ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
www.businessmirror.com.ph
A broader look at today’s business n
Sunday, October 9, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 366
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
STUNNING sunset at Crystal Beach Resort in San Narciso, Zambales. HENRY EMPEÑO
PRETTY OPEN SPACES Zambales doubles its tourism attractions despite the pandemic with Instagrammable offerings
S
By Henry Empeño
AN FELIPE, Zambales—Weekends are a heady time for business at Liwliwa, a beach community that is packing tourists and visitors like the proverbial sardines in this relatively sleepy town of Zambales.
A VISITOR relaxes outside a cottage at Bali of Liwa Resort in San Felipe, Zambales. HENRY EMPEÑO
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.6240
At New Liwa, where a recently built concrete road now gives better access to the beach, pickup trucks and SUVs with surfboards secured on roof racks line up the agoho-lined street, bringing in the adventure class with money to burn. Then at Old Liwa, which pioneered the local board scene with beach camps for backpacking skimboarders, customers continue to be charmed as traditionally bare beach huts metamorphosed into fully furnished glamping hostels. The clientele is diverse: we saw three young bikers one Saturday at Bali of Liwa, one of the latest additions to the charming Liwliwa beach resorts, lounging on leatherstuffed wickers in a gazebo while waiting for late lunch. At the bar, a couple enjoyed early-afternoon beer while listening to a reggae version of Lady Gaga’s “Remember Us This Way.” At the footbridge leading to the resort, two girls were snapping pictures and posing with birthday balloons, then momentarily stood
VISITORS pose for photos before an Instagrammable sunflower painting at BCV Farm in Iba, Zambales. HENRY EMPEÑO
aside to let pass a family of five, bags in tow, who were heading to the cottages. Bigger groups would come at night, six or eight of either family or friends, most apparently tanned from the beach, when at 7:30 pm, an acoustic duo dished out beer music on an outdoor stage. Ryan Santos, the resort manager, said people of all shapes and sizes came to Bali of Liwa since it started operating last April. Most were from Manila, Pampanga, Bataan, Bulacan, and even as far as Laguna. “They looked for beautiful places, for something Instagrammable, something they can post on social media,” observed Ryan. Most of those who arrived, Ryan added, were millennials who can’t get enough of the Bali-inspired cottages, the iconic bridge with giant outstretched fingers that spanned NATIVE and modern structures make a pleasing combo at O’Connor Beach Resort in Cabangan, Zambales. HENRY EMPEÑO
Continued on A2
n JAPAN 0.4040 n UK 65.5182 n HK 7.4683 n CHINA 8.2326 n SINGAPORE 41.0389 n AUSTRALIA 37.5956 n EU 57.4281 n KOREA 0.0416 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5998
Source: BSP (October 7, 2022)