The Department of Tourism has added the Entertainment Hub route to its Hop-On-Hop-Off (HoHo) sightseeing bus service, taking passengers across popular tourist attractions in the neighbouring cities of Pasay and Parañaque.
The new route covers 13 stops including Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and Luxe Duty Free, as well asvarious casino resorts and shopping malls.
Designed to showcase the Filipino culture, the bus tour by the Department of Tourism takes tourists to a shopping mall, which houses a museum featuring live entertainment and homegrown products
The first stop of the Entertainment Hub tour was at the Luxe Duty Free in Pasay city where guests were welcomed with traditional Filipino performances and had a quick tour around the the 3,636sq m multi-level duty free mall
The Entertainment Hub is the third of the bus routes following last year’s launch of the Business Hub in Makati City and the Culture Hub in Manila, which would be linked to the route.
Taking inspiration from sightseeing bus tours in major cities across the world, the intercity Hop-On-Hop-Off tour is designed to provide visitors with “quality tourism services” in the Philippines’ capital region Metro Manila, the authority noted.
Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco (sixth from left), along with other officials from the Department of Tourism and local government and business partners, raised a toast to celebrate the launch of the Entertainment Hub route
‘Love the Philippines’ – The Tourism Secretary (centre) and esteemed guests made a hand-heart pose as an expression of the new tourism campaign slogan
During the launch ceremony, Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said: “We have launched the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tours to promote our heritage sites, our museums, our lifestyle centres in the Metropolis, and of course, our entertainment centres in Pasay and Parañaque heralding our stories as a people as we endeavour to diversify our tourism offerings under the National Tourism Development Plan.”
The HoHo tour bus is available to both local and foreign tourists. The tour can booked through the HoHo mobile app, which can be downloaded in both the App Store and Google Play Store.
According to the government’s newswire service Philippine News Agency, the Tourism department is planning to add three more city routes this year. ✈
