERFS. No relation to their cuddly namesakes of television fame, they are the resilient groups travelling to and around Asia in their millions for social, military, education or religious reasons, or as part of fraternity groups such as alumni, workplace re unions or special interest groups.

Abacus International President and CEO, Mr Don Birch says that despite being budget conscious, the SMERFs collectively form a huge market and have vast untapped potential for developing or recovering Asian travel markets.

Abacus International estimates that the SMERF market across Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore alone is worth US$1.7 billion a year, based on an accepted US formula that the SMERF market is equivalent to about one third of the total meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market.

Whereas their better known cousins the MICE are serviced by specialist divisions within major hotel groups, travel agencies and dedicated Government programmes, the SMERFS are often below the radar and therefore harder to measure.

They are hardy and budget-conscious travellers which make them ideal for developing or recovering markets or as a complementary segment in peak markets, Mr Birch continued.

The SMERFs helped sustain the US hotel and airline industry in the period following the 9/11 terrorist events, and have shown themselves to be very resilient in the face of international in the face of international events, Don Birch said.

Who are the SMERFS?

The SMERFs are part of a wider trend in the travel market towards more outcome based travel travel for a purpose other than just to see things, and they’re more prepared than ever to travel abroad to achieve their aims according to Mr Birch.

This seemingly diverse group is united by a willingness to travel despite the economic cycle, to go off-peak and even off the beaten track if that is what it takes to track down budget transport and accommodation, Don Birch said.

Social travel traverses the fields of sports, special interest, ethnic, talent and dance organisations, with more and more diverse ethnic and professional associations adding to the growth. Examples include womens groups, volunteer workers and social sports teams travelling domestically or inter country for tournaments.

The growing number of car owners joining clubs in Singapore such as BMW.sg, TeamChevy Singapore and the Toyota Club Singapore, are a case in point. Aside from their regular monthly meetings where enthusiasts exchange tips on the technical aspects their cars, these clubs also serve as a rallying point for trips overseas, either to Sepang in Malaysia for a day of track racing or to other regional destinations for leisure trips. Further afield, fans of the Lord of the Rings have travelled to New Zealand in their thousands to experience in person some of the magic of the film. A guide book to the filming locations has now sold over 300,000 copies becoming the fifth largest ever selling non-fiction book in New Zealand in the process.

The Lord of the Rings has created the largest film tourism event the world has ever seen. Thousands of people have flocked to Middle earth New Zealand to follow in the footsteps of the hobbits and to bring back some of the emotions they felt when watching the film or reading the book, says Ian Brody author of the Location guide, which is selling just as well a full three years after the last movie in the trilogy.

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Director of the Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC), Mr John Koldowski says there is also a well beaten path from India to the exotic film locations of Switzerland and Austria, as fans of Bollywood seek out the sets of their favourite movies.

The social category is a good market for hotel sales staff who want to fill room blocks in off-season and weekend periods, but attracting these bookings is reliant on repeat business, word of mouth from existing customers, and direct marketing to social organisers and providing the right kind of accommodation offers, Mr Birch said.

We used to think about SMERF groups as a market niche for budget hotels and hostel style accommodation, now they use convention and conference centres, university facilities, suburban hotels, downtown hotels, resorts and even unsold apartment complexes.

Military travel

Asias estimated 32 million soldiers are often on the move usually by military transport, but often by civilian travel networks in countries such as Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore. Not surprisingly, the Philippines is one of the largest military travel markets in the region. With its more than 400,000 strong army and vast territory of 7,000 islands, even the coming and going of soldiers on leave is a highly significant market.

While exact figures are difficult to procure due to the sensitivity of military travel, the growing number of websites specialising in military travel in this region, attest to the scale of interest in this market and present a highly focused audience for travel suppliers seeking to reach this market, Mr Birch said.

Education travel

The Singapore experience demonstrates the potential of the education travel market. Prospects for inbound educational travel are promising with the number of international students in Singapore for long-term studies (one month +) growing from 60,000 in 2003 to well over 70,000 in 2005 according to the Singapore Tourism Board. The Singapore Government is targeting to achieve 150,000 international students by 2015, particularly from China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam.

From summer camps to immersion programmes, travel operators in Asia are beginning to discover the value of outbound educational tourism in the region.

One of Singapores most established travel operators, Chan Brothers Travel, set up its own Educational Travel Centre (ETC) in 2003 to cater to the emerging educational travel market in Singapore, conducting tours for student groups to destinations such as China, England, Germany, Australia and Turkey during the student vacation months of June and December.

Another relative newcomer on the educational tour scene, Wing On Travel in Hong Kong offers English language and activity tours to Britain, Australia, Singapore, Canada and mainland China. Reflecting their commitment to cater to this emerging travel market, the agency decided to create a dedicated educational tour division. The company launched its first study tours in 2004 and this year plans to take 14 groups to Britain alone.

Mr Birch says, This travel segment has a high growth potential but travel operators need to be aware of the challenges inherent in conducting educational tours for school groups. Parents expectations, differences in cultural understanding and catering for homesick young students are just some of the many issues that tour operators will have to address through equipping their staff with the necessary skill sets and expertise.

While students from Hong Kong and Singapore are venturing to foreign shores for a comprehensive educational experience, Indian students are discovering Indias own cultural identity and heritage. Mr P Saravanan, from Viking Tours and Travels in Chennai, South India said that school groups are mainly travelling to experience the history, culture and monuments of other Indian states generally in groups of 25-40 people.

The school groups are very budget in their accommodation needs. That is 1 or 2 star, with as many as 3 or 4 children sharing each room, but they’re definitely a valuable market, because schools come back a number of times, as do families of the children as they grow up, so it is a valuable part of marketing, Mr Saravanan said.

A pioneer in the educational travel segment, Thai tour operator Track of the Tiger has been running educational tours for students from Australia and the UK for more than ten years. Mr Shane Beary, Director, said that the demand for educational programmes at its Maekok River Village Resort & Outdoor Education Centre has been growing at an average rate of 25 to30% over the past five years and recorded 7,500 room nights in 2005. With a market base that has grown to include students from Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Thailand, Track of the Tiger now offers programmes at Pang Soong lodge, its new Outdoor Education & Research Centre in Mae On, Chiang Mai, covering a range of environmental, and outdoor programmes for student groups, as well as team building and ‘voluntourism options for the corporate sector.

Mr Beary commented, Our experience has shown that there are many overlaps between educational, volunteer and eco tourism, which we have tried to build on in developing our programmes.

Religious travel

As one of the worlds most populous and largest regions, Asia is also recognised as the birthplace of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Countries such as China, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and the Philippines have a cultural heritage steeped in some of the worlds major religions, and government policies to develop joint tourist attractions such as the Buddhist circuit in Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka and India have definitely grown the pie for their respective religious tourism markets,said Mr Birch.

Agreeing, PATAs John Koldowski said, Religious traffic tends to be fuelled by domestic bookings but increasingly, there are more pilgrimages being organised for inbound tourists which usually cover more than one destination. For example, there is a distinct Buddhist circuit such as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Sri Lanka and a trail covering revered Buddhist sites in India.

With a myriad of religious sites throughout the country, India has an established group of religious tour operators to cater to the many domestic and foreign pilgrims that throng India during the peak travel periods of April, May and November.

Mr Ashok Negi, from Rajarani Travels in Mumbai reports that the tours run by his agency and its network of six branch offices throughout India has facilitated pilgrimages for more than 50,000 tourists to various religious sites in the country. According to Mr Negi, visits to popular religious sites such as Vaishnodevi and the temple at Tirupati constitute as much as 25% of Indias domestic tourism.

Christianity is the other religion fuelling growth in another Asian destination, the Philippines. Having provided its services for more than four decades in Southeast Asias most populous Catholic country, Catholic Travel, Inc. has positioned itself as the Pilgrimage Specialist.

According to Ms. Carmina Orbe, General Manager, most pilgrims are from the Philippines, and they also have pilgrims from Hong Kong, Rome, Canada and Los Angeles not only joining a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Israel) but having a pilgrimage in the Philippines. Priests that have joined our pilgrimages to the Holy Land have found a renewed inspiration in their vocational work for the community. I guess the visits have brought new meaning to the places and events in the Bible that they had only studied in the seminary previously.

Across Asia, missionary teams are also frequent travellers, with agencies such as World Vision and Youth With a Mission (YWAM), mobilising large numbers of people annually. For example, YWAM Singapore takes approximately 150 volunteers to developing countries in the region such as Myanmar, Indonesia and India, over five to ten such trips every year.

Fraternal travel

Although not as significant a market as educational or religious travel, a growing number of civil associations and groups such as Rotary International and Lions Club International have begun to look towards Asia as a possible destination for their international gatherings.

The Rotary Club held its international convention in Singapore, its first Southeast Asian venue in 1999, and again in Osaka, Japan in May 2004 for more than 45,000 Rotary club members from 96 countries. Lions Club International held its 88th International Convention in Hong Kong from 27 June to 1 July 2005, catering to approximately 20,000 Lions Club members and their accompanying family members and friends. This generated almost US$19 million of direct tourism spending and spin-off business for the retail, catering and tourism-related sectors.

Traditional MICE destinations such as Singapore and Hong Kong have paved the way for Asias rise as a conventions venue on the world stage. This has allowed emerging economies in Thailand, India and Vietnam to offer companies and fraternal associations more variety in their choice of meeting venues Mr Birch said.

Targeting the SMERFs

There are some commonly accepted issues in targeting the SMERF market says Abacus Mr Don Birch. For example recent cost increases in the Asia hotel sector which saw average room rates rise in major cities (for example 17% last year in Singapore) are not good news for SMERFs.

More meetings and higher hotel prices can limit options for SMERFS, but SMERF planners can still find open arms in markets such as second and third tier cities eager to lure back budget groups,said Mr Birch.

For sales and marketing managers within the industry, finding SMERF planners is harder than just finding Association planners.

Seeking local contacts that are affiliated with these types of groups is critical. Local networking is also needed to identify SMERF groups and their planners. Resources such as the research directories of organisations, affordable meetings conferences, and even the personal networks of a propertys employees all have their place in pinning down the SMERFs, Mr Birch said.

The internet also plays a key role as both a research and communication channel for both SMERF planners and sales and marketing teams.

The internet clearly improves the chances of buyers and sellers in the SMERF universe finding a good match on location, venue and the experiences to be offered during the period of travel, Mr Birch added.