TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine’s best-selling map will include in their latest brochure all major tourist destinations in Eastern Visayas for the first time, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) said yesterday.
PIA Regional Director Erlinda Olivia Tiu said that the United Tourist Promotions (UTP), the publisher of EZ Map and other EZ Travel publications, together with the Department of Tourism and PIA will complete their map area validation next week.
Tiu said that this is a big step towards tourism development especially for many destinations in Samar that have remained undiscovered. She said that the publication has started publishing Leyte maps in 2006. After two, they have included the Biliran Island.
Blow up city maps are extremely detailed and show major streets, government buildings, hotels, banks, restaurants and other key landmarks.
EZ map travel publications are available at more than 800 retail outlets nationwide such as airports, seaports, service stations, hotels, malls and National Book Store branches nationwide.
“We’ve been assisting the DOT in the photo documentation of landmarks, destinations, sites and other tourism assets of the region,” Tiu told Leyte Samar Daily Express in a phone interview.
From Tacloban, the team headed to Eastern Samar via the coastal road. They will have stop-over in Basey, Samar, Marabut Marine Park, Caluwayan Palm Island Resort, Jasmin Beach Resort and Balangiga, Eastern Samar before it goes to Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
Tiu added that the team will have an ocular inspection of Guiuan, including Calicoan and Suluan Islands. The Surfing Sites will be visited on the way to Borongan which is the capital of Eastern Samar.
The official said that ocular inspection will also be conducted in Oras on the way to Catbalogan, Samar and Calbayog City. In Calbayog, the team will visit Bangon Falls before it goes to Allen and Catarman in Northern Samar.
She explained that other areas to be visited are Las Navas, Laoang, Palapag and the other Pacific towns of Northern Samar. On the way back to Tacloban, the team will visit Calbiga Caves and Lulugayan Falls.
The same team earlier completed the activity for Leyte and Biliran provinces.
Conceived in 1995 by Ariel Jersey, Charlie Kemplin and the late Mike Dunne, UTP began small producing tourist brochures in areas with large concentrations of tourists and expatriates.
To date, UTP has produced 40 EZ Map titles, one travel atlas and two road atlases, a child’s travel activity book and two laminated wall maps – all of which are regularly updated, the UTP website revealed. (Sarwell Q. Meniano)
