Wow Travel Blogs Philippines

The Philippine Department of Tourism plans to tap the services of travel bloggers, social networks and media to promote travel and tourism around the country. There are quite a number of travel bloggers and this post is for those who want their blog to be unique, below are suggestions you can experiment:

• Geolocated photos (Flickr and Panoramio) and youtube videos are more effective than an album or a slideshow web presentation - live data link.
• Geo RSS feeds, real-time traffic and events calendar. - for live feeds.
• Digital maps e.g. Google maps and Earth is accessible on smart phones and other wireless gadgets.
• Create a 3D view of your community or a selected tourist spots in the Philippines. You can also create a walking tour in selected Philippine cities which can be accessed by a traveler on smart phones.
• Use of streetview technology for panoramas, makes browsing more fun and interesting.
• Create a live online gadget of domestic airline flights, buses and ferry/ship schedules in major ports and bus terminals.
• Update contents on www.wikipedia re: profile of towns/municipalities, protected areas, parks and cities - live data link for visualization.
• Update government statistics related to tourism for data visualization to enable tourists and stakeholders make an informed decision based on the information they see online.
• Use of geo-located microblogs (Twiter and Google Buzz), for bloggers on the field to mark the exact location (GPS) of an unknown/undocumented spots i.e. caves, beach etc.
• Geo-located HD videos uploaded in YouTube, tag for content and geo-targeting.

Live data link is same as a live video streaming, a blogger can link it to an interactive map, a timeline, data visualization, to an app or gadget and embed it on their website.

Traditional travel blogging is more on the content or the narrative side accentuated by photo albums or a slideshow rather than the visualization of the place. The suggestions above, is focused more on 3D visualization, online sharing and collaboration. The objective of this kind of blogging is to enable travelers, tourists, investors and stakeholders make an informed decision based on the information provided i.e. interactive maps, feeds, photos and videos.

There are many technical ideas and other stuff not yet added, you can suggest more...

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Vatican's Nativity Scene to Include Elements of Filipino Culture

December 9, 2010. For a few weeks now, the area around the obelisk in St. Peter's Square, has been concealed from onlookers to shield the construction of the Vatican's Nativity scene. Spanish nun, Sister Áurea, has worked on the setting up of the nativity scenes for 30 years now. She is also in charge of the dresses that go on the figures. She remembers when John Paul II started the tradition the nativity scene in St. Peter's Square – a Christmas tradition which continues today.

Giuseppe Facchini
Bureau of Studies and Projects, Vatican
“The construction of the structures which are then covered with polystyrene, are made by Vatican workers, laborers, electricians, and painters. After a year of working on other things, they become impromptu artists, and they do spectacular work.”

Every Christmas this artwork adds new details to surprise the public. The architect Facchini says this year's nativity scene will be visible from 360 degrees. And, the Philippines has a special place in this universal scene.


Giuseppe Facchini
Bureau of Studies and Projects, Vatican
“This year we want to join a cave structure with the stable. We have a wooden deck attached to the structure of the grotto. Since the Philippines has given us figures which are very different from what we have, we decided to create a corner that is different from the others.”

This gift from the Philippines attempts to bring the typical atmosphere of their country to the Eternal City. It displays a family of Filipino fishermen with a real canoe and baskets of fruit and fish.

Preparation on the plaza started in November and continues until a few hours before the inauguration on December 24.

Source: www.romereports.com

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Tourists Ready for PH; PH not Ready for Tourists

MANILA, Philippines—It’s not about terrorists.

Tourists aren’t deterred by travel warnings to the Philippines, but by a host of other factors, major tourism industry players said Monday.

Visitor Arrivals to the Philippines by Country of Residence - January to August 2010

“There are not enough flights, not enough seat capacity, ill-prepared marketing and the quality of accommodations is not good enough,” said Alejandra Clemente, president of the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines (FTIP).

Simply put, the Philippines is “not ready” to take in tourists in large numbers, Clemente said in a press conference at the Mandarin Oriental called by tourism stakeholders in support of embattled Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim.

Clemente said travel advisories cautioning foreigners about purported terrorist threats in the Philippines hardly made a dent in tourist arrivals.

She said 2.8 million arrivals had been so far recorded this year, including returning Filipinos, compared to about 3 million last year.

Even the Manila bus hostage-taking incident that left eight Chinese tourists and the Filipino gunman dead on Aug. 23 had not caused a noticeable decrease in the number of tourists, she said.

Source: Inquirer.net

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Mapping Mangroves

Mangroves are among the most biologically important ecosystems on the planet, and a common feature of tropical and sub-tropical coastlines. But ground-based evidence suggests these vital coastal forests have been strained in many regions because of harvesting for food, fuel, and medicine. Now, scientists have used satellite images to compile the most comprehensive map of mangroves worldwide, which should help in future efforts in monitoring and conservation.

Mangrove forests are typically made up of trees, shrubs, and palms that have adapted to the harsh conditions of high salinity, warm air and water temperatures, extreme tides, muddy, sediment-laden waters, and oxygen-depleted soils. They are fertile nurseries for many marine species, and also serve as a first line of defense against hurricanes and tsunamis by dissipating wave and wind energy.

Mangrove reforestation projects

These maps show the location and relative density of mangroves, which cover roughly 137,760 square kilometers (53,190 square miles) of Earth’s surface. The forests can be found in 118 different countries and territories, though nearly 75 percent of their area occurs in just 15 countries.

They are most often found straddling the equator between 25º North and South latitude. About 42 percent of the world’s mangroves are found in Asia, with 21 percent in Africa, 15 percent in North and Central America, 12 percent in Australia and the islands of Oceania, and 11 percent in South America.

Source: Mapping Mangroves by Satellite - Earth Observatory

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