By: Clare de Guzman Amador
We travel primarily for the experience and then after the experience, we tell our stories. Our stories set us apart—we may go to the same place but come home with different takes. We buy the same souvenirs but got them for different reasons for different people. Our photos are the same frames, still we show it to everyone.
All because our stories are our own and each experience hits us at the core. Travel is one of the best ways to experience the greatness of a place, of a people. It almost always leaves a positive mark—something that changes us and makes us look forward to every sunrise.
Youth Trip Philippines (YTRIP) began as a story. A story of traveling around the Philippines and how the experience can change us as Filipinos. Along the way, we figured, if only more Pinoys could do the same, things might just work better. After all, once we see how amazing our people are, how beautiful our country is—what would hold us back from loving and taking care of it?
YTRIP is a youth-led non-government organization that promotes sustainable local tourism and responsible travel to widen horizons and make Pinoys value our country and heritage deeply. As we find our stories, we discover ourselves. For us, travel is one of the most enjoyable ways to express the best of who we are as a people.
Founded in 2006, YTRIP is a small group of young professionals and industry advisers. We volunteer and devote time, effort, and resources to jumpstart educational projects, using travel and tourism as tools.
Tourism, for YTRIP, is not just about movement, but the shift from one mindset to another. We see tourism as a tool for positive change, beyond economics and more on social impact and responsibility.
So far, we’ve run several projects—we’ve brought yayas and kids to Museo Pambata, we’ve taught college students photography, clean-ups, and backpacking; we’ve learned about Filipino dance, music, and baybayin. For the long haul, we are working on our PiliPinas campaign: Piliin ang Pilipinas. Choose the Philippines by willfully supporting Pinoy products and places. YTRIP is also embarking on becoming a social enterprise to become more sustainable.
There still remains the notion that traveling is a luxury. YTRIP believes that if frameworks, strategies, and networks on budget travel, sustainable tourism, and Pinoy culture are made accessible and experiential for more people, then more Pinoys will truly experience the Philippines. Horizons will expand, stories will converge, and we will no longer say, “wish you where here” because no one will be left out of the journey anymore.
This is why we’re building our travel program with tour groups who have the same vision as ours, to promote great value heritage tours. YTRIP also hopes to create more opportunities for public school students to travel, as we develop our Field Trips for Public School Students program.
Whether it was passion for the Philippines that gave birth to passion for travel, or the other way around, what’s important for us is that we have not run out of reasons to stay in this country. We have not run out of reasons to hope. Here in Pinas, we have 7,107 reasons to explore, 86 million people to meet, centuries of history to be rooted in, and a promising future, a national story to create. We always look forward to the next trip.
*Clare de Guzman Amador is the founder of YTRIP. She is currently working in the office of a Philippine senator but hopes to focus full-time on YTRIP in the future. For more info, you may log on to www.ytrip.org.ph or http://ytrip.multiply.com. You may also email youthtrip@gmail.com.
15 Feedbacks on "GUEST POST: Why we have not run out of reasons to stay in the Philippines"
william cheng
ang mahal ng airport fee,ibang bansa walang ganun ah
Kharla
This is a very good endeavor. I forwarded your piece to my friends. One of these days we hope to join your travels! :o)
anonymous
Keep up the good work, Ms. Amador.
pligg.com
Open for Business » GUEST POST: Why we have not run out of reasons to stay in the Philippines…
Clare de Guzman Amador narrates how ‘Youth Trip Philippines (YTRIP) began as a story. A story of traveling around the Philippines and how the experience can change us as Filipinos.’ She adds: ‘Along the way, we figured, if only more Pinoys could do …
benjie l.
agree with william…ang mahal nga airport terminal fee tapos di naman worldclass facilities..i think we need to improve our airport terminals first before we promote our very beautiful country…:) anyway.good work ms. amador…we have millions of reasons why we should stay,explore and improve this country…nakita ko na halos buong pilipinas and i tell you, NAPAKAGANDA! ng pinas. Mabuhay!
Fedeleo de Guzman
I agree with you Ms. Amador. Keep it up!
vincent
very insightful!
it is just very sad that most schools now a days consider going to star city or enchanted kingdom rather than what used to be an “educational tour”. i think we should encourage schools to go back to museums, parks or historical sites like intramuros…
clare
maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat mula sa ytrip
sabay-sabay tayong lumibot ng Pilipinas
—
Re airport terminal fee - hopefully they dont stay forever.
wls
continue what you believe for the best of our country to promote. sana nga mga kabayan natin umuwi rin at makita ang mga beautiful places isa ating bansa, i agree wth benjie sana maayos yong airport natin lalo na mga tao doon . keep it up Clare!
charisse
Good article! Npakaganda naman talaga ng Pilipinas! I’m currently in Malaysia and have been to Singapore also pero nahihirapan ako mag-appreciate sa mga tourist destinations nila. Almost man-made kasi, whereas in Philippines, mostly natural. And regarding the pinoy people, nothing beats the hospitality, politeness and ‘being clean’. I’m here in Malaysia for a good work opportunity but I know someday, I will be going back and apply the things I learned here to Philippines.
Mabuhay ang mga youth organizations na ganito. More power to YTRIP!
tony santos
Fro: Ms. Clare de Guzman Amador
Mahal na Ms. Amador,
Mabuhay ang Pilipino!
Kami dito sa Samahang Sining at Kultura ng Pilipinas (SSKP) ay kaisa ninyo sa kahawig na adhikain ng inyong samahan. Nawa ay magkaroon tayo ng pagkakataon na magkatuwang sa mga gawaing isusulong and turismo at ang tunay na kulturang Pilipino. Mabuhay kayo! Mang TONY SANTOS
Pls send me your correct email address.
wensy
wow. ytrip has encouraged me to experience the philippines first before going abroad. keep it up ytrip!
jay-en
my next trip back home will be davao-cagayan de oro- iligan - sabi nga nila wag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan…oo nga naman ayusin nyo naman ang mga airports - hopefully pag uwi ko fully operational na ang naia terminal 3 - mabuhay kayo!
bobby III
glad you have this YTRIP. I agree to you guys that you really have to travel around the Phils. first before going to other countries. We have lots of beautiful places here. I’ve travel to almost all places here, and i discover that there are so many beautiful tourist spots that are not yet known to others. Example the Casa Roro falls in Dumaguete, the beach in Siquijor,the Rizal Beach in Sorsogon and of course the whale watching in Donsol, Sorsogon.
GO AND ENJOY!
clare
We would like to thank you all for the heartwarming comments. It helps boost our energy to know that there are people who agree and support our ideas, and continuously love the Philippines
Sana po makasama kayo sa ibang mga projects at activities ng YTRIP. If you would like to be part of our mailing list - send us your info through youthtrip@gmail.com or clareamador@gmail.com
Maraming salamat po! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas at ang Pilipino
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