On May 23, 2012, Meet Manila held its launch party entitled "Tertulia Night for #ThoughtfulTourism" which is an advocacy to promote thoughtful tourism and to take Philippine tourism to the next level. Being an ordinary person who just love to travel, it was truly an honor to be chosen as one of the Empowered Travelers during the event.
Putting up a travel blog never crossed my mind. All I wanted to do was to travel, take pictures of my trips, share some photos on Facebook and keep the travel experiences in my memories.
Then a few weeks ago I heard about the resignation of former DOT Secretary Alberto Lim that made headlines. Rumors and speculation about his resignation started to come out. Despite the controversy, I tried to remain hopeful and focused on the positive news that Philippine tourism has seen a rapid growth in the first five months of 2011. By the way, this news came out even before Lim's resignation so I didn't quite get why leave in the middle of the celebration. Or was there a more serious issue behind his resignation?
Anyway, like I said, I'd rather focus on the good news. A new DOT chief has now been named. Like what everyone else believes, I'm very positive that Ramon Jimenez can do a better job. I'm happy in his enthusiasm in encouraging everyone to promote the Philippines - comparing the country to a "chicken joy which is very easy to sell". I deliciously second that! LOL.
Whether good news or bad news, we cannot deny the fact the Philippines is a beautiful country. And for me, that is an understatement. I'm putting up this blog so that other people realize that fact. Every Filipino should be aware that there are plenty of hidden gems all over the country, waiting to be discovered. I don't hate my friends or some people who prefer to travel to other countries but one thing is for sure, they are missing to experience the treasures in their own backyard.
