Apl.de.Ap to help promote Philippines to the young and hip crowd

International recording artist Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas has teamed up with the Philippine's tourism department to help promote the country to the young and hip crowd.

The award-winning hip hop artist is doing this through a music video which was created in collaboration between the Philippines' Department of Tourism and MTV.

Apl.de.Ap, singer, Black Eyed Peas, said: "When I was recording my solo album "You Can Dream", I wanted to represent where I came from. I wanted to write something about the Philippines and I wanted to encourage all the Filipino-Americans to come visit Philippines.

"And in that way, when a lot of people come here, it creates jobs and opportunities for the people in the Philippines, and that's when 'Take You to the Philippines' came about."

Aboard the iconic tricycle, the Filipino-American artist takes the viewer to the Philippines' famed tourist destinations such as the famous white sandy beaches in Boracay and Palawan, as well as other exciting tourist spots in Cebu, Bohol, and of course, his beloved hometown Pampanga.

He added: "We have a beautiful culture and I want to be able to share that all over the world. And also, we have a lot of beautiful islands and places to go to and I want to share that all over the world, for people to see."

Over three million tourists visited the Philippines last year and the Department of Tourism hopes that their new and hip global campaign will help attract more young adventure travellers to explore the country's 7,000 islands.

More than 70 per cent of the country's tourists are young travellers aged 18 to 35. They are among the most avid travellers and shoppers in the world. And despite the calamities that struck northern Philippines last year, the tourism department is confident of more visitors this year.

Eduardo Jarque Jr., Undersecretary, Department of Tourism, said: "The beauty of the Philippines is never concentrated on one. Unlike some areas wherein if they have a calamity, it's close shop. When there's a calamity somewhere, we have 7,107 islands, so somewhere, the sun still shines.

"So we're lucky to be in an archipelago. So when one thing closes temporarily, a lot of other places are open."

The department is promoting adventure trips like wakeboarding in Camarines Sur and surfing in Siargao, to reach its target of five million tourists by the end of 2010. - CNA/vm

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