WOW DAVAO!!!
March 7th, 2005 at 4:05 am (Davao City)
I have just learned that Davao is not an official tourist destination in the recent version of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) WOW Philippines campaign. And Cagayan de Oro and Zambaonga or any other Mindanao destination are not included either. Probably, it is more appropriate to call it WOW Luzon and Visayas. Or maybe, it is indeed time to separate Mindanao from Luzon and Visayas and see if those two other parts can survive without us. Compound to this the recent decision of the Department of Environmental and NAtural Resources to lift the logging ban in Mindanao ONLY. Specifically, in Regions 9 and 11 and in the Caraga Region. First we are marketed and sold as a mining venue, and now as the lumber source for wasteful Filipinos elsewhere in the country. Is there no equality left in this country. Is Mindanao really good only as a milking cow??? Because of this, I am persoanlly waging war against DOT and for it to be productive, I have decided to enthusiastically and aggressively promote Davao City. And how can I fail at that when Davao City is one of the best, if not the best tourist destinations in the country???
Davao’s genuine WHITE SAND BEACHES are mere minutes away from the city. And most of the resorts along these beaches do not overprice, they serve great food and offer warm hospitality.
Davao also has a wide range of MOUNTAIN RESORTS 30 minutes - 2 hours from the center of the city. We have Malagos Garden Resort, the Eden Mountain Resort and the numerous rest houses for rent (or for borrowing) along the highway on the way to Bukidnon.
Davao food is incomparable. It is cheap and comes in big serving sizes. And almost everything here is delicious: grilled seafoods, barbeques, Italian food, steaks, Oriental food. Our restaurants are some of the best in the country. And of course, the wealth of tropical fruits in the region adds an extra bonus to the Davao experience. Our fruits are sold at the right price. We have durian, rambutan, pomelo, magosteen, magoes, bananas and everything else in between.
The people are warm, hospitable and helpful. We have effective but reasonable curfew, liquor curfew, and no smoking policies. And despite the bad publicity, Davao has the LOWEST CRIME RATE in the Philippines. We even have an effective 911 emergency assistance system. And of course we have fresh air, fresh clean drinking water (2nd cleanest in the world), clean streets and surroundings, and almost no traffic.
And, best of all our TAXI DRIVERS are nice, helpful, charge properly and give the proper change. They don’t ask for more than what their meters say and they even suggest routes you can take to avoid traffic. In my opinion, they are Davao’s best tourism assets.
So just in case the Department of Tourism forgot, I am reminding them of some of the countless reasons why Davao City is the best city to go to in the Philippines.
Related Posts:- It’s Duterte-Duterte in Davao City
- Post-SONA 2006: Non-Inclusion of Davao
- SWS: Increasing Solicitation for Bribes in Davao
- Thanks, but no thanks!
- Citizens’ Watch on the Reconstruction of the Bankerohan Bridge
cesscatotz said,
April 11, 2005 at 8:59 pm
hi ri.. i also think na sobrang lugi ang davao wen it comes to tourism.. even smart didn’t include davao dun sa thingy nila.. u forgot to mention that davao was declared nung 2002 or 2001 the most livable city in asia.. hay naku.. sna d ko nalang binasa article mu.. kinda naiinis 2loy ako now.. hehe
keep it up..
Malcolm said,
December 19, 2005 at 11:13 am
Hi
Referring to the notice about Davao being just about the best place on Earth, you say almost no traffic? Have you ever been there, the traffic is terrible! Polite taxidrivers? I have lost count of the number of times I had to get out of a taxi before my destination coz of bad driving, broken down vehicles and rude taxi drivers. lowest crime rate, when people innocent and guilty are gunned down in the streets nearly everyday? Open your eyes my friend and see reality
Malcolm
huei said,
January 5, 2006 at 11:29 pm
most livable city in asia? what about tokyo? singapore and KL? theres a big difference with bragging and telling the truth, baka best city in the phils, pwede pa pero in asia???? naglolokohan ba tayo?
aby said,
January 12, 2006 at 6:04 pm
i agree w/ some part of ur article.mindanao should have been the priority in developing it, agriculturally w/ it’s fertile lands and because it is sitted in the south, it seldome or never had hurricanes or typhoons, therefor very good in cultivating crops.
Flordy said,
January 17, 2006 at 10:03 pm
ASIA’S BEST CITIES
The Asiaweek Quality of Life Index
Which are the best Asian Cities to Live in? We looked at 40 of the region’s key centers. The results from the number crunchers:
1999 rank c i t y population points
1 Fukuoka 1,329,503 73
2 Osaka 2,593,933 72
2 Taipei 2,639,169 72
4 Tokyo 11,937,433 68
5 Singapore 3,893,600 66
6 Bandar Seri Begawan 45,900 65
7 Georgetown 1,250,000 64
8 Kuala Lumpur 1,420,000 63
9 Hong Kong 6,843,000 62
9 Shanghai 13,075,000 62
11 Chiang Mai 425,800 60
11 Kaohsiung 1,462,674 60
13 Bangkok 9,114,852 59
13 Seoul 10,147,101 59
15 Kuching 350,000 58
15 Pusan 3,773,138 58
17 Beijing 12,234,000 57
18 Davao City 1,134,000 56
19 Cebu City 662,299 54
20 Guangzhou 6,741,400 53
21 Chongqing 30,596,900 52
21 Colombo 935,000 52
21 Hanoi 2,356,000 52
24 Macau 435,317 51
25 Metro Manila 10,208,290 49
26 Bangalore 5,200,000 48
26 Islamabad 810,000 48
28 Bandung 1,839,755 47
29 Jakarta 9,489,024 46
30 Delhi 13,418,000 45
31 Ho Chi Minh 3,600,000 43
31 Phnom Penh 999,804 43
31 Surabaya 2,824,838 43
34 Yangon 3,518,444 42
35 Kathmandu 657,341 40
36 Vientiane 531,800 39
37 Chittagong 3,300,000 36
38 Dhaka 9,400,000 34
38 Karachi 9,300,000 34
40 Bombay 14,800,000 32
http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/features/asiacities/ac1999/data/list.html
Maria said,
January 18, 2006 at 8:04 am
What Cesscatotz meant was Davao was judged as one of the most liveable cities in Asia, and the got the best score among Philippine cities.
urbano dela cruz said,
January 20, 2006 at 7:07 am
It would also be good to list down the measures of livability that Asiaweek used.
Andreas Martini said,
January 20, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Okay, I understand the point. If I would have grown up in Davao, I would maybe see it in the same way. What are my experiences in Davao as a TOURIST(!!!!):
Taxis are terrible - as in many cities of the world.
The air pollutions is horrible. You see and you should use all the time a handkerchief in front of your face.
I was ordered by my family, not to drink water from the net, always from bottles and never accept ice cubes in bars, restaurants or so.
The people are absolutly friendly and nice!!!
(During daytime.)
Going out in the night or to the province was often difficult, because I “have a dollar sign on my front head” and non-educated filipinos could do a crime against me, because they beleave, that all white people, me included, are rich.
I will go back to Davao. But than better prepared for the city.
Andreas Martini
James said,
February 5, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Davao & philippines rock.
i am as white as they come and a banker
taxis are excellent. 50-70 php for most journeys. I spent 130 Php for a long journey. in London, my taxis fare is usually 4000 Php
jeepneys are from 7php and tricycles less.
would love to locate business in davao and am already planning.
stayed in marco polo, that can be described as very pleasant business class hotel. no complaints.
nightclub/disco 150php includes entrance and san miguel served to table all night (wow!) not that I plan to get drunk!, but in london you can’t get in a club for that. drinks are 300php
improve air transport to davao from singapore and mindanao will boom
i hope this happens as it may help bring peace to the region.
Gerry Agustin said,
February 8, 2006 at 8:14 pm
I am a musician, working in china. I was born and lived my childhood in davao and i spent half of my age in metro manila. for more than 15 years i never comeback and heard of about davao city, until 1999 when my grandma died. so, i have to pay respect the deceased and once again see whats everything in davao after more than 15 years. and to my surprise, it was like heaven to me. i do agree to almost everything about your article, though some i do dissagree. specifically, the “traffic”, its terrible. anyway, right after my first vacation, i convinced my wife to move to davao and she liked the living there. i met most of the bussiness people here abroad. not to mention the owners of some company’s like reebok, phillips, etc. i’ve always promoted my hometown, let them know how great and excellent it is. but everytime they check out more information on the net, really prostrating. often get nothing about davao city. so they always told me(sarcasticaly), “is it really in the map?” none of them gets interested to visit.
Katie said,
February 22, 2006 at 5:56 pm
When white/japanese (for the most part) come to Davao they have the First Class accomodation!
What are your objectives in Davao City?
If you just want a good time, yes, it is cheap and everything is within means. But NOT everything in Davao is cheap. Some things are very comparable in any other places abroad,especially electronics!
Lots of tourist like Women in Davao, of course, that is also cheap! Like some people say, traffic is horrible! I hired a taxi, and this driver was sending TEXT messages while DRIVING. Figure that !
People are nice and warm and educated but despite of that, lots are also narrow minded, assume things alot and unable to decide! Women are girlish! Men are more determine. Gotta love them! Very helpful!
CRISTI said,
September 15, 2006 at 6:04 pm
I agree with you, I’ve been away for so long but the last time I went home I can’t believe it myself how develop Davao is…. it’s too bad though that our government ignore that beautiful place…. Maybe some are jealous of how NICE DAVAO IS!!!!!!!!! hmmmmmmm……….
joanna carla said,
November 10, 2006 at 6:58 pm
IM PROUD TO BE A CERTIFIED DAVAOENYA!!!!!!! I agree in all of their comments….therefore upon all of this all I can say is that………. DAVAO CITY IS THE PLACE YOU’LL RATHER BE!!!!!
liliana said,
July 28, 2007 at 1:10 am
i am very proud to be a dabawenya,and im agree with guys DAVAO IS THE BEST…CLEAN AND PEACEFUL…WELL regarding with traffic thats normal situation i guess.but its not asbad in manila,or bangkok or jakarta.i vsited davao twice a year with family my husband loves it there,he never complain about anything,he enjoys the food,specially the kinilaw na tuna and the lechon,and the fruits as well he even like durian….and its not very hot unlike manila boiling hot….shopping and restaurants are great and more cheaper.DAVAO IS A GREEN CITY….AND THE BEST,FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO GIVES A BAD COMMENTS….WELL BAD LUCK TO THEM COZ THEY ARE FROM TERE….HA..HA..HA…WOW DAVAO
liliana said,
July 28, 2007 at 1:25 am
regarding with emergency call 911….they are very reliable it happens to me last november we’re there to celebrate my sons b day,and my brother was very sick so we call 911and itsurprise me with there response,within 10 minutes the ambulance arrived…..and thanks god for that
idocastle said,
August 9, 2008 at 11:04 am
I am eager to visit Davao..I want to see what all the fuss is about…
www.idocastle.com