Nominate Wazzup Pilipinas to the Globe Tatt Awards as Best Lifestyle Blog

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Please nominate our blog to the Globe Tatt Awards 2014 as the Best Lifestyle Blog/Microblog. Please vote for Wazzup Pilipinas and let us all share the recognition - because we are a community, and our community is one! We are Wazzup Pilipinas!

Nominations are open until July 10, and voting starts on July 15. Why nominate for Wazzup Pilipinas? Aside from its already existing awards as Top Emerging Blog of 2013, Most Outstanding Filipino Community Blog Site of 2013, Best Filipino Community Blog Site of 2014, and Top Filipino Community Blog Site of 2014, the blog is a merging of uber creative and passionate correspondents of mixed age, specialties and background - as young as high school students to as experienced as professional bloggers, writers and employees that are all sharing their stories to the world in support of the It's More Fun in the Philippines program of the Department of Tourism.

Its founder, Ross Flores Del Rosario, was also awarded as Best Choice Influential Social Media Evangelist of which formal awarding ceremonies will be held on July 25, 2014 at the Crowne Plaza located in Ortigas, Pasig city.

Please click on the link below to take you to the voting site:

http://www.tattawards2014.com?kid=3G03P

Cebu BRT Hailed by Foreign and Local Advocates

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) push to modernize urban mobility by introducing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to the country has garnered praises from foreign and local advocates of democratized, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly transport systems.

“The goal is not simply to modernize transport facilities and improve commuter experience, it is also to provide the public with a better quality of life. Due to the fast, efficient, and convenient features of BRTs, they save passengers the time normally wasted in traffic jams. BRTs allow people to be more productive and to have better access to opportunities,” remarked DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya.

The Cebu BRT project of the DOTC, recently approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), was first conceptualized as early as the 1990s. This P 10.6-Billion project is financed by the World Bank through its Clean Technology Fund.

Nigel Paul Villarete, who was City Administrator and later City Planning Officer of Cebu, was in charge of project development. Villarete says that: “The fulfillment of the Cebu BRT will change the face of Metro Cebu forever, and will auger well for the metropolis to become a people-oriented, humane, sustainable, and livable city in the future, where the rich share the same ride with the poor. The BRT is not just a transportation project, it’s an urban improvement project.”

DOT Partners with Cruise Lines International Association to Develop Cruise Ports, Itinerary, and Guest Experience

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Tourism (DOT) sees strong interest from international cruise lines increasing their ports of call and expanding visits to more islands in the country.

Speaking before guests and industry stakeholders during the Philippine Cruise Industry Workshop held last week at the Makati Shangri-la, Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr. said that cruise arrivals in the Philippines grew by 48 percent in the last two years since 2011 amounting close to 20,000 in 2013. And while the country’s cruise infrastructure is being developed, international cruise lines calling in the country have increased substantially, with 16 cruise vessels last year from just 10 in 2011.

“We are expecting some 18 cruise ships this year that should bring in more than 20,000 tourists. Our country’s proximity to major cruise source markets like China, Japan, and Hong Kong positions us at a competitive and comparative advantage in the Asia-Pacific region. This should give industry stakeholders greater prospects and our local communities new jobs and opportunities,” the tourism chief added.

Secretary Jimenez believes that what is now considered a niche market will see an increase in demand in the years ahead. “Preparation is absolutely essential. And that is what this workshop precisely calls for—to formulate a national cruise development plan that will chart the Philippines’ role in the cruising business in Southeast Asia,” he further explained.