2 November 2005 – Consul General Maria Corazon Yap-Bahjin of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen, People’s Republic of China (PROC), reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that she accompanied a media delegation from Xiamen and Fujian provinces on a familiarization tour of the Philippines from 10 – 17 October 2005 as part of the commemorations of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the PROC.

Consul General Bahjin and Mr. Lin Jing Hui, Executive Director of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, accompanied the media delegation in their trips to Davao, Cebu, Bohol, Tagaytay and Manila.

The media delegation was led by Mr. Yang Fang Gen, Deputy Director of the Xiamen Tourism Bureau.  Mr. Yang said that at present, there are very few tour groups bound for the Philippines, and most of the tour groups from Xiamen are composed of individuals wishing to visit their relatives in the Philippines.

He informed Consul General Bahjin that the familiarization tour will help promote the Philippines as a tourist destination among tour groups from Xiamen and Fujian, mentioning that Xiamen and the Philippines “complement each other” in terms of tourism.

Consul General Bahjin observed that Mr. Yang committed to work to strengthen cooperation between the Philippines and his office “to create a win-win situation” in the field of tourism between the two countries.  END