The wondrous Chocolate Hills of Bohol can be etched deeper into the world map of tourism if it wins in the search for "The New Seven Wonders of the World" title contest vied for until December 31, 2008.

We sound the trumpet to all Boholanos - here and abroad, far and wide - to show unity and push the Chocolate Hills entry into the winning seven circles and write history. It is not just pride of title but the giant boost that will jettison Philippine tourism, which in turn, provides employment and thereby be a catalyst of economic recovery. This is one time Boholanos should all unite.

Let us not waste this rare chance - for from over more than 100 nominees, Chocolate Hills shot like a meteor to 7th from 17th place in the daily tabulation. Whether the fabled brown Hershey-shaped hills stay there till end 2008 -will be entirely in our hands.

It is indeed time for Bohol to shine. As the saying goes, "when it rains, it pours." We only can recall the days when hardly anyone cared about Bohol. Times there were when people purposely skipped Bohol in their provincial visits because they were full of justifiable apprehension: no light, few transportation means, no telephone lines, and lack of clean potable water.

And as if to add insult to injury was the veiled aspersion that Boholanos are the Ilocanos in the south - unreasonably thrifty to the point of misery. Boholanos used to get all the "degrading" jokes others can think about.

But now, it seems, the sleeping tarsier is awaken - in fact, roaring like a dragon.

The incredible volume of tourists coming in to Bohol is really a fairy tale come true. The resorts and the hotels are fully booked, by and large. Many years ago, there were only Hotel La Roca, Cliff Top Hotel and Gie Gardens Hotel that we can show off to visitors.

Kudos must go to the late businessman Nanong Lim, Venerando Dadong Dumadag (dean of architects), and later George Lao who found an Italian partner who fell in love with Bohol. They were the early pioneers of an infant tourist trade.

But, as they say it takes other people's eyes to appreciate what's in you. Thus, came to the shorelines of Bohol, hotelier Anos Fonacier who literally discovered the jewel that is Panglao. Opening Bohol Beach Club some 24 years ago was like planting a flag in Panglao saying "this is it." It is akin to the Americans erecting the Yankee flag when they first landed on the moon alongside the famous phrase beamed to the entire globe: Attention Mother Earth, the Eagle has Landed.

Day by day, the presence of BBC pronounced that there is such a strip of an islet with white powdery sand and grew as it built from strength to strength. The rest is history.

And the title given to Fonacier as the "Father of Tourism" is well-deserved.

From then on, Bohol started to ring a bell - and became a top conversation piece in the travel and leisure world.

Now that our Chocolate Hills got this remarkable chance to again put Bohol in the pedestal of prime destinations, we enjoin our 1.1 million Boholanos, here and abroad, to cast their votes through the Internet as daily tabulation continues. The worldwide popularity search of the "7 new wonders of nature" is a very prestigious tilt sponsored by UNESCO. If we land in this tally, Bohol will continue to shine as an example of a God-given land blessed by Nature's exquisite beauty.

So, tell every Boholano and all your friends, they be in Alaska or in Saudi Arabia, to cast their votes at www.new7wonders.com. Let us not just be content to be among the top 7 but aim high indeed to be number 1.

PHILIPPINE TOURISM: LONG WAY TO GO

The Tourism Boom in the Philippines is a reality that is waiting for its time to happen.

Our tourism drum beaters may be somersaulting in delight as we hit the 3 million tourism arrival mark in 2007. That is peanuts, ladies and gentlemen, and we are just barely scratching surface. The upside and the best is yet to come.

Consider our 3 million tourists versus the 20 million in Malaysia, 14 million in Thailand, 10 million in Singapore and good gracious: war-ravaged Vietnam 6 million visitors. We got a lot of catching up to do.

The Philippine record shows visitors' growth from 2.6 million in 2005, to 2.8 million in 2006 and finally 3.0 million in 2007. Thanks to the WOW Philippines and other marketing forays of the Department of Tourism. Slow but steady growth - but we can do more.

Turkey with just old preserved temples to show - attract 25 million tourists a year.

The only consoling statistic in tourism is the fact that the average tourist in the Philippines stays an average of 16 days - one of the longest and therefore spends more dollars per capita than other countries with larger volume of tourists. The length of stay means we have so much to show - but we haven't told the world enough.

Don't you think that's a right conclusion?

Let's look at China, currently our fourth largest visitor race today. They attract the world to their scenic spots and commercial wonders indirectly by hosting major events in different cities in China: the World Olympics, the World Expo and the Asian Games.

There is now a trend of intra-region travel and the Asia-Pacific traffic volume is a huge 165 million traffic. But are we ready to face the influx resulting from our marketing efforts?

We have one of the most antiquated airports in the world. Recently from delayed domestic flights, the aggrieved visitor was met by an almost one-day brown-out in the Manila airport - with no back-up generator? Where else in the world?

Security is still bad and visitors still lose valuables somewhere in their trips. And by 2010, we forecast RP visitors to hit 5 million - but do we have the rooms and service that can be honestly termed "international in standards?"

The world Rest and Recreation business boggles the mind. Imagine there are 898 million tourist-travelers in the world - a number close to a billion. RP is doing a mere 3 million a year - with our countryside so full of interesting places to be converted into eco-tourist destinations.

Indeed our country is a Land of Lost Opportunities. But better late than never, as they say.

For Comments: email to bingo_dejaresco@boholchronicle.com Or editor@boholchronicle.com