Located in the western Pacific Ocean, the Philippines has remained relatively undiscovered compared to its more well-known Asian counterparts. In 1983, The Manila Hotel introduced visitors to the capital city with two of Globus-Gateway tours. Guests could choose from the 15-day Highlights of the Orient and the 22-day Exotic Ocean, both of which featured a full-day city tour of the old city, Intramuros and St. Augustine's, as well as a Spanish bastion, once a World War II prison, the 17th-century University of Santo Tomas and the Spanish/Oriental tropical markets. Then, guests could visit the volcano within a volcano at Tagaytay, before returning to the city to see the bamboo-pipe organ at Las Pinas. (Read the full article here.)
In the last year, the Philippines released a projection anticipating continued success of tourism growth into the next five years, this fall a new government was elected, and this spring Air China launched nonstop service between Beijing and Manila. Our favorite development is the opening of the five-star Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa on Boracay Island, featuring the property's beachfront and the property's trademark CHI spa.
As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we're taking a look at what was happening in the industry in the past and asking agents to share their thoughts on what has changed in the industry in the present. Please share your thoughts by posting a comment below, writing us at our Facebook page, sending a tweet to our Twitter page or by engaging in a discussion in real time at AgentNation (the only social community online for all kinds of travel agents, which certainly wasn't around 80 years ago). We want to hear from you.
While you're here, learn more about how we're celebrating eight decades of covering the travel industry for travel professionals.