23 September 2005 – Ambassador Ernest V. Llamas of the Philippine Embassy in Moscow, Russia, reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the first guidebook about the Philippines published in the Russian language which was presented on 22 September 2005 to the media and travel industry professionals at the Philippine stand at the 11th International Leisure (Otdykh) Fair in the Olympic Sports Complex in Moscow, will help increase Russian tourists to the Philippines.

"There are a lot of things that make the Philippines one of the most exciting destinations in Southeast Asia," said Ekaterina Pugachova, one of the co-authors of the Glazami Ochevidtsa: Filippiny (Eyewitness Guide to the Philippines). "And we tried to show as many attractions as we could in this first edition," she said.

The A5-sized guidebook, published by the Argento Group with Sergey Serebryakov as the other author, tries to capture as much of the kaleidoscope of the island archipelago's 7,107 islands as it can in its 160 photos in 208 pages. Until now, the only materials in Russian have been brochures and leaflets printed mainly by DOT and tour operators.

Argento Group published 5,000 copies in its first printing run for distribution in major bookstores in the capital and surrounding regions, such as Bookberry, Moskovsky Domnigi and New Bookstore, as well as to tour agencies selling tours to the Philippines. The book will also be made available online through such sites as www.ozon.ru, www.travelonline.ru and www.kniganadom.ru for maximum exposure.
 
The guidebook, which was produced with the cooperation of the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Embassy of the Philippines, resorts, hotels and airlines, covers Manila, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan. It is the third produced by the Argento Group but the first country guide. The first two were about Phuket in Thailand and Baden-Baden in Germany.

"The Philippines is on the verge of taking off as a destination for Russian tourists," Serebryakov said. "We hope there will be more routes flying from Moscow to Manila. Then we're sure the number of tourists will skyrocket," he said. Depending on the pace of sales of the first edition and cooperation with the DOT, Argento Group sees the possibility of organizing the second edition that will have wider coverage of the country.

At the moment, Qatar and Emirates Airlines provide the fastest flights to the Philippines. At least two major Asian airlines are planning inaugural flights to Moscow in the last two months of 2005 from their operational hubs in the region, thus making Manila ever more accessible from Russia.  END