Through social media, particularly Facebook, we hear about how the Philippine Ports Authority, Asian Terminals, and Ben Line Agencies Inc. bungled the arrival of a Norwegian cruise ship with about 2,500 passengers at Pier 15 of Manila’s South Harbor.
A Filipino passenger, Nelson Terible, said their arrival was terrible, to say the least. (Pun intended). It was through his FB post that Tourism Secretary Cristina Frasco learned about the mess. Terible complained that there were only 20 porters for the more than 2,000 passengers. They were led to a mall that could accommodate only 1,000 and their luggage left to be picked up by them in an open space under the searing heat.
These things cannot, and will not be allowed to happen at Subic Bay Freeport, under the able administration of Chairman Jonathan Tan.
We recall that last October, Subic Bay was swept with a whiff of fresh air, as a cruise ship carrying some 1,000 Chinese tourists from Jinjiang City in Xiamen, China arrived at the Port of Subic, thus starting the cruise season anew after the three-year Covid-19 pandemic.
It was the first time in three years that a cruise ship from China, or anywhere in the world, dropped anchor at Subic. The Blue Dream Star was the first of 11 luxury vessels scheduled to visit Subic Bay from Oct. 12 to Nov. 21.
The Liberia-registered cruise line is the first to offer outbound cruises from China since luxury vessels were banned from making port calls when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
In this month-long period that included the 9-day long weekend of All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, the Boton Wharf inside the Subic Bay Freeport was abuzz with life and movement, music and dance, as Filipino artists and entertainers and culinary experts treat the Chinese vacationers to a cultural experience they will treasure for a long time.
Before the arrival of the first Chinese cruise ship, tourism inside Subic had been lackluster and sleepy, with its hotels, restaurants and beach resorts needing a genuine catalyst to ramp up business.
Malacañang has issued the Executive Order No. 271 and Executive Order No. 272 regarding the admission and stay of foreign nationals in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone as temporary visitors for a maximum period of 14 days.
The cruise ship tourism program brought more than P10 million each year in direct revenue for the seaport department before it was halted due to the pandemic. The indirect income earned by all tourism-related businesses in Subic and neighboring communities was pegged at P83 million in 2018 and P124 million in 2019.
With approximately 20,000 more foreign tourists, not to mention the locals who are eager to explore Subic Bay for their long weekends, tourism in the Freeport will soon receive its first push towards full recovery.
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