The Department of Tourism launched the Manila leg of the Philippines Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tours project on July 6, 2023, with a festive Filipiniana-themed ceremony at Robinsons Place Manila.
The Metro Manila Hop-on, Hop-off service is part of the mobile city tour program of the DOT-National Capital Region and private stakeholders. It provides tourists with an option for quick, do-it-yourself tours through a mobile application that offers a seamless and convenient booking and payment platform. Following the HOHO project’s launch in Makati – known as the “Financial Hub” – last May, the second leg now showcases the capital city of Manila as the “Cultural Hub.”
Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, Department of Tourism Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation Coordination and Resource Generation, and Joel S. Lumanlan, Robinsons Land Vice President for Marketing, Business Development, and Operations, exchange handshakes as the Manila leg of the Philippines Hop-On, Hop-Off project was launched in Robinsons Manila. IMAGE Robinsons Malls
The Philippines HOHO project has several components: a dedicated website with all essential information, a reloadable electronic payment-capable card, and a mobile app for booking tours, making cashless payments, GPS-enabled bus arrival monitoring and video guides, and getting information on hotels, food, and tourism merchants. The introductory price for the Hop-On, Hop-Off Manila Cultural Hub tour starts at Php1,000 per person.
With its strategic location, Robinsons Place Manila provides easy and convenient access to the capital city's historic and cultural sites, making it the perfect starting point for the HOHO Manila Cultural Hub tour. Other places of note on the bus route include the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Star City complex, Rajah Sulayman Park, Luneta Park, Malacañang Heritage Sites, Manila City Hall, the National Museum, Jones Bridge (Escolta), Binondo, and Intramuros.
Located in the heart of Manila, the sprawling seven-story commercial complex offers a vast range of merchandise and services from over a thousand local and international retail shops, dining outlets, entertainment facilities, and service centers. Since its launch in the early 1980s, the mall has continually evolved and grown (it now offers more than 240,000 square meters of retail space) to become the ultimate shopping and dining destination to over 1.5 million citizens of Manila and visitors from other places.
The launch event was attended by DOT Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, DOT Undersecretary Myra Paz Abubakar, DOT Regional Director for NCR Sharlene Zabala-Batin and other key officers from the department, Manila City government, tourism organizations, and Robinsons Malls.
In a statement, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco shared, “With the launch of the Philippine Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tours here in the City of Manila, we aim to give opportunities to reintroduce Manila to our fellow Filipinos and to introduce foreign tourists to this beautiful gem of a city, to expose them to your heritage, your culture, the arts and most importantly, the story of the City of Manila.”
She added that the bus tours will play a pivotal role in improving the tourism experience in Manila and soon in other Philippine destinations. “Facing the challenges of urban mobility, this will truly maximize any visit in exploring our attractions and experience a Manila that you’ll keep coming back to. The Department of Tourism and the City of Manila curated the attractions to be visited and made sure that this initial run will truly reflect the character of our city. As the HoHo progresses, we will make sure to incorporate other parts of our eight tourism hubs, which is the core of our Tourism Development Plan,” said Sec. Frasco.
Under the 2023-2028 National Tourism Development Plan, the DOT aims to “establish a Philippine tourism industry anchored on Filipino culture, heritage and identity, which aims to be sustainable, resilient and competitive in order to transform the Philippines into a tourism powerhouse in Asia."
To achieve this goal, Sec. Frasco said the DOT would focus on digitalization and the enhancement of the overall tourist experience by incentivizing sustainable travel and improving safety and security in destinations. The agency would also tap local government units in developing more tourist sites and linking emerging ones to key destinations.
After the contraction of the tourism industry since 2019 due to the pandemic, significant progress was made in 2022, marked by the arrival of 2.65 million international visitors, which generated PHP214 billion in estimated revenues. Building on this, the DOT seeks to reach 4.8 million foreign visitor arrivals by the end of 2023.
To learn more about the Philippines Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tours, visit philippines-hoho.ph/home
For more information on Robinsons Malls, visit robinsonsmalls.com
