Catanduanes Forum

A key requirement for travellers is easy access to funds. One of the main benefits to a tourist area is tourists spending money. This is impossible if they cannot access their money.
It is possible to change US Dollars at banks on the island and I think the PNB will exchange Euros (though I have not tested this). None it seems, will exchange British Pounds. These methods involve the risk to visitors of carrying large amounts of foreign currency with them.
A safer method of accessing Pesos for foreigners is use of the ATM. However there are only three banks on the island that offer this facility and they are all in Virac. Shouldn't ATMs be available in other strategic areas of the island eg San Andres, Caramoran, Bagamanoc, Pandan Baras and Gigmoto?
The amounts available to draw at one time are limited - often to around Php 4000. Some foreigners wait 30 minutes before drawing again and to avoid their foreign bank placing a 'stop' on their card for fear of fraudulent activity. Unblocking then requires a phone call to the bank concerned to release the 'stop'. Limits for foreign issued cards should be raised as holidaymakers require larger amounts of cash, especially if you have made a long journey to reach the ATM.
This brings me to reliability. The ATMs are often offline. This is inconvenient at best for Catandungans, but for a tourist it can be a disaster.
Take the example of a foreigner I met last year. He had been surfing in Puraran. He was due to return to UK in a couple of days and had come to Virac to get money so that he could pay for his accommodation and buy a bus ticket to Manila to catch a flight to UK. But the ATM was offline and had been for a couple of days. He was at a loss to know what to do. I advised him that his only option as far as I could see was to ask someone in UK to send funds by Western Union. Time was tight, but it might just work. I don't know what happened in the end.
The message is that we should not put our visitors to the island through such stress when they have come here to relax and enjoy themselves. They will not come back, they will tell their friends and post their experiences on the internet too.
I have even heard of residents here, taking the ferry to Tabaco solely to use the ATM there!
So please, lets have more ATMs and make them more reliable; otherwise all our other efforts to bring tourists here will fail.

Sweet Bikolana

The thing about brainstorming is that no idea should be considered too 'off-the-wall'. So that said, here is my contribution.

A TRICYCLE AND PEDICAB GRAND PRIX
Standing on the roof of Mid Town Inn one day and watching the traffic go around the roundabout and being a fan of Formula 1 motor racing, the idea came to me. Virac could host an event where tricycles and pedicabs race each other ... in two separate events, of course.

Participation would have to be only for vehicles that comply with LTO regulations. This would place value on vehicle roadworthiness and safety.
As well as prizes for winners and runners up, there could be other awards for best turned out etc. Much of the funding could be done through sponsorship.
Other rules might be incorporated. For example there might be a fuel limit, so that each tricycle would have to make a pit stop to 'top up'.

Such an event would have to be risk managed. There would be roles for the police, fire department and medical staff and others. Temporary bridges might have to be built to allow pedestrians to cross the race track. Stray dogs would have to be rounded up.

The event would attract business to the town's shops and create opportunities for street vendors. As the reputation for the event spread it could well attract visitors from far and wide which would help the hotels and restaurants. Many services here would benefit.

The route for the race might be an oval from Mid-Town to the market passing the church and back on the other side, passing PNB. Or the route could go down to the sea front passing Sea Breeze and back up to Mid-Town. The pedicab route would be shorter and might just be around Plaza Rizal.

The weekend could incorporate other smaller races: cycles, roller skates, running before the main event.

Separately at another time of the year it occurs to me whilst writing this that the fisherman could have their own race (regatta) too; that also might draw the crowds.

Sweet Bikolana

a suggestion...sana isama rin sa brochure yong mga activities, places to go and stay, an idea about the current prices in the province...this will somehow give interested people info how much a weekend in Catanduanes will cost..puede nga rin mg offer ng weekend package which will include hotel and plane or ferry fare/ (CF can get discounts from the hotels owners, etc)...the results of the poll regarding the CF Family Get-together should provide the numbers...puede kasi na thru CF n rin mg book ng overnight stay sa kung saang resort for the family..etc
pasencya na, masyado bang malayo na...but i myself will be interested..at least hindi na ako mag-iisip kung saan dadalhin at saan titira ang mga sasama sa akin na mga kaibigan. we are planning to go to cam sur next year for wakeboarding (manonood lang). might as well convince them to go to Catanduanes too. thanks.

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Catanduanes Tourism map is another bright idea, to showcase our beautiful places and promote our province as well as a "must see" place.
I hope our provincial tourism office will partner with us on this one.

catanduanes will always be in my heart!

hi everyone!

im so excited that Milms made this thread. lets brainstorm!

my suggestion: postcards, leaflets, and a magazine to get loads of marketing muscle...we need to get good visibility through convenience stores, bookstores, travel agencies, etc.

big comment: why can't the local government talk to the pagasa to clarify typhoon reports. lagi na lang nila sinasabi kasi na nasa catanduanes ang bagyo even if they just need to use catanduanes' tower as reference point? hmmm...

i believe starting with a very simple postcard project and selling them in Virac will generate funds for the next project: brochure. This two might raise funds form more post cards, brochures and later tourism map! what do you think guys?

Dave L. Templonuevo, Jr.