The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Philippine Hotel Owners Associations, Inc. (PHOAI) announced their joint commitment to ensure that hotels in the country adopt green practices and help curb greenhouse gas emissions during the "Forum on Greening the Hotel Industry". A joint statement was signed by DOT Undersecretary Maria Victoria Jasmin, representing Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr., and PHOAI President, Arthur Lopez, to pledge government and private sector commitment to abide by the Philippine Green Building (GB) Code. Undersecretary Jasmin lauded the presence of the hotel decisionmakers during the forum, citing it as "strong proof of their commitment" to the initiative. Tourism Secretary Jimenez said in an earlier statement read by Jasmin during the forum that, "Greening the hotel industry provides that one big window of opportunity to sustain the growth of this rising tiger in Asia. Through our collaboration with the hotel industry, we can offer cleaner air and a greener environment to travelers, and we help hotel owners bring down their electricity cost. That translates to a more competitive environment for the tourism industry." PHOAI President Arthur Lopez pledged that the Philippine Green Building Code will be on "top of the list" of hotel owners. He also committed that the hotel owners "will improve energy efficiency" of their establishments and will use only "the best technologies and practices". According to him, this initiative is only the beginning as he expects this core group to cascade all the information from this forum to their colleagues. Jesse Ang, principal investment officer of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), called this joint partnership an important initiative that is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Increasing resource use efficiency, greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technology and industrial practices and reducing waste generation through reduction, recycle, and reuse, are according to Ang, the requirements for "resilient infrastructure" as specified by the UN. The forum also featured a presentation on Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) by Autif Sayyed of the IFC-WBG; and Sustainable Energy Finance (SEF) by Julius Respicio of the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI). To further encourage more Middle East travelers to the Philippines, PDOT Middle East office is offering the "Kids Stay Free" package, which has been designed exclusively for families (both nationals and expatriates), living in the GCC and offers exceptional value. The campaign packages provide two children per family under the age of 11 with an exciting array of activities, food, accommodations and other experiences all on a complimentary basis. Additionally the packages allow families to twin both the Philippines capital Manila with another exotic Philippine destination such as Cebu, Palawan, Boracay, Bohol, Davao or Bicol, allowing for both an urban and idyllic getaway experience. The Philippines' no visa requirement for GCC and many other nationals, plus it's many popular shopping experiences, tranquil beaches and numerous family-friendly attractions has resulted in an increasing number of GCC residents choosing to make the Philippines their holiday destination of choice. Accordingly to the latest statistics available a total of 65,642 visitors from the GCC visited the Philippines between January and September 2015, resulting in a 12% increase compared to 2014 figures for the same period. Amongst those, the number from Saudi Arabia was the highest at 40,453 travelers, which was an increase of 17% compared to the year before. Visitors from the United Arab Emirates were the next highest, followed by visitors from Kuwait. From dazzling beaches and mystical mountains to terrific shopping and thrilling adventure travel, the Philippines is a big country in a small package. It's the second largest archipelago in the world, with 7,107 islands, sixty percent of which are uninhabited and combined the total coastline measuring 58,390km.
