There are not many of us who have been around the Philippine Living scene for any length of time and not heard of a balik bayan box. For those who haven’t, it’s a heavy cardboard carton filled with “goodies” usually used for shipping to the Philippines … literally “back to the country”. If you’ve seen a balik bayan box there’s a better than even chance it was from Manila Forwarder LLC., one of the big names in that business.
Manny Paez is the founder of Manila Forwarder and several other businesses, including today’s feature on TravelPH. Here’s my chat with Manny.
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1. Name, contact information and web site address.
TravelPH.Com
Email: info@travelph.com
Philippines +63 02 356-8061 / 294-4891USA 1.800.210.1019
2. Number of years in the business and a rough idea of how many clients you send to the Philippines yearly.
4 years
3. Your thoughts on why a prospect should use an agent, and specifically whey they should chose you.
-24/7 customer support
- USA and Manila Offices
-We personally inspect the resorts, hotels, airlines, etc
-instant airline booking confirmation on e-ticketing
- searches all available airline and the lowest rate instantly
-discounts on shipping
4. Number One mistake you have seen Philippine travelers make over the years
Staying with relatives and not using hotels and resorts in their visit during the whole duration of their visit thinking that they would save. Eventually, they end up spending more, culture shock to foreign-born offsprings, etc.
5. Philippine travel tips.
I highly recommend using tourist facilities like hotels, resorts, and other amenities to first-time and return visitors. Invite the relatives to join you in the hotel or resort. Less headache and it will be a pleasing experience to both parties.
6. Where do you see the business headed in 2007 and beyond.
More technology available for the travel agent and clients.
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Thank you Manny, very much appreciate the time and effort you put into making travel happen for folks. If any of you enjoyed reading this, please let me know. If you have other comments, questions or concerns let me know too. We’ll be publishing more interviews like this from folks who actually know about Philippine travel. You can leave a comment, or email me direct at davestarr (at) gmail.com or text me at: 63-0919-231-5625
