Travel for a More Progressive and a Happier Philippines

Have you been to Bohol or Siquijor lately? Did you notice  the number of pedicabs lining at the port waiting for the guests and bring them to their destinations? Did you count  the number of houses turned into a homestays or Inns at El Nido? Have you seen the number of kiosks  along Lacson Street and in the  public plaza of Bacolod City this season of Masskara?

We all know that the answers to these will  lead us to the role of the  tourism industry in our economy. From the lowly water vendor to the 5 Star hotels, all these have  benefited from this  industry.

When I resolved to write a travel blog 6 years ago, I asked myself why should I  write about travel and tourism of all the many themes  available.

The first reason has a hint of personal motives, to begin with. I have  also a stake in the tourism industry. I am engaged in handicraft  business and one of our main product lines is souvenirs –  the Bacolod Masks.  I thought, If I promote my province and my city, I will also benefit from it .Hence, The Happy Trip was born.

The Inspiration

The Happy Trip was inspired by the MassKara Festival of Bacolod City.  The festival is characterized by the dancers wearing happy masks and colorful costumes.The MassKara is a symbol of hope and strength of every Bacolodnons and Negrenses, that despite any gloomy situations , Bacolodnons will always rise above any crisis and troubles. The MassKara Festival depicts positivity, so is The Happy Trip.

The Blog does not only limit its scope in Bacolod and Negros Island. For just like in the times when Negros and Bacolod were in crisis,  help and support flooded the province and now we are also giving back to others in whatever way we can even just by promoting other places.

The Happy Trip Destinations

The blog aimed at  promoting  places, destinations, and cultural activities particularly festivals. While this blog does not intend to cover up any  negative side of the featured place or event , The Happy Trip, revolved around positive things and  just wanted to showcase what is best and leaving the critical part  to other writers. Hence,we refrain from blogging things which we thought not beneficial for our readers. Nevertheless, we also include some precautionary  notes in our articles, especially  on the travel tips  that we create.

It is our desire to cover as many places and destinations as we can. By doing so we can write more travel guides aimed at helping   any would be travelers. We have featured several hotels in our pages and write several accommodation guides for many places in the country.

Giving guides on where and what to eat in several places delights most of our followers. Trying several native delicacies and featuring any struggling eateries proved to be a potent marketing tool for entities who cannot afford to spend on advertisements.

Travelling Beyond The Philippine Archipelago

The Happy Trip has gone a long way. From a struggling travel blog which seldom received any invitation from any events, now we are attracting the attention of Tourism Boards from other countries and various agencies who are willing to be part of  our trip. These afforded  us a hint , that The Happy Trip has already found its place  in  the tourism community.

Traveling overseas, especially with other foreign bloggers  gave The Happy Trip an opportunity to advertise other places. This move allowed us to widen our reach, especially for foreign readers  to a great deal. This also  gives more opportunities for our local features to be seen by these readers abroad.

The Hard Work

While almost 80% of The Happy Trip’s traffic  are  organic in nature, still we are working so hard to reach  more target readers. We have joined several bloggers groups which  could be of help to promote our sites. Our social media syndication effort has been raised to the maximum which did not only help increase our followers  but also in promoting the places that we feature.

Travel with us

Indeed, blogging takes a great deal  of hard work.But we are embracing the process to reach our goal. Others may not appreciate the importance of this work, and definitely, no acknowledgment is ever expected.  But deep in our hearts, we know what we desire and know where we are heading. The Happy Trip vows  to continue in discovering  and blogging more places and events.  By our works, we hope and pray to reach and inspire more people to visit our beautiful country;  more establishments will be made known  and ultimately more income opportunities  will be created.

Be with us in our journey. Let us travel  together for a more progressive and a happier Philippines. Have a Happy Trip everyone!