Filtered By: Topstories
News

Arroyo to hold Cabinet meeting at Boracay


MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will convene in Boracay Island the joint Cabinet-National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) group meeting to highlight the world-class island resort and Central Visayas as a premier tourism destination. A Malacañang statement said promoting the tourist destinations could help cushion the impact of the global economic crisis on the poor and the vulnerable. Other topics to be discussed include the government's infrastructure as well as other projects that aim to attract private sector investments, particularly in the tourism sector. To make Central Visayas the country's tourism beltway, President Arroyo ordered the upgrading of various airports such as the Iloilo and Silay City international airports, the nearby Kalibo domestic airport and the Caticlan Airport in Malay, Aklan. Complementing these big ticket projects are improvements on the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) with the opening of new roads, bridges and roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ferry routes that spurred inter-island trade, improved distribution of basic goods, reduced travel time and transportation costs, and promoted domestic tourism. Records of the Department of Tourism (DOT) show that these various projects contributed much to foreign tourist arrivals that reached 3.14 million last year. - GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT