There’s another way to see the country’s premier cities - and that is on a jeepney.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano recently endorsed Hop On, Hop Off, a sight-seeing tour program which takes the visitor around Manila, Makati and Eastwood City aboard a colorful jeepney, the Philippines’ so-called 'king of the road.'
An oversized version of the US military jeep, the sight-seeing jeepney is flamboyantly adorned to ply selected routes, loading and unloading passengers at designated stops.
In Hop On, Hop Off, a passenger pays P300 for a whole day ride-all-you can trip, giving local and foreign tourists the convinience to do the rounds of the entertainment, shopping, cultural, historical spots from Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
The R1.5-million program operates three comfortable 21-seater, air-conditioned units, complete with karaoke machines. A Filipiniana–dressed tour guide accompanies every trip.
The idea was initiated by AJ Pangilinan and Clang Garcia, Hop On, Hop Off CEO and managing director respectively, to provide accessible and tourist-friendly day-tour service while promoting the jeepney as a national icon and as a part of the Filipino heritage. They teamed up with Francisco Motors, a leading jeepney manufacturer, to custom-build the jumbo jeepneys which measure more than eight feet high.
Hop On, Hop Off jeepneys will have regular routes within city limits from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the respective tourists’ hotels
In between, the trip will hit tourist spots in Manila such as the Orchidarium, Coconut Palace, the National Museum, the Walled City of Intramuros, the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex, SM Mall of Asia. In Makati, the route includes Ayala Museum, Ayala Center, among others.
A second phase is being planned to include city tour links to nearby destinations like Tagaytay, Clark and Subic, predicting to generate jobs for drivers, tour guides, and operations staff, and boost the business of program partners like hotels, airports, restaurants, museums, malls, spas and other tourism establishments.
The Hop On, Hop Off fever is all over some 60 countries and the Philippines is the latest one to catch it.
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