‘Selling’ Corregidor to the tourists

ADVENTURE Challenge

Yesterday’s holocausts and battlefields have become today’s tourist shrines.

A prime example is Corregidor, the hero island of World War II which stands at the mouth of Manila Bay, only an hour and 15 minutes away from Manila by ferryboat.

After the war Corregidor recovered from the trauma, nature reasserted herself, and the government began to develop Corregidor as a major historical and ecotourist destination. The ruined barracks and guns were left as they were, new amenities were constructed, and a foundation was created.

At first only the war veterans (Filipino and foreign) and their relatives seemed interested. At one time, I was told, the American and Japanese veterans almost came to blows. But soon visitors increased, and even picked up in 1988 when President Corazon C. Aquino asked Doris Magsaysay-Ho, owner of Magsaysay Transport & Logistics, to provide a ferry service to the island.

Helping promote tourism to Corregidor is Sun Cruises, Inc. ([email protected]), a member of the Magsaysay Transport group.

ROCKET zip line in Corregidor, the hero island of the Philippines in World War II

“The ratio is 60 percent domestic market and 40 percent foreign,” says Roland J. Portes, general manager of Sun Cruises, which operates a daily ferry trip to Corregidor from the CCP Complex wharf in Manila. “The target audiences are veterans and their relatives, students, yuppies (average ages 30-35), the youth, the corporate market, team-building, barkadas (buddies) and families.”

There is a Corregidor Adventure Tour patterned after the Amazing Race American series: Average (for those 50 or above), which will take 2 ½ hours to complete; and Extreme (for the young, 3 ½ hours).

“These physical outdoor adventures seek to test the participants’ ingenuity, powers of observation, planning skills and ability to manage time, resources, endurance and stamina,” says Portes.

There are also walking tours, following the natural trail of the island which the tranvia cannot penetrate. And you may stay overnight at the Corregidor Hostel (dormitory style, good for 52 persons) and the more elegant Corregidor Inn (31 rooms, with a maximum of three persons).

CORREGIDOR Inn

The destination is marketed through website (www.corregidorphilippines.com), exhibits, and promotional tours for buyers and the media. Sun Cruises has also produced two attractive brochures which highlight the historical sites, as well as the fun sites and the varied activities.

Other packages include the Nature & Adventure Package, Educational Tour & Adventure Package, a “Free and Easy Island Vacation,” and Theme Banquets.

So, is promoting the island commercially viable? “Okay naman, average,” notes Portes. Break-even, perhaps? “A little more than break-even,” he concludes.

LUNCH boodle fight for Adventure Challenge

The company has two ferries, the MV Sun Cruises II (passenger capacity 280) and the MV Bay Cruiser (good for 150 passengers) which ply the Manila-Corregidor route. The cruise ship leaves the CCP Complex at 8 a.m. and departs from the island at 2:30 p.m. If there is a need for a second trip, another vessel sets sail from the CCP Complex at 11 a.m. on the same day and departs from Corregidor at 5:30 p.m.

And so, a trip (or a return visit) to the historic island, anyone?

Photos by Bernard Supetran