She urged all Filipinos here and abroad to cast their votes through the internet for the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park, a world-renowned site about 91 kilometers from the city proper, which has already made it to the shortlist of 28 New Seven Wonders.

The President flew in here today and did a 45-minute paddle boat tour of the underground river on the second day of her week-long swing of the Central Philippines Tourism Super Region, of the five growth areas identified in her 2006 strategic development plan.

She was accompanied in the boat ride by City Mayor Edward Hagedorn, Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes, Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano, Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr., and members of the Palawan media.

She enjoined everybody to persuade friends and relatives to take part in the internet poll “so that our own cherished underground river will ultimately be included in the magic circle of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.”

so that our own cherished underground river will ultimately be included in the magic circle of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

The winners, to be announced next year, will share the glory of the Seven Man-made Wonders chosen in 2008.

Over a billion people are expected to join the online voting which is expected to gain momentum with the ongoing Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Results of weekly ranking, copyright owned and released by ©NOWC, unfortunately, showed the Philippine subterranean river slipping down from 4th place in July last year to 24th as of this month.

In May last year, the President had made similar calls when three Philippine tourist spots—the Puerto Princesa underground river, the Tubbataha Reef which is also here in Palawan, and Chocolate Hills in Bohol province—were initially nominated for the worldwide search.

“We really need all the Filipinos who are listening here and abroad to vote for the underground river,” the President said.

We really need all the Filipinos who are listening here and abroad to vote for the underground river

The river runs through a deep cavern below rugged limestone and marble cliffs, flowing for some eight kilometers before emptying into an underground lagoon with crystalline waters. The tunnel is bedecked overhead and on both sides with huge stalactites, grotesque rock formations, and domed amphitheaters.

The Central Philippines Super Region which comprises Regions 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, Camiguin, and Siargao Island, are endowed with rich natural wonders and cultural heritage. Complemented by the extraordinary hospitality and warmth of their people, these places are potential world-class tourist destinations.

The regions are beneficiaries of the massive investment and infrastructure development initiatives by the Arroyo administration to maximize the country’s economic potentials, especially tourism.

As a tourist destination, the Central Philippines Super Region aims for a bigger share of the fast-growing global tourism market, which is said to equal or even surpass that of oil exports, food products or automobiles, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

With the expected recovery of the global economy in 2010, the UNWTO expects tourist arrivals to grow between three percent and four percent this year.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that travel and tourism contributed 9.4 percent to global GDP (gross domestic product), 7.6 percent to worldwide employment, and 10.9 percent to global exports in 2009. The UNWTO also noted that tourism “produced economic and employment benefits in many related sectors, from construction to agriculture and telecommunications.”

While worldwide tourism arrivals went down by four percent in 2009 to 880 million due to the global economic crisis, aggravated by the threat of the influenza A(H1N1), international tourist arrivals still reached its highest level of over 922 million in 2008 with international tourism receipts growing by 1.8 percent from $857 billion in 2007 to $944 billion in 2008.

Based on UNWTO data, the Philippines cornered 0.5 percent of foreign tourist arrivals and 0.3 percent of international tourism receipts in 2008. Philippine tourism showed resilience: posting a six percent growth in tourists in the top 16 destinations the first half of 2009 even as tourist arrivals declined by 8.5 percent worldwide and 6.7 percent in the Asia Pacific region.

The Philippines showed strength in the areas of few visa requirements (3rd), price competitiveness (16th), number of World Heritage natural sites (23rd), comparatively open bilateral Air Services Agreements (28th), and number of known species (40th).

At the same time, the government also introduced reforms and made significant improvements along three competitiveness areas: protection of property rights of foreign investors and difficulty in starting a business, safety and security; health and hygiene; and transport, tourism and ICT infrastructure to further achieve sustainable tourism development objectives.

Under the 2004-2010 Updated Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), the government targets the following by 2010:

• 3.27 million tourist arrivals
• $3.31 billion in visitor receipts
• 3.99 million in jobs generated
• $17 billion contribution of tourism to the GDP or 13.6 percent of the GDP

SOURCE: gov.ph