NEWSFLASH

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CEBU, DAWNING IN THE NEXT MILLENIUM
(Special Report for PHNO)

Cebu City, Feb. 4, 1998 - Gone were the days when Cebu was known in the world as "an island in the Pacific". Mactan is now a prime leisure destination in the Orient, being the least expensive among destinations, all boasting fine, white-sand beaches and excellent diving spots. Today, Cebu is "the" tropical island in the Philippine archpelago.

Today, Mactan Cebu International Airport serves flights from Hong Kong, Osaka, Taipei, Koya Kinabalu, Kuala Lampur and the US West Coast. Guests of Shangri La's Mactan Island Resort have options to watch the international production at the Delta Philippine Dream Entertainment Resort or visit the floating Waterfront Casino which is permanently docked at the Cebu Yacht Club in the northwest shore of Mactan Island.

Also across the terminals of the Mactan Cebu Internaitonal Airport is the Waterfront Mactan Island Hotel & Casino. It houses one of the largest and the most elegant casinos in the Philippines. Dubbed as "the most distinctive resort to open this decade" is the Plantation Bay Mactan which has the country's largest freshwater swimming pool.

Surrounded by the sheen and bustle of the Cebu business district, the Fuente Osmena is an oasis of quiet in the big city. Like the rest of downtown Cebu, though, it echoes with the sound of gaiety and merriment on the thrid weekend of January, when Cebuanos revel in the Sinulog, a festival honoring the Christ Child.

Despite Cebu's growing urbanization, visitors continue to flock to the island-province for a taste of the leisurely, laid-back lifestyle.Plantation Bay Mactan offers a slice of turn-of-the-century Southern comforts while Pulchra Beach Resort promises idyllic days and nights, in uncrowded, luxurious surroundings.
(With files from Mabuhay Magazine)

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