Be bold. Dare the challenge!
BE BOLD! DARE THE CHALLENGE! Join the 2nd Intl. Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge!
The Department of Tourism, through its Davao Regional Office XI and the municipal government of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur recently launched the 2nd International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge slated this April 28-29, 2012.
“Davao boasts of fun ‘Islands to Highlands’ Adventures that will take you from the white sand beaches, breathtaking island destinations, scenic mountain ranges, to plunging waterfalls and more,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez in a statement. “Mt. Apo, the highest peak in the country, is one of them,” he added.
Dubbed as one of the toughest adventure races of the Philippines, the competition is a 24-hour extreme challenge for up to 35 participating teams. It will start from the beach lines of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, as participants navigate themselves through the town’s tough trails and raging rivers, scale the boulder face of Mt. Apo, and culminate in the skyline of the country’s highest mountain.
For four consecutive years, the conduct of the Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge has made the Davao Region the leading destination for eco-adventure tourism. It will be running on its fifth year as a local competition, and second year as an international race.
“We certainly welcome both our international and local tourists, who will come over and experience this exhilarating extreme sports challenge. As they race their way to complete this journey, they will surely have fun seeing all the sights in Davao and in Mt. Apo, at the same time experience the warmth of the Filipino people,” added Secretary Jimenez.
This extreme sports adventure will entail four disciplines: mountain biking, trekking, white water tubing, and road running. The race is open to teams with three members (2 racers and 1 logistics crew) each.
The Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge aims to create awareness among outdoor and sports enthusiasts and the people on the importance of conserving the environment, cultivating the value of sportsmanship and the spirit of camaraderie, and developing a lasting peace and order situation in Mindanao through sports.
Major supporters include event coordinator ROX (Recreational Outdoor eXchange) Philippines, Aboitiz Power Corporation, San Miguel Corporation, Hi Primer Group of Companies, Zest Air and Columbia Sportswear.
“It’s more fun in the Philippines, and especially in Davao, as the 2nd International Boulder Face Challenge promises to be an unforgettable adventure experience,” said DOT Region XI Director Art Boncato.
Be bold. Dare the challenge!
To participate, one may register online at http://www.boulderface.com. Or contact ART BONCATO, Regional Director, DOT-RXI, Rm. 512 5/F LANDCO Corporate Center Bldg., J.P. Laurel Ave., Davao City, Phone (63 82) 225-1940, Phone/Fax (63 82) 221-0070 / 6955 E-mail [email protected] / [email protected]
Participation is on first-come-first-serve basis.
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DOT, DPWH TO BUILD ROADS FOR BETTER QUALITY TOURISTIC EXPERIENCE
The Department of Tourism and the Department of Public Works and Highways, led by secretaries Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr. and Rogelio L. Singson, respectively, entered into a memorandum of agreement on January 19, 2012 at the Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros to pave the way towards building better quality of touristic experience and enhancing access to vital destinations by building roads that directly connect to such vital infrastructures like international gateways (airports, seaports, road network or a combination of these), town service centers where a cluster of hotels, restaurants, travel and tour services and other related services abounds.
This was the announcement made by Regional Director Ronaldo P. Tiotuico of the Central Luzon regional office in a press statement issued recently.
Tiotuico said that an action planning conference was held on January 19-20, 2012 among regional executives of DOT and DPWH together with some partner NGOs and tourism councils precisely to flesh out the directives contained in the agreement by prioritizing tourism road infrastructure projects (TRIP) located in the twenty one (21) tourism development areas (TDAs) identified in the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP 2011-2016). A TDA is defined as an area covered by a single LGU that has already an existing or emerging tourist center but which lacks road infrastructure support leading to places most frequently visited by tourists.
This is just the first step in achieving the goal of generating 10 million visitors in 2016, Tiotuico said. Many more projects are forthcoming.
The conference was hosted by USAID, Asia Foundation and facilitated by REID Foundation. Based on the agreement, DOT identifies these tourism road projects while DPWH builds. The timetable for this project is between 2013 up to 2016.
A new set of criteria has been established to serve as the basis for identifying these projects in the regions. Priority will be given to those tourism development areas which have already an existing gateway like an airport or seaport, and are served by a service center clustered by hotels, dining facilities, among other services. Priority will also be granted to tourist centers which generate a significant number of visitors and are supported by an ample supply of rooms and services.
In Central Luzon alone, and in accordance with the NTDP conclusions, its TDAs consist of Subic-Clark-Tarlac corridor, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan coast and inland, Zambales coast, Nueva Ecija and Aurora. Based on data gathered from the local tourism offices, these areas have already existing gateways and are served by a host of vital tourism services while the volume of visitor arrivals has become significant to warrant priority consideration in the program with a significant number of hotel rooms to support such development. The tourism development for the region is centered on the current and future development of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) which is expected to be the premiere gateway to the world. At present, it generates monthly inbound travel for some 30,000 passengers - half of which are foreign visitors. At present, its existing passenger terminal can accommodate 2.5 million passenger movements but once the second phase of the terminal is completed this year, its holding capacity will reach 10 million.
On the other hand, the volume of domestic visitor arrivals in the entire region has reach the one millionth mark based on statistics gathered by LGUs - 50% of which is generated by both Clark and Subic.
The tourism road infrastructure project is expected to interlink all the provinces in Central Luzon to the gateway in Clark. In so doing, DOT is optimistic that it will increase visitor traffic in all the provinces, bolster the economic development of the entire region and at the same time create more jobs for all.
The final draft of the project for Central Luzon is expected to be formally submitted to DPWH by April 9, 2012 for inclusion in their 2013 work program. Meanwhile local tourism offices in the region are enjoined to sit down together and identify their priority tourism road projects based on the list articulated in the NTDP.
The members of the panel for Central Luzon include Dir. Antonio Molano, Jr. and Sergio Dizon of DPWH-RIII, Dir. Ronaldo Tiotuico and Sol Tayson of DOT-RIII, President Frankie Villanueva and Chairman Tito Lazatin of the Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (MACCII), Linda Pamintuan of Subic Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC), Christine Nunag and Rico Suarez of Angeles City Tourism Office.
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