ScubaTech are now offering an exclusive 3-dive day trip in Subic Bay, costing only 3500 per person / per day.

It includes collection from accomodation within SBMA, hot/softdrinks, BBQ lunch and tanks/weights and dive guide.

It departs each day at 9am and returns 4pm. This is aboard a very comfortable motor vessel, with marine toilet, shaded deck area, sun area, kitting-up area and onboard classroom. NOT a speedboat.

The trip typically comprises:
Dive 1 USS New York (30m) or LST (32-36m)
Dive 2 El Capitan (20m), Japanese Patrol Boat (26m) or LCU (20m)
Dive 3 Barges (10-30m), San Quentin (16m) or Nabassan Reef (5-25m)

ScubaTech pride themselves on quality, safety and providing the most enjoyable dive experience.

For further details, or to book, please contact   www.scubatechphilippines.com

Entrance 50 Pesos

Best of show , best in paint , best in interior , best in engine , best graphics , best japanese car , lowest car , best european car , best american car , best vintage car and loudest car.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza says visitor arrivals in this freeport are driven by staged events and theme parks like the Zoobic Safari, Ocean Adventure and the Jungle Environmental Survival Training Camp (Jest).

Arreza says these theme parks provide “anchor attractions for the freeport.”

Robert Yupangco, owner of Zoobic Safari, an animal theme park that showcases animals one usually finds in a zoo, says what sets the facility apart is that visitors can interact with the animals.

He says Zoobic Safari, a 50-hectare facility that opened in 2002, provides visitors various attractions.

These include the Croco Loco (where guests can feed crocodiles by dangling a fishing pole with chicken as bait), Hip Hop Bay-a-Wak (an area where monitor lizards lurk), Aeta’s trail, Muzooem, Rodent World, Savannah (a tract land where guests can see ostriches, deer, pigs and goats roaming around), Serpentarium and Zoobic Park.

Yupangco says Zoobic Safari alone attracts at least half a million visitors a year.

“That’s just a ballpark figure. In a good day, we can have more than 4,000 visitors. Most of them are students who go on field trips, or entire families who visit us here,” he says.

Yupangco says plans for Zoobic Safari to be converted into “more of a rainforest” is underway, although its main attraction, the tiger safari ride, will remain its biggest attraction.

He says the renovation will cost the company about P200 million. “But that will also enable us to increase international tourism traffic, which is now only at 10 percent. People who come here are still predominantly domestic tourists,” he says.

Tourists also flock to Ocean Adventure, a theme park that features whale, dolphin and sea lion shows.

Jest, on the other hand, primarily caters to the corporate market.

The camp features a survival training class taught by Aetas who helped train members of the United States Navy Seals and special forces units to survive in the jungle when the US Naval Base was operating here.

Records from the SBMA tourism department says the freeport received about 5.5 million visitors last year, which was a 33.48 percent increase from the 4.1 million tourists who visited the freeport in 2009.

Tourist arrivals peaked in the months of April (558,779), May (518,596) and June (786,738). December was another busy month, with 464,525 visitors.

Arreza also attributes the influx of visitors to the diverse events staged by or hosted in cooperation with the SBMA and its locators.

Raul Marcelo, SBMA deputy administrator for business, says the SBMA’s tourism promotion efforts are in line with the government’s thrust to boost ecotourism in the country.

“This way, we create more jobs in local communities without losing their unique culture, character, landscape and natural environment,” he says.

Subic’s place in the tourism industry has been cited by Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, who described this freeport as “an ideal tourism capital” and a “perfect model of sustainable and quality tourism.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110312-325043/Animal-theme-parks-bring-tourists-to-Subic

A week ago I completed my PADI Open Water Diving Training, and got certified as a “beginner” diver. With 4 dives in total in the murky water around Singapore, I set on a search for wrecks in the bay of Subic, 2 hours away from the country’s capital, Manila.

We flew SEAIR, having bought Tiger Air tickets. The flight was good, the plane new and the crew veeeeeeeery young. We got in Subic around 2 a.m. on the 3rd of Feb (2011 – writing this for the posterity ) and crashed in the quite good Mango Valley hotel. I was the lucky last person in an uneven number group, so I got a room on my own – got to share it later with those bitten by the nasty bedbugs two floors beneath, so paid my dues . The dive shop was on a backstreet 50m away from the hotel. Organizing the group took them around 2 hours on the first day, and around 1.5 hours the following days – they didn’t learn much from mistakes… But as we said, there was a case for business consultants there, perhaps for some free dives.

Day 1: the check-up. The local diving shop rented the equipment, the boat and the dive guide. We got one for each group of 9 people, and got split in two amazing speedboats – just kidding, they were actually the traditional “catamaran” made out of bamboo, with an engine in two steps (hope that’s the right term in English). Ours was called “The Old Adventurer”, and the guide said “don’t mind the boat, it’s supposed to part of the adventure!” YAY!
So our diving started in the place called Barges, where old barges were sunk and a relatively good variety of fish were present. Then we saw the “dead” coral garden, which had been partly destroyed by the ash coming from the Pinatubo Volcano eruption back in 1991. Yup, corals take a long time to build up. Among the stars of the day were an octopus, a scorpion fish, lion fish, anemone fish and all kinds of different corals (pictures below the blog).

Day 2: the first wrecks. After having seen we can all sink, the dive guide brought us to the Japanese Patrol Boat (24 m) and the LCU (18 m), where I did my first real penetration: I entered all alone in a chamber of the second ship, where I saw two thin watersnakes, white and black stripes and a red fin at the end. It was also here where we saw the mother of all lion fish, a sizeable specimen compared to the others we had seen.

Day 3: USS New York (27 m) and San Quentin (15 m). The first was the scariest of them all, but also the most interesting. Visibility was poor, mainly because of the other at least two teams that went down before us, so we couldn’t see the whole ship in one blink. We did two penetrations – beware to have a light, if the water outside is messy, it’s messy inside too.
After this, the clear waters of the San Quentin, the giant clams (approx. 80-90 cm) and the light dive (only 15 m) really made the extra day of diving worth it. The sea life was very rich, we saw many beautiful anemone, sea slots and sea cucumbers, a blue ray, and a fish we all agreed had to be called “flamenco dancer”, red with white spots and big fins it was showing off ostentatively.

Day 3 gone, all that was left was eating: food in Subic bay is good and cheap, especially if you go for the seafood. We had Merlin steak – excellent – prawns, squid, tuna sashimi or grilled tuna belly, coconut juice in the original coconut, all for max. 10 EUR/meal.

Otherwise the life of the resort revolved much around the Pier 1 bar, where lonely guys found quick consolation in the arms of the insisting local girls. As our group experienced it, MBA students are not an exception. The “Sir, yes sir”, “Yes, madam” and availability to serve you anything you had in mind made it a bit uncomfortable for equalitarians like most of us, and you could still sense a bit of the “education” the locals received from their foreign occupants – first the Spanish, then the US troops stationed in Subic. Nevertheless, the experience was interesting, relaxing, and hard on the conscience: getting back to Singapore I am getting back to a hard week of quizzez, case work and career sessions. Funnily enough though, getting into the taxi after I landed, i felt a slight relief and the thought “good to be home” crossed my mind for a few seconds. Then the radio sang “when I look in my father’s eyes”, and the real home started to call, leaving me home sick for the rest of the day. You can’t have them all, can you?

Source

The Sons of Bacchus event was originally started in Angles City, and was recently revitalized in Subic. If you attended any of the Angeles City events, this is a slightly tamer  version, as the event follows the laws that apply here, and they are quite different. With that being said, the event was an absolute blast.

The first of these events was held at Upper Lips bar, one of the Dryden properties.

The bars that entered dancers this time around were Upper Lips, Lower Lips, Score Bar (at the Arizona Resort), Catwalk, Wet Spot, Bar Barretto, Angelwitch, Rum Jungle and Voodoo. The schedule (below) is already set, but I would imagine more bars will enter the lineup, as the event was a total success.

Mar. 04 – Score Bar

Mar. 11 – Catwalk

Mar. 18 – Wet Spot

Mar. 25 – Bar Barretto

Apr. 01 – Angelwitch

Apr. 08 – Lower Lips

Apr. 15 – Hot Zone Bar

Apr. 29 – Rum Jungle

May 06 – Voodoo

“In addition to developing Subic as a logistics and maritime hub, we have also been pushing Subic as a tourist destination – and quite successfully at that,” SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said.

Arreza said key performance indicators last year, including visitor arrivals, showed a sustained rebound from the weak performance in the previous years, owing to the global economic crisis.

Because of the growing trend in tourism, the SBMA intends to attract more visitors this year by staging more events and encouraging tourism stakeholders to invest more, Arreza added.

According to the SBMA tourism department, overall visitor arrivals recorded in 2010 reached more than 5.5 million, a 33.48 percent increase over the 4.1 million total arrivals in 2009. The 2010 total was the highest recorded here in the last six years.

In particular, arrivals peaked during the summer months of April, May and June with 558,779, 518,596 and 786,738 tallies, respectively. The month of December followed with a 464,525 record.

Arreza attributed the influx of visitors to the diverse events staged by or hosted in cooperation with the Subic agency and its locators, as well as tourist destinations like theme parks that provide anchor attractions for the free port.

SBMA deputy administrator for business Raul Marcelo also said that the SBMA has steeped up its tourism promotion efforts in line with the government’s thrust to boost eco-tourism in the country.

“This way, we create more jobs in local communities without losing their unique culture, character, landscape and natural environment,” he added.

Marcelo said that last year, a total of 389 events staged in Subic attracted 92,749 participants. These included the Milo Marathon 2010, which drew 8,000 participants and spectators; CFC Kids for Christ’s Kids Adventure, with 6,000 participants; Blue Spoon’s Kitchen Wars: Culinary and Flair Tending Grand Prix 2010, and Government Association of Certified Public Accountants (GACPA) annual convention, each with 4,000 participants; and the Subic Coastal Clean Up Drive by the SBMA and the Lighthouse Marina Resort, and the Coca-Cola national convention, each with 3,000 participants.

Compared with records in 2009, the number of events that took place here last year increased remarkably by 56 percent from the previous total of 249.

Because of the influx of visitor, hotel occupancy in Subic registered an annual rate of 88.7 percent in 2010, a 3 percent increase over the 2009 rate.

Arreza also pointed out that Subic has become a top choice for international and local sports events like the Subic Bay International Triathlon 2010, ITU Subic Bay Open Duathon and Triathlon, Asian Duathlon Championships, Le Tour De Filipinas 2010, Subic-Boracay Regatta, Rolex Sea China Race, Commodore’s Cup Regatta, Philippine Kayaking Series 2010, North and South Luzon Amateur Boxing Championships, Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival, and the Salomon X-Trail Run Pilipinas.

Subic’s place in the tourism industry has been cited by no less than Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, who described this premier free port as “an ideal tourism capital” and a “perfect model of sustainable and quality tourism.”

Arreza said this was because the SBMA have exerted efforts “to lead the entire Freeport community, down to the grassroots level, in adopting a culture of tourism, as well as to guarantee the protection and preservation of the environment as a community resource that supports the economy.”

Moreover, Arreza said that the business community has invested much in Subic because of its huge tourism potential. He said that last year alone, the SBMA received a total of $1.02 billion in committed investments for tourism-related projects here.

Source

Contact Information

Phone: +63916-504-6513

Fax: +632-809-2713

Mailing Address: Triathlon Association of the Philippines, Rm 101, Bldg. B, Philsports Complex Street: Meralco Ave. Town: Pasig City, Metro Manila Zipcode: 1604

Event Information

Entry Fee: 100 USD

Prize Money: 5500 USD

Distances: Swim: 750m/1.5km; Bike: 20km/40km; Run: 5km/10km;

Start Mechanism:
Beach start on beach with small pebbles; surf or beach run after 1st loop depending on tide

Swim course:
Water temperature: 29 degrees C Number of laps: 1 for sprint; 2 for SD
Deep, clear & clean water. Normally, no current.

Bike Course:
Number of laps: 1 loop for sprint; 1 30k loop & 1 10k loop for SD
Hilly for 1st 10K of the course, then flattens out. Entire course over smooth asphalt and cement roads.

Run Course:
Number of laps: 2 loops for sprint; 4 for SD
Tree lined, counter clockwise, over smooth cement road.

Prize money distribution. Elite men and women:
1st. 750 USD
2nd. 625 USD
3rd. 500 USD
4th. 375 USD
5th. 250 USD
For Male & Female Elite:
Best Swim Split – 5,000 PHP
Best Bike Split – 5,000 PHP
Best Run Split – 5,000PHP

Prize money distribution. U23 men and women:
1st. 6,000 PHP
2nd. 5,000 PHP
3rd. 4,000 PHP

Prize money distribution. Junior men and women:
1st. 5,000 PHP
2nd. 3,000 PHP
3rd. 2,000 PHP

The visa-free privilege would also help increase arrival figures at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA), said Benjamin John Defensor III, president and chief executive officer of Hanafil Golf and Tour Inc., the operator of the Subic golf course.

“Coupled with our golf-junket tours, this will revive the Subic airport,” Defensor said. The visa-free privilege granted to foreigners visiting the country through international airports at Subic and the neighboring Clark Free Port.

BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator Armand Arreza and Clark Development Corp. president Benigno Ricafort signed the agreement that allows officers and personnel of foreign companies in the two free ports to enter and stay in the country for 14 days without visa.

Subic, which hosts a large number of Korean companies, is being marketed as a golfing haven to Korean executives under Hanafil’s three-day golf-junket tours. The SBIA lost income after the transfer of the FedEx Asia One hub from Subic to Guangzhou, China, in January 2009.

“We shall be using the SBIA and a partner airline company with low-cost fares to bring in more golfers from other countries,” Defensor said, noting that the Subic golf course is designed to handle 180 golfers a day.

“That number will get even bigger once we add nine more holes in the next phase of our development program,” Defensor also said.

Hanafil, a joint venture between Hana Tour, South Korea’s biggest tour company, and some Filipino partners, is now currently redeveloping the Subic golf course into an all-weather championship facility.

Defensor said the firm has completed about 40 percent of the reconstruction work, including the reshaping of the greens and fairways of the first nine holes.

Other improvements include an eco-friendly irrigation system that uses recycled water, a grass nursery that can use salt water, and a new drainage system that would better handle the volume of rainfall during the wet season.

Defensor said Hanafil has already spent almost $5 million for the reconstruction of the golf facility. The firm will also build guest houses and villas within the complex.

Defensor clarified that Hanafil’s renovations program is not just for the benefit of foreigners or new members, adding that the company also accommodates all previous members of the Subic golf club as long as they update their accounts.

He added that an increase in golf club membership rates may be effected in December this year, when the renovated golf course opens.

Business Mirror

The company plans to resume its junket flights after golf course stakeholder Hanatour, South Korea’s largest tourism company, pledged to bring in tourists directly to Subic.

“We are planning to use the SBIA and a partner airline company with low cost fares to bring in more golfers from other countries. The golf course was designed to handle 180 golfers a day, and that number will expand once we add nine more holes in the next phase of the development,” Hanafil President and CEO Benjamin John Defensor III said.

Currently, the company has completed 40 percent of the reconstruction process for the course.

“That includes the reshaping of the greens and fairways of the first nine holes to make it flow better,” Defensor said.

“Current improvements are the eco-friendly irrigation system that uses recycled water, brand new nursery that can use salt water and the drainage system that was replaced to accommodate the volume of rainfall come this rainy season.”

“But these renovations are not just for new members; the company is also accommodating all previous members of the golf club as long as they update their accounts and coordinate with us and the SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority),” Defensor said.

An agreement was signed recently between the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the SBMA and Clark Development Corporation (CDC) that would allow visa-free entry to foreigners visiting the two free ports.

Under the agreement signed by Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan with SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza and CDC President Benigno Ricafort, officers and personnel of foreign locators in the two free ports may now enter and stay in the country without a visa for a period of 14 days.

The privilege, however, will only be extended to those arriving through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) or the SBIA.

Manila Bulletin