When in Manila you should catch up with Meet Manila, one of the newest movements to promote thoughtful tourism, as well as help recognize those heroes that continuously work to better the Philippines!
Getting together at Adarna Food and Culture with some of the most amazing Filipinos that are working in social activism was the Meet Manila event, Tertulia. If you’re not exactly sure what this means, “a Tertulia is a social gathering focusing on art and literature. Originally, a Spanish tradition regularly scheduled as public event, it has transcended and transformed to become a celebration of friendship through poetry, song, dance and arts.” And that’s exactly what we did!
And it seemed that someone had a sense of humor. While we were celebrating the heritage of the great Philippine Islands, the power just happened to go out and we spent the next few hours enjoying a candle lit evening. It was almost as if it was planned! (I still am wondering now…)
If you haven’t yet heard of Meet Manila, their sole focus is on Thoughtful Tourism. The launch of the website celebrates the oneness of our online travel community through a gathering entitled Meet Manila Launch Party: A Tertulia Night for #ThoughtfulTourism. Hosted by our very own Vince Golangco, the night was filled with bloggers, activists and all around interesting individuals.
According to the Department of Tourism, there was a 15.61% increase in the registered tourist arrivals for the first two months of 2012 compared to those of 2011. Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. believes that this trend was a consequence of the tourism campaign efforts of It’s More Fun In The Philippines. The effectiveness of the campaign and its online virility provided a dynamic interaction in social media, reflecting people’s willingness to participate in the overall tourism campaign.
Meet Manila serves as a response to the surge of travel interest by social media users. It will provide a centralized portal featuring the best of Philippine travel through aggregated user reviews. In effect, this will propagate a culture of thoughtful and responsible tourism that encourages pure appreciation of the Philippines’ authenticity in culture and natural resources.
The event finished off with traditional Filipino dancing which was completely foreign to me. Very cool though!
So When in Manila check out the local heroes that are changing the Philippine nation, through thoughtful tourism, activism and Meet Manila!
For more information, check out Meet Manila on any of their social media outlets!
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/meetmanila
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meetmanila
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/meetmanila
RSS: https://www.meetmanila.com/places/feed
