SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Familiarization tours of various tourism attractions in this freeport will highlight the fiveday celebration of the National Tourism Week organized here by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) from September 23 to 27.
SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia said the tours will be held throughout the week to acquaint tourists, residents of nearby communities, and even employees of the SBMA with the scenic spots and adventure tourism facilities here, which have made the Subic Freeport among the top tourism destinations in the country today.
“This is our chance to see Subic Freeport for free, so I exhort everyone, even SBMA employees, to join the tours during their free time. As they say it, ‘Huwag tayong maging dayuhan sa ating sariling bayan’,” Garcia said, adding that SBMA tour buses would be available to the public for rolling tours of the freeport.
The week-long celebration will also feature other activities put up by the agency in cooperation with business locators in the free port. On Monday, the SBMA will kick off the celebration with a motorcade around the central business district here and along major avenues in Olongapo City.
A two-day job fair will also be held at the Harbor Point activity center from September 23 to 24, followed by a “Tourism Talk” at the same venue on September 25. The forum will be open to students and will feature notable speakers from the tourism industry.
On September 26, a fun run will be held, to be followed by a clean-up drive along the seashore in consonance with this year’s National Tourism Week theme, “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future”.
The week-long celebration will be capped by flair tending, and ice- and fruit-carving exhibitions at the Harbor Point activity center. The SBMA Tourism Department, which coordinates the program here, said the water- themed celebration is very apt for the Subic Bay Freeport, which has capitalized on its bay to attract both industrial and tourism business locators.
Last year, the Department of Tourism declared the Subic Bay Freeport as the “Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon” under its nationwide campaign to promote the country’s natural tourism attractions and cultural assets.
