29 January 2008 –To further emphasize that air travel to the Philippines remains safe in spite of a reclassification made by the US Federal Aviation Authority, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy C. Gaa announced on 28 January that he would be leading 110 North American golfers on a visit to the Philippines for the 2^nd Annual Ambassador’s Cup Golf Tournament to be held on 04 February 2008 at the Sherwood Country Club in Trece Martires, Cavite.

“Golfers are a very careful and discerning group, with their equipment, their techniques and even with their good luck charms -- they prefer to leave nothing to chance,” Ambassador Gaa said, adding “this is a group that can tell if travel is safe or not and they know that air travel to the Philippines is safe.”

Ambassador Gaa made this statement shortly before leaving to lead the 110 golfers on their trip to the Philippines.

93 golfers from the United States and 17 from Canada will participate in the tournament. They will be joined by 34 local golfers which includes Philippine Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

“One of the top attractions of our country is its great golfing environment,” Ambassador Gaa emphasized.  He said that he initiated the annual Ambassador’s Cup last year “as a high profile vehicle for promoting Philippine tourism by highlighting the excellent golf courses and facilities available to tourists in the Philippines.”

The Ambassador’s Cup is organized with the help of the Filipino American community in Southern California, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Philippine Tourism Office in Los Angeles. San Miguel Corporation and Philippine Airlines are major sponsors of the tournament.

Ambassador Gaa said that the good turn out of participants to this year’s tournament and the fact that golfers tend to be quite particular about their golfing experience “should further dispel any doubts about the safety of air travel to the Philippines and should once again reaffirm that the Philippines is a great tourist destination.”

 According to the Philippine Tourism Office in Los Angeles, playing golf in the Philippines is one of the strong selling points for Philippine tourism with organized golf tour packages maintaining a relatively strong number of participants, with 98% of these participants utilizing Philippine Airlines for their flights to the Philippines. END.