DREAM! DREAM! DREAM!

I just received this letter from a young entrepreneur who is doing a feasiblity study on the revival of Manila's Matorco, the once ubiquitous open-air double decker buses that plied up and down Roxas Boulevard in the 1970's. I personally think it's a great idea - especially if they use LPG instead of gasoline to run the things. But perhaps some of you out there think otherwise about how realistic his proposal might be? Either way, it would be nice if some feedback was sent his way:

Dear Mr. Celdran:

I, along with a number of associates of mine, are looking into the possibility of reviving the Matorco bus tours along Roxas Boulevard. With the rising number of tourists in the country, and with the revival of the Baywalk as the new epicenter of the Manila tourist trade, we believe that it is high time to provide tourists with a means to travel along Manila's main tourist spots with greater ease. We are thinking of reviving the Matorco bus tour in the form of a Hop-On/Hop-Off tour, much like what is already available in great cities such as London, New York and Paris. We plan to ply a route that begins near Fort Santiago, ferrying passengers around the Walled City, up the area past Jones Bridge and the Post Office, then by the National Museum near Luneta. The bus would then go down Roxas Boulevard, into the CCP Complex, past Macapagal Boulevard and the Mall of Asia. From there the bus would head back down through the complex and back along Roxas Boulevard, to Intramuros and Fort Santiago.

We feel that this bus tour would link the best museums of the country: National Museum, Coconut Palace, Casa Manila, Fort Santiago, Met Museum, NHI, Bahay Chinoy; with the great eating areas all around the Bay + Malate; with the casinos of the Hyatt, Heritage; with the shopping megaplex that is the Mall of Asia; and the theaters of CCP, Film Center, GSIS, Fort Santiago. We are also hoping that this would interconnect with the planned Pasig River Ferry stop at Intramuros and the LRT stop near the Metropolitan Theater / Manila City Hall. This bus trip would also link the future developments of the Manila Oceanarium and the Nayong Pilipino/Pagcor Megaplex.

I was hoping to get your thoughts on this. In particular, do you think that there is a ready tourist market for this kind of service?

(YES DEFINITELY. DO IT.)

Feel free to post this on your blog, as we are interested in getting a general public reaction to this.

Regards,

Rog Dimaculangan

you can reach him at: rogeliodimaculangan@yahoo.com