President Benigno Aquino III
LONDON (via PLDT) – There will be no city tour for this first-time VIP visitor to London.
This will be so for President Benigno Aquino III even if this is the best time to be a tourist here, with the city and the British people all agog over a weekend of historic royal festivities to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II on the throne and frenzied preparations for the 2012 Olympics.
Instead, Aquino, who was not known for his fondness for foreign travel before he became chief executive, will do his share in attracting British tourists to the country’s pristine beaches and famed diving spots.
The President and his Cabinet are set to participate in a photo-shoot featuring the London cabs sporting the Department of Tourism’s “It’s More Fun in the Philippines’’ ads as part of his activities during his June 4-6 official visit here.
The Department of Foreign Affairs announced that the President’s original schedule would include a tour of the Imperial War Museum and a city tour Tuesday, his first full day here.
But Assistant Secretary for Media Relations Rey Marfil and Jo Paulo Espiritu, director of the Palace Media Accreditation and Relations Division, on Sunday informed reporters covering the President’s visit here that the President had dropped the city tour. They gave no reason for the cancellation.
Espiritu said the President only opted to push through with a tour of the Imperial War Museum because of its historical value.
The President has been scheduled to arrive here Monday evening (Tuesday morning in Manila), right in the middle of three days of royal festivities to mark the Queen’s 60th year on the throne.
Aquino missed Sunday’s royal river pageant, where the Queen and the rest of the royal family rode a royal barge and some 1,000 vessels sailed along the Thames River. The BBC reported that it was the biggest fluvial parade in London in 300 years and that some 1.2 million lined up the banks of the Thames to watch, and that this massive show of pageantry for the 82-year-old Queen might not be repeated.
On Tuesday night, hordes of British and tourists will be feted to a Diamond Jubilee concert on the grounds of Buckingham Palace and on Wednesday, the Queen will have her appearance at the palace balcony.
But for Aquino, it will all be business.
It may be difficult to distract the attention of Londoners at this festive time centering on a beloved Queen and being British, but the Philippine officials are taking advantage of the President’s presence to get the tourism message across.
Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Enrique Manalo said the UK, aside from being the Philippine’s largest investor, has also been the country’s biggest tourism market in Europe.
More than 100,000 British tourists came to the Philippines in 2011, he said.
“What better place to launch our program but to our No. 1 tourist market,’’ Manalo said in an interview by the government’s RTVM.
“This is a very important market. The Philippines has much to offer so we are hoping that with his coming here it could further highlight our tourist program,’’ Manalo added.
Richard de Villa, technology and marketing officer, of the DOT office said 40 London cabs have been carrying the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines’’ ads around the streets of London.
De Villa, who helped design the ads, said the program has raised awareness for the Philippines as a tourist destination for British and other European tourists.
“It gets the message across,’’ De Villa said.
He said tourist operators have been getting inquiries on the tourist destinations like the Chocolate Hills in Bohol and other spots featured in the ads.
As for the 250,000-strong Filipino community in the UK, many of them have participated or volunteered for the Diamond Jubilee activities, Manalo said.
“Everybody loves the Queen, she’s an institution and Filipinos are happy to be here. They’re happy to be part of it, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that won’t be repeated in our lifetime. It’s being part of history and being part of the culture of their adoptive country,’’ Manalo said.