Manilastandardtoday.com, October 4, 2006
THE Korean government has offered a grant of P150 million for the improvement of the airport in Busuanga, an island off Palawan’s northern tip which has been touted as the country’s next Boracay, a congressman disclosed yesterday.
Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez said the Korean government made the offer as Korean arrivals in the country jumped by 18 percent to 321,308 in the first seven months of the year, making Koreans the second biggest group of visitors after the Americans.
Alvarez estimated that Korean arrivals by the end of the year might hit 600,000 adding that about three jetplane loads of Koreans, or about 1,515 people, arriving in the country daily.
He said the Department of Tourism is expected to spend about $3 million in advertising and promotional programs to lure more of them to the country.
Alvarez said one strategy being considered is to offer the Philippines’ “sand, sea and sun” as locale for Korean films, possibly in joint venture with local production houses.
“We can also have Jewel in the Coconut Palace here,” Alvarez said, referring to the popular Korean soap opera Jewel in the Palace which has been dubbed in Tagalog.
He said the government has estimated that Koreans have spent P15 bilion in the country last year “on the very low assumption” that each Korean spends an average of $500 while in the country.
“If you factor in the long-staying Koreans—those who study college or English language schools here, the figure is definitely higher,” he added.
