Aboard the Coral Adventurer

TACLOBAN CITY – The arrival of an international cruise ship will help attract more foreign tourists to come to the city.

Thus said city tourism officer Malou Tabao, referring to the November 3 visit of the Coral Adventurer, an international cruise ship with about 120 foreign guests on board.
The international guests, consisting mostly of Europeans, are to visit the Yolanda memorials, the old provincial capitol building, the Sto. Niño Shrine, and the iconic San Juanico Bridge.

They are also to visit the town of Palo, particularly the Metropolitan Cathedral and the McArthur Shrine National Park.

“Their visit will not only help the city government but all sectors in the tourism industry, like transport, hotels, and restaurants,” Tabao said.

Thus she asked all residents of the city to welcome the foreign guests and make them feel safe while they are touring Tacloban.

“As what I always say, people are the best resources. We are the best tourist attraction. We are known to be resilient, friendly, and hospitable. Let us make our guests feel safe, welcome, and part of the community,” Tabao said.

“If they have a good experience, there is a big chance that they will also tell their friends and relatives about their experience here. Let us work together, because the city government is not the only one to benefit it but everyone in the tourism industry and the community,” she added.

Last month, the city tourism stakeholders were trained on the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence in preparation for the arrival of foreign guests.

Coral Adventurer is expected to arrive in the country after departing Japan on October 24. The cruise ship and its guests will be staying in the country for 16 days visiting some of the Philippines beautiful island destinations.

In the region, they are to visit Biri and Capul Island in Northern Samar; Maripipi and Sambawan Island in Biliran; Cuatro Islas and Kalanggaman in Leyte; and Padre Burgos town in Southern Leyte.

Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said that the foreign guests are sure to have a memorable experience as each port call will be unique and different.
“The experience they have in Tacloban will be different from what they will experience in one of the islands in Cuatro Islas,” Tiopes said.

“These cruise tourism guests are only small in numbers but they want to have the best experience by engaging with the community, find out our way of life, and appreciate our culture and heritage which for me is the best part of cruise tourism,” she added.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY– In the lead-up to the 10th anniversary of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’s wrath in Eastern Visayas, 12 core climate walkers, and supporters from a diverse coalition of climate and human rights advocates began their solidarity walk from Manila to Tacloban for the ‘Climate Justice Walk 2023: A People’s Journey for Climate Justice’ on Sunday(Oct. 8).

Walking from historic Luneta Park in Manila, the 30-day walk pays tribute to the more than 6,000 lives lost due to Yolanda, considered the most powerful storm of 2013 that devastated 44 provinces, with Tacloban City its ground zero.

This year’s Climate Justice Walk will retrace the steps of the first climate walk held in 2014, commencing at Kilometer Zero in Rizal Park, Manila, and concluding in this city.

The 1,000-kilometer journey on foot and on bicycles will culminate on November 7, 2023, on the eve of Yolanda’s 10th anniversary, with the participants expected to meet and converge with local storm survivors and impacted communities as they cross the iconic San Juanico Bridge on their way to Tacloban.

Naderev “Yeb” Saño, lead walker and executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia said that Yolanda, one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, has been pushed back into memory.

The importance of conscious and intentional global ambition is all the more urgent as more and more people are reeling from the climate emergency’s impacts, he said.

Saño added the statistics for people who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods as a result of climate change are continuously rising.

“With the recent surge in extreme weather events across the globe– from torrential rains that caused massive flooding in Libya, Greece, Hong Kong, and most recently in the US city of New York, to record-breaking wildfires ravaging forests in Canada, Russia, and the US state Hawaii– the urgency of climate action has never been clearer or more dire,” Sańo said.

Sańo pointed out that the Climate Justice Walk is supporting the wave of climate litigation cases worldwide, including the Philippine Commission on Human Rights’ landmark inquiry that found legal grounds to hold big fossil fuel companies and other corporate entities accountable for their climate-destroying business models that lead to human rights harms.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)