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Thailand hospitality company ready to open 2 hotels in the Philippines

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Dusit International of Thailand is set to expand its presence in the Philippines this month with two hotels opening over two days in Mactan and Davao.

On March 29, 2019, Dusit will open the 5-star Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu on the Punta Engaño peninsula of Mactan island, approximately 10 kilometers from Cebu City in the Central Visayas region. Then, on March 30, 2019, dusitD2 Davao will open in Davao city, emerging business district of Lanang, close to the city’s shopping malls, business district, and IT Park.

With two properties currently in operation (namely Dusit Thani Manila and The Beach Club at Lubi Plantation Island, Managed by Dusit), 12 signed and another seven in the pipeline, the Philippines promises to become Dusit’s largest cluster country by 2021. This also puts Dusit on course to become one of the largest international hotel operators in the Philippines.

Besides Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu and dusitD2 Davao, other Dusit-branded hotels set to open this year include Dusit Thani Residence Davao hotel (Q2), which will open adjacent to dusitD2 Davao; and dusitD2 The Fort Manila, which will open as part of the Dusit Hospitality Management College in August.

For more information, please visit dusit.com.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Airbnb co-founder headed to Phillippines for travel summit

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“We are excited to be welcoming Mr. Nathan Blecharczyk to the PATA Annual Summit 2019. It is nearly impossible to talk about the travel and tourism industry without mentioning Airbnb and its impact on the sector,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is proud to announce that Airbnb co-founder, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chairman of Airbnb China, Nathan Blecharczyk has been confirmed to speak at the PATA Annual Summit 2019 (PAS 2019).  The event, hosted by the Department of Tourism, Philippines, will be taking place from May 9-12 at Radisson Blu Cebu in Cebu, Philippines.

“This is an incredible opportunity for our members and delegates to hear from a true innovator and gain deeper insights into how global travel is changing. As the industry grapples with large scale global and regional challenges, including climate change, overtourism, and social and economic inequality, we must have a greater understanding of the constantly evolving landscape in order for us to create a more responsible and sustainable travel and tourism industry,” Hardy added.

PAS 2019 is a 4-day event that brings together international thought leaders, industry shapers, and senior decision-makers who are professionally engaged with the Asia Pacific region.  The Summit programme embraces a dynamic one-day conference under the theme ‘Progress with a Purpose’, which will highlight the fundamental challenges, issues and opportunities of the travel and tourism industry and how together we can bring about actionable change for the better.

During the conference, Mr Blecharczyk will sit down with BBC World News Presenter, Rico Hizon, for an intimate one-on-one interview to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from innovative and technological advancements to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Mr Blecharczyk plays a leading role in driving key strategic initiatives across the global business. Previously he oversaw the creation of Airbnb’s engineering, data science, and performance marketing teams. As a guest, Nathan has stayed in hundreds of homes using Airbnb and he is also a host in San Francisco, where he lives with his family.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Cebu Pacific airline to fly Shanghai – Cebu 

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The Philippines air carrier, Cebu Pacific, will begin regular flights between Shanghai and Cebu starting April 15, 2019 as it boosts its route network from key tourism markets in North Asia to prime leisure destinations in the Philippines.

The new Shanghai route is also in line with the carrier’s plans to ramp-up capacity in its Cebu hub by as much as 20% in 2019. Flights between Shanghai and Cebu will run 6 times weekly (Monday to Saturday).

China is the fastest-growing tourism market of the Philippines, with destinations such as Cebu and other neighboring islands among the most popular. In 2018, Central Visayas—which includes prime tourist destinations such as Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete and Siquijor – welcomed over 8 million tourists, of which 17% were Chinese.

Cebu offers direct connections to Siargao, Camiguin, Puerto Princesa and 19 other domestic destinations. Aside from Shanghai, Cebu Pacific flies direct between Cebu, Hong Kong and Macau in China, as well as Narita, Japan; Incheon, Korea; and Singapore.

Cebu Pacific operates flights out of 7 other strategically-placed hubs in the Philippines: Manila, Clark, Kalibo, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan) and Davao. In 2018, CEB flew 20.3 million passengers on over 2,130 weekly flights across 37 domestic and 26 international destinations.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Puerto Princesa City in Philippines worried about Chinese Tourists and illegal gambling

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Puerto Princesa is a popular tourist city with many beach resorts and seafood restaurants. It has been acclaimed several times as the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.  The city is located in the western province of Palawan, and westernmost city in the Philippines and has about a quarter of a million people living there.

Many in this town feel the town is overrun by Chinese nationals, mostly tourists. There are many newly organized establishments catering to tourism forms the backdrop of this seeming trend which has prompted City Hall officials to call for an investigation.

In Manila and other major cities, the reported involvement of Chinese nationals in online casino gambling has come to a head and has enforcement agencies having their hands full trying to curtail cybercrime activities.

The recent growth of tourism in Puerto Princesa City has been fueled by unprecedented waves of arrivals of Asian visitors, mainly from Korea and China. What has been otherwise a slumping sector has recently become a vibrant business to local establishments catering to tourists.

It is not certain what has triggered such sudden boost, particularly in Chinese arrivals, but it is well worth noting that all these have happened within the backdrop of the present administration’s diplomatic pivot towards Beijing.

There are certain red flags that needed to be raised concerning this trend, particularly because of the unique situation of Palawan being the territorial doorstep to the disputed West Philippine Sea. With Beijing aggressively maintaining its physical dominance over the region, and with Manila displaying a laissez-faire foreign policy stance, Palawan needs to take care of its own backyard.

As City Hall is set to conduct a probe on illegal Chinese gambling activities, in the wake of recent arrests of certain Chinese nationals, these broad questions of national security also need to be raised.

Travel News | eTurboNews