Saturday, May 03, 2008 [manilatimes.net ]
CLARK FREEPORT: The newly inaugurated P27-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) will complement the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport here in attracting tourists to Clark and the rest of the Central Luzon region, an official here said.
Clark Development Corp. President Liberato Laus, said during the Global Gateway Caravan held recently at the Clark Expo that Clark is not just a gateway to Central Luzon but also a haven for the tourism industry.
“We would like you to also note that Clark Freeport is not just a gateway to other parts of the region. This Freeport has always teemed with people and tourism events ranging from merely shopping, ecotourism, sports tourism, and even medical tourism,” Laus said.
He cited the 94 kilometer SCTEx as President Gloria Arroyo’s way of replicating “sure signs of progress” to the northern parts of the country following the recent groundbreaking of the Tarlac-La Union Expressway.
“One obvious proof of this is the newly-completed SCTEx which has easily earned public acclaim this early. With its vaunted success way before its commercial opening, the President has already started to replicate sure signs of progress to other parts of North Philippines with the recent groundbreaking of Tarlac-La Union Expressway,” Laus said.
He added that the Clark airport and the SCTEx “are not only physical links between and among places of interests. These are the new roads to growth and progress that would bring to fore once again the grandeur of our beloved region.”
Laus also noted that the Clark airport and the numerous budget flights available to travelers would help establish DMIA as the country’s next premier international gateway.
“Here in Clark, we are more than glad to be doing our share in bringing in tourists—both domestic and foreign—to the region. We need not over-emphasize the pivotal role of the DMIA in spurring our local economy through tourist arrivals . . . What these flights bring are not only tourists and travelers. They also help realize a vision for the gradual and sure evolution of DMIA into the country’s premier gateway,” Laus said. -- Mark Louie P. Roxas
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