philippines

Ready, set, travel: Cebu Pacific’s backpacker adventure contest

With just P12,000, a backpack and a chunk of resourcefulness, just how far can a traveler go in the Philippines? To answer the question, Cebu Pacific (CEB), the country’s largest airline, will pit local travel experts against each other in a five-day, four-city journey across the Philippines. Dubbed the Cebu Pacific Backpacker Challenge, the competition also aims to show that a fun exploration of the beautiful Philippine islands can be done without going over one’s allotted budget.

The contest will test the participants’ sense of adventure as they visit various pre-selected locales—Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Iloilo. Their journey will begin and end in Manila for the awarding of the winning team.

There will be five teams of two travel experts each. They will form Team Sanuk, Team ROX, Team Columbia, Team High Sierra and Team Eagle Creek, named after participating Primer Group brands synonymous with fun, adventure and travel. These travel experts will go from place to place enjoying as many activities and having as many experiences as their budgets will allow. They can savor local cuisine, visit tourist attractions, try local sports and enjoy whatever else the locale offers.

Each team’s budget also covers accommodation, transportation and meal expenses, which means that making such arrangements with family or friends in the chosen areas is not allowed.

To document their experiences during the trip, the contestants will also use Canon DSLR and Powershot and Ixus cameras with which they will shoot video diaries. They will also be required to report their actual expenses.

At the end of the challenge, the team with the most activities while spending the least will be declared winner. As their prize, each member of the winning team will receive two round-trip CEB tickets to Kota Kinabalu (exclusive of Philippine Travel Tax), and 3N/4D hotel accommodations and transfers in Kota Kinabalu courtesy of the Sabah Tourism Board.

Canon Philippines will also give away photography books and four (4) A490 Canon cameras to the two winning teams with the best DSLR and Point and Shoot photos, covering the theme, “You only live one life. Seize it with Canon.”

“This competition is all about showing Pinoy travelers that, yes, a little amount of money, creativity and planning can go a long way,” shares Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution. “By making the right travel choices, one can enjoy rich experiences and make the most out of any trip, especially here in the Philippines.”

Cebu Pacific has the most extensive network in the Philippines as it flies to 33 domestic destinations in 51 domestic routes. For more information, call (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888 or visit www.cebupacificair.com .

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Airfare (lowest year-round fare)

  • MNL-CEB= P748
  • CEB-CGY= P648
  • CGY-DVO= P648
  • DVO-ILO= P1,288
  • ILO-MNL= P748

Total airfare: P4,080