NEWSFLASH

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RP IS ASIA'S NEXT SHOPPING CAPITAL

Manila, May 14, 1998 - Top retailers and travel agencies have banded together to promote the Philippines to replace Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand as the new shopping capital of Asia

For the third year, the Philippine Retailers Association and the Department of Tourism will unleash a grand shopping festival and tour package to entice more foreign tourists and balikbayans to come and shop 'til they drop.

Samie Lim, overall chairman of the 1998 Philippine Shopping Festival, said the project which began in 1996 has given retailers the opportunity to directly aid the economy by tapping the foreign exchange earnings through tourists shoppers.

Political instability , health and food problems and economic strife are hounding the traditional shoppers' Mecca in Asia, leaving the tourists with only one choice -- the Philippines.

With the shopping festival and the country's Centennial celebrations, Lim said the shopping budget of tourists is expected to increase from an average of $250 per person to $300/pax.

The DOT expects 2.5 million tourists this year, bringing in an estimated P25 billion in tourist shopping revenues. Last year's income from tourist shopping is estimated at P14.3 billion.

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