This is farked.

Voice actors now have to compete against AI reproductions of their own voices.

And because they often don't hold the copyright to the ads of TV shows they work on, there's basically no recourse:

"Jacqui Duncan has voiced more than 5000 commercials for Australian radio and television. And, as she told [a NSW stare government committee on AI], she owns none of them.

"Last financial year, Duncan earned about 30 per cent of what she had consistently made in the three years before. She now works a second job.

"'AI voices and performances have definitely played a big part,' she told this masthead. Clients have also used them to push down the rates the union spent years fighting for, she said. 'It’s faster and cheaper, so therefore we should be as well.'

"Duncan, the NSW president of Equity, the performers’ division of the media union, gave evidence to the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. 'I never gave consent for my work to be taken,' she said. 'Our members are already 62 per cent down on their work in the last 12 months,' Simon Kennedy, president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, told the same hearing.
...
"OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google all put Canberra on notice – Australia’s copyright rules will dictate whether they train their flagship models on local soil. But copyright usually belongs to a studio, label, publisher or advertiser, not to the performer or writer who made the work. Under the deals and funds on the table, the alliance warned, the money flows to whoever holds the copyright.

"Duncan has never held the copyright to her own commercials. 'But if it’s my biometric data and 20 years of industry skills that go into those performances, I should have a say,' she said. Clients, she said, should not get a performance at all if it 'only exists because mine and thousands of others’ training, performance skills, experience and creative consciousness have all been whittled down to ones and zeros, fed into an LLM (for free) and then exported'.
...
"She knows voice artists and actors who have been replaced by AI copies of themselves, their voices or faces used in new campaigns without consent or payment.

"When one colleague asked a producer why he had not even been consulted, Duncan said, the producer replied that he 'assumed consent was given'."

smh.com.au/technology/i-never-…

#AI #VoiceActor #VoiceActing #ArtificialIntelligence #ChatGPT #auspol #NSWpol #Gemini #Claude #Anthropic #OpenAI #ChatGPT #Google #AIBubble #capitalism #business #politics #nsw #nswpol

Von: Doctolib-Team <newsletter.owgcaf@micropayment.de>

Bei dieser Absenderadresse habe ich keine weiteren Fragen mehr. Mein Exemplar dieser Spam wurde übrigens über eine IP-Adresse von Google versendet, den dicksten Kumpel und zuverlässigsten Komplizen des Spammers und Betrügers. Von einer Abuse-Mail sehe ich wie immer ab. Sie ist Zeitverschwendung. Google tut nach meinen Erfahrungen nichts gegen den Missbrauch seiner Angebote durch Kriminelle. Zum Glück wird die Spam sehr sicher als Spam erkannt und aussortiert.

Doctolib
🛡 FÜR AUSGEWÄHLTE PERSONEN

Oh, ich bin mal wieder auserwählt. Vermutlich, weil ich eine Mailadrese habe, die man vollspammen kann.

Ihr Erste-Hilfe-Set
von Doctolib
ist für Sie
reserviert!

●
Als kleines Dankeschön für Ihre Unterstützung möchten wir Ihnen ein praktisches Erste-Hilfe-Set zukommen lassen.

Praktisches Erste-Hilfe-Set

Die Zeilenumbrüche sind übrigens aus der Spam. Ansonsten finde ich es sehr schön, dass das Erste-Hilfe-Set „praktisch“ ist. 😁️

⌂
Für zu Hause
und unterwegs
Nützlich im Alltag, auf Reisen und bei der Arbeit

Unentbehrlich für Sport, Freizeit, Hobby und Camping. 😁️

◆
Sorgfältig
ausgewählte Inhalte
Mit wichtigen Produkten für den täglichen Bedarf

Wir kennen das alle, dass wir wichtige Produkte für den täglichen Bedarf in einem Erste-Hilfe-Köfferchen suchen, oder? 😅️

♥
Mit Blick auf
Ihre Bedürfnisse
Praktisch, kompakt und einfach anzuwenden

Wer angesichts solcher Anpreisungen denkt, dass es sich wohl um Gnobbelmatsch aus dem angelernten neuronalen Netzwerk handelt, denkt ziemlich genau das Gleiche wie ich.

◉
Für Menschen,
die uns wichtig sind
Ein Zeichen unserer Wertschätzung für Sie

Hach, so viel Wertschätzung heute! 😅️

Beantworten Sie ein paar kurze Fragen und erfahren Sie mehr über das Erste-Hilfe-Set.
🔒 Ihre Angaben bleiben vertraulich.

JETZT TEILNEHMEN →

Der Link führt in die voll vertrauliche Cloud von Google. Dort gibt es die erste Weiterleitung.
$ lynx -source "https://storage.googleapis.com/ecfvyzefzeyufcuyzfuzecvzuzevcuzfeucfuzecg/docnikjoheukdz8bfgqam3ndtlmwszx5gbcsailmscvqynexjkelt.html" | grep -i refresh
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=https://held-paths.com/?a=1096&oc=28546&c=74011&p=r&m=3&s1=&s2=szeuj#" />
$ _

Aber das ist noch lange nicht das Ende. Es ist ja Spam, da setzt man keine direkten Links, wie das jeder fühlende und denkende Mensch täte, weil es nun einmal einfach und direkt ist:
$ location-cascade "https://held-paths.com/?a=1096&oc=28546&c=74011&p=r&m=3&s1=&s2=szeuj#"
1 westerranean.xyz/?a=1096&oc=28…
2 fjelix.com/281MZPMB/7MDKWMTX/?…
3 kumozi.com/2W1Q1KK/3WZWDLGT/?s…
4 takindenture.life/XqBzPl4K/?dm…
5 /?dm=www.kumozi.com&sub4=&sub3=&sid=21601&sb1=851b88ee046542a69b48c965274e4420&ip=88.64.71.50&s5=46292&s2=&eid=223GDT1
$ surbl westerranean.xyz www.fjelix.com takindenture.life www.kumozi.com
westerranean.xyz okay
www.fjelix.com okay
takindenture.life okay
www.kumozi.com okay
$ _

Die in dieser Weiterleitungskette benutzten Domains stehen noch nicht auf den einschlägigen Blacklists. Wer sich darauf verlässt, vom Webbrowser geschützt und gewarnt zu werden, ist also verlassen. Besser ist es, gar nicht erst in eine Spam zu klicken.

⏱ Nur kurze Zeit
verfügbar

🔒 Ihre Daten sind
geschützt

✓ Teilnahme ist
freiwillig

Oh, das ist ja nett, dass es freiwillig ist, in eine illegale und asoziale Spam zu klicken! Da bin ich aber erleichtert! Ich dachte schon, ich müsse das tun. 😅️

♥ Vielen Dank für Ihr Vertrauen!

Vielen Dank für den pseudohöflichen Dank für nichts. Vor meinem Arsch ist auch kein Gitter.

Ihr Doctolib-Team
Abmelden | Datenschutz | Kontakt

Auf ein für gewerbliche E-Mail in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gesetzlich vorgeschriebenes E-Mail-Impressum hat der Absender verzichtet.

Ach ja, diese Spam kommt natürlich nicht von „Doctolib“ und hat nichts mit „Doctolib“ zu tun.

Philippines Behind Many Southeast Asian Neighbors On International Tourism

With 2025 already behind us, one has to wonder how the Philippines performed when it comes to attracting foreign tourists and as of this writing, the final statistics have yet to be announced by the government. What is clear is that the Philippines really slumped on international tourism last year and the nation is behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to a recent news article by VnExpress International.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of the VnExpress International. Some parts in boldface…

Vietnam and Malaysia are rising tourism stars in Southeast Asia thanks to relaxed visa policies and improving infrastructure while Thailand has lost its lead due to border clashes and safety concerns.

Vietnam received its 20th millionth foreign visitor in a year for the first time at the Phu Quoc International Airport on Dec. 15, marking a milestone for its tourism sector. The full-year is expected to exceed 21 million, surpassing the previous record of 18 million achieved in 2019 before Covid.

With its 21% growth rate this year, Vietnam is regarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Malaysia attracted 28.2 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, a 14.5% increase year-on-year.

The industry will be supported by stronger Chinese tourist arrivals, improving flight connectivity and the government’s ambitious “Visit Malaysia 2026” campaign, according to HSBC Global Research.

“Malaysia is on track to easily exceed its 2025 tourism target of 31.4 million tourists, making it one of the few ASEAN economies to achieve its target.

“We estimate the number of tourists is likely to exceed 40 million.”

This year, both countries have strived to ease visa polices, enhance promotion campaigns and improve airport infrastructure.

Indonesia and Laos have also seen increasing tourist numbers.

Indonesia received over 12.76 million foreign visitors in the first 10 months, a 10% increase, with Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and India being the leading source markets. Laos received 3.8 million, a 13% increase.

Challenging year for Thailand, Cambodia – Once a tourism powerhouse in Southeast Asia, Thailand has struggled with setback after setback this year.

The crisis began in January as many Chinese tourists canceled their trips to the country following the high-profile abduction of Chinese actor Xing Xing.

Two months later a deadly earthquake in Myanmar that sent tremors across Bangkok caused widespread damage to the tourism industry.

Escalating military clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border also triggered a surge in cancellations across provinces near the fighting. Some countries warned their citizens to postpone traveling to Thailand.

Arrivals as of early December declined by 7% to 30 million. Thailand had received 40 million tourists in 2019 and 35 million last year.

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s reputation took a beating in the eyes of South Koreans due to online scams and the disappearance of hundreds of their fellow citizens who entered that country.

The South Korean government has issued warnings to its citizens to cancel or postpone non-essential travel to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and areas like Sihanoukville and Bokor Mountain.

Cambodia attracted only 4.75 million tourists in January-October, a decrease of 11.6%.

The Philippines received 4.7 million foreign visitors in the first 11 months of the year, a 3.02% decline due to significantly lower arrivals from South Korea and China.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the Philippines still has a lot of problems to solve regarding infrastructure, tourism promotions and domestic travel costs before it could become competitive with its Southeast Asian neighbors? If ever the Philippines fails to hit its 2025 foreign tourist arrivals target, do you think the Department of Tourism (DOT) will once again point to tourism revenues as a barometer for success? With its current standing on international tourism, do you consider the 2023-2028 National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of the Philippines a failure already?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
#Asia #Bing #Blog #blogger #blogging #business #businessNews #Cambodia #CarloCarrasco #ChatGPT #China #DepartmentOfTourismDOT #economics #economy #EconomyOfThePhilippines #Facebook #foreignTourists #geek #Google #GoogleSearch #governance #holiday #Indonesia #infrastructure #Instagram #internationalTourism #Investagrams #Japan #Laos #Malaysia #news #PhilippineTourism #Philippines #PhilippinesBlog #Pinoy #publicService #Singapore #socialMedia #SouthKorea #SoutheastAsia #technology #Thailand #tourism #tourismBlog #tourists #travel #travelBlog #Tumblr #Twitter #vacation #Vietnam #Visitors #VnExpress #VnExpressNet #WordPress #WordPressCom

Philippines Attracted 5.94 Million Foreign Tourists And 543K Overseas Filipinos In 2025

Finally, the Department of Tourism (DOT) revealed that 5.94 million foreign tourists and over 543,000 returning overseas Filipinos arrived in the Philippines in 2025 resulting in tourism revenue of P694 billion, according to a news release by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

For insight, the Philippines attracted 5,940,975 foreign visitors in 2025 which is 8,375 less compared with 2024’s foreign visitors. Ultimately, the Philippines is still behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors on international tourism for 2025.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of the PNA. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippines recorded 6.4 million foreign visitors and returning overseas Filipinos in 2025, generating an estimated PHP694 billion in tourism receipts, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Tuesday.

Citing Bureau of Immigration data, the DOT said 5,940,975 were foreign visitors, including cruise passengers and categories not fully captured in eTravel.

Another 543,085 were returning overseas Filipinos, bringing total inbound arrivals to 6,484,060.

The DOT said preliminary international visitor spending was estimated at PHP694 billion.

While arrivals remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the DOT said the outcome was achieved despite global and domestic challenges, including travel alerts from key markets and fiscal constraints.

The agency said tourism performance should not be measured by arrivals alone, citing strong domestic travel, value creation and job generation.

Guided by the National Tourism Development Plan 2023–2028, the DOT said it remains focused on improving connectivity, safety, workforce skills and service standards.

For insight as to why the Philippines is having a lot of trouble attracting visitors from abroad, watch the YouTube videos below.

youtu.be/Lr2vOfmfb1c?si=kjfZgo…

youtu.be/aAMYL4nWnMg?si=6e4Lhx…

youtu.be/ESdb7EfthBo?si=7KoUzu…

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you agree with the Department of Tourism’s claim that tourism performance should not be measured by arrivals alone while the Philippines keeps on falling behind its Southeast Asian neighbors that attracted a lot more foreign tourists? Do you think the DOT should examine closely how satisfied or dissatisfied foreign tourists really are before they leave the country? Are you tired of seeing the Philippines failing to hit its annual international tourist arrival targets?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
#Asia #Balikbayan #Bing #Blog #blogger #blogging #CarloCarrasco #ChatGPT #ChristinaFrasco #corruption #DepartmentOfTourismDOT #economicForecast #economicGrowth #economics #economy #EconomyOfThePhilippines #Facebook #finance #floodControl #food #foreignTourists #geek #Google #GoogleSearch #governance #grossDomesticProductGDP #holiday #Instagram #InternationalMonetaryFundIMF #Investagrams #jobs #money #news #PhilippineNewsAgencyPNA #Philippines #PhilippinesBlog #Pinoy #PNAGovPh #publicService #shopping #socialMedia #SoutheastAsia #technology #tourism #tourismBlog #tourist #touristBlog #touristSpots #tourists #travel #travelBlog #travelers #Tumblr #Twitter #vacation #WordPress #WordPressCom #YouTube

Author Carlo Carrasco

2026-01-02 16:00:00

Philippines Behind Many Southeast Asian Neighbors On International Tourism

With 2025 already behind us, one has to wonder how the Philippines performed when it comes to attracting foreign tourists and as of this writing, the final statistics have yet to be announced by the government. What is clear is that the Philippines really slumped on international tourism last year and the nation is behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to a recent news article by VnExpress International.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of the VnExpress International. Some parts in boldface…

Vietnam and Malaysia are rising tourism stars in Southeast Asia thanks to relaxed visa policies and improving infrastructure while Thailand has lost its lead due to border clashes and safety concerns.

Vietnam received its 20th millionth foreign visitor in a year for the first time at the Phu Quoc International Airport on Dec. 15, marking a milestone for its tourism sector. The full-year is expected to exceed 21 million, surpassing the previous record of 18 million achieved in 2019 before Covid.

With its 21% growth rate this year, Vietnam is regarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Malaysia attracted 28.2 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, a 14.5% increase year-on-year.

The industry will be supported by stronger Chinese tourist arrivals, improving flight connectivity and the government’s ambitious “Visit Malaysia 2026” campaign, according to HSBC Global Research.

“Malaysia is on track to easily exceed its 2025 tourism target of 31.4 million tourists, making it one of the few ASEAN economies to achieve its target.

“We estimate the number of tourists is likely to exceed 40 million.”

This year, both countries have strived to ease visa polices, enhance promotion campaigns and improve airport infrastructure.

Indonesia and Laos have also seen increasing tourist numbers.

Indonesia received over 12.76 million foreign visitors in the first 10 months, a 10% increase, with Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and India being the leading source markets. Laos received 3.8 million, a 13% increase.

Challenging year for Thailand, Cambodia – Once a tourism powerhouse in Southeast Asia, Thailand has struggled with setback after setback this year.

The crisis began in January as many Chinese tourists canceled their trips to the country following the high-profile abduction of Chinese actor Xing Xing.

Two months later a deadly earthquake in Myanmar that sent tremors across Bangkok caused widespread damage to the tourism industry.

Escalating military clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border also triggered a surge in cancellations across provinces near the fighting. Some countries warned their citizens to postpone traveling to Thailand.

Arrivals as of early December declined by 7% to 30 million. Thailand had received 40 million tourists in 2019 and 35 million last year.

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s reputation took a beating in the eyes of South Koreans due to online scams and the disappearance of hundreds of their fellow citizens who entered that country.

The South Korean government has issued warnings to its citizens to cancel or postpone non-essential travel to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and areas like Sihanoukville and Bokor Mountain.

Cambodia attracted only 4.75 million tourists in January-October, a decrease of 11.6%.

The Philippines received 4.7 million foreign visitors in the first 11 months of the year, a 3.02% decline due to significantly lower arrivals from South Korea and China.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the Philippines still has a lot of problems to solve regarding infrastructure, tourism promotions and domestic travel costs before it could become competitive with its Southeast Asian neighbors? If ever the Philippines fails to hit its 2025 foreign tourist arrivals target, do you think the Department of Tourism (DOT) will once again point to tourism revenues as a barometer for success? With its current standing on international tourism, do you consider the 2023-2028 National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of the Philippines a failure already?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at and on Instagram at
#Asia #Bing #Blog #blogger #blogging #business #businessNews #Cambodia #CarloCarrasco #ChatGPT #China #DepartmentOfTourismDOT #economics #economy #EconomyOfThePhilippines #Facebook #foreignTourists #geek #Google #GoogleSearch #governance #holiday #Indonesia #infrastructure #Instagram #internationalTourism #Investagrams #Japan #Laos #Malaysia #news #PhilippineTourism #Philippines #PhilippinesBlog #Pinoy #publicService #Singapore #socialMedia #SouthKorea #SoutheastAsia #technology #Thailand #tourism #tourismBlog #tourists #travel #travelBlog #Tumblr #Twitter #vacation #Vietnam #Visitors #VnExpress #VnExpressNet #WordPress #WordPressCom

My Services

If you are running a business or a private organization with the goal of gaining credibility through traditional media or social media mileage, I can help you with the following services I am offer…

^{carlocarrasco (Author Carlo Carrasco)}

A Lot More Filipinos Searched For Accommodations In Vietnam In 2025

While the Philippines continues to endure difficulties on attracting foreign tourists (click here and here), statistics of the global travel platform Agoda revealed that a lot more Filipinos searched online for accommodations in Vietnam, according to a travel article by VnExpress.

It is recalled that Vietnam itself achieved an all-time high of 21.2 million foreign tourist arrivals counted in 2025 and among them are more Filipino visitors. Already operating are direct flights between Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the travel article of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…

Travelers from the Philippines showed the strongest interest in visiting Vietnam in 2025, with accommodation searches rising 86% year-on-year, according to travel platform Agoda.

The trend was consistent with official tourism data. The number of Filipino visitors to Vietnam reached 482,173 in 2025, up 81.3% from 2024, according to the General Statistics Office.

Air connectivity between the two countries has also improved, with several carriers launching new direct routes.

In July last year, Philippine Airlines began operating a Manila-Da Nang service with three flights a week. A month later, Vietjet opened the Ho Chi Minh City-Manila route, offering five round-trip flights per week.

“Growing international interest suggests Vietnam is consolidating its position as a leading regional destination, benefiting from improved connectivity, visa policies and diversified travel experiences,” said Vu Ngoc Lam, country director at Agoda Vietnam.

Vietnam welcomed a record 21.2 million international visitors in 2025, up 20.4% from the previous year and the highest total on record.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think a lot more Filipinos will visit Vietnam this year as the direct flights continue? What is it about Vietnam that captures the interests of foreign travelers? If you have been to Vietnam as a tourist, how much did you spend per day there?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
#Agoda #Asia #Bing #Blog #blogger #blogging #business #businessNews #CarloCarrasco #ChatGPT #economicGrowth #economics #economy #EconomyOfThePhilippines #EconomyOfVietnam #Facebook #foreignTourists #GDP #GDPGrowth #geek #Google #GoogleSearch #governance #grossDomesticProductGDP #HoChiMinhCity #holiday #Instagram #Investagrams #Manila #money #news #PhilippineAirlinesPAL #Philippines #PhilippinesBlog #Pinoy #publicService #socialMedia #SoutheastAsia #technology #tourism #tourismBlog #tourist #touristBlog #tourists #travel #travelBlog #Tumblr #Twitter #vacation #Vietjet #Vietnam #VnExpress #WordPress #WordPressCom

Author Carlo Carrasco

2026-01-21 16:00:00

Philippines Attracted 5.94 Million Foreign Tourists And 543K Overseas Filipinos In 2025

Finally, the Department of Tourism (DOT) revealed that 5.94 million foreign tourists and over 543,000 returning overseas Filipinos arrived in the Philippines in 2025 resulting in tourism revenue of P694 billion, according to a news release by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

For insight, the Philippines attracted 5,940,975 foreign visitors in 2025 which is 8,375 less compared with 2024’s foreign visitors. Ultimately, the Philippines is still behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors on international tourism for 2025.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of the PNA. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippines recorded 6.4 million foreign visitors and returning overseas Filipinos in 2025, generating an estimated PHP694 billion in tourism receipts, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Tuesday.

Citing Bureau of Immigration data, the DOT said 5,940,975 were foreign visitors, including cruise passengers and categories not fully captured in eTravel.

Another 543,085 were returning overseas Filipinos, bringing total inbound arrivals to 6,484,060.

The DOT said preliminary international visitor spending was estimated at PHP694 billion.

While arrivals remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the DOT said the outcome was achieved despite global and domestic challenges, including travel alerts from key markets and fiscal constraints.

The agency said tourism performance should not be measured by arrivals alone, citing strong domestic travel, value creation and job generation.

Guided by the National Tourism Development Plan 2023–2028, the DOT said it remains focused on improving connectivity, safety, workforce skills and service standards.

For insight as to why the Philippines is having a lot of trouble attracting visitors from abroad, watch the YouTube videos below.

youtu.be/Lr2vOfmfb1c?si=kjfZgo…

youtu.be/aAMYL4nWnMg?si=6e4Lhx…

youtu.be/ESdb7EfthBo?si=7KoUzu…

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you agree with the Department of Tourism’s claim that tourism performance should not be measured by arrivals alone while the Philippines keeps on falling behind its Southeast Asian neighbors that attracted a lot more foreign tourists? Do you think the DOT should examine closely how satisfied or dissatisfied foreign tourists really are before they leave the country? Are you tired of seeing the Philippines failing to hit its annual international tourist arrival targets?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at and on Instagram at
#Asia #Balikbayan #Bing #Blog #blogger #blogging #CarloCarrasco #ChatGPT #ChristinaFrasco #corruption #DepartmentOfTourismDOT #economicForecast #economicGrowth #economics #economy #EconomyOfThePhilippines #Facebook #finance #floodControl #food #foreignTourists #geek #Google #GoogleSearch #governance #grossDomesticProductGDP #holiday #Instagram #InternationalMonetaryFundIMF #Investagrams #jobs #money #news #PhilippineNewsAgencyPNA #Philippines #PhilippinesBlog #Pinoy #PNAGovPh #publicService #shopping #socialMedia #SoutheastAsia #technology #tourism #tourismBlog #tourist #touristBlog #touristSpots #tourists #travel #travelBlog #travelers #Tumblr #Twitter #vacation #WordPress #WordPressCom #YouTube

The Real Reason The Philippines Is Losing Repeat Visitors

The Philippines doesn't have a tourism marketing problem. It has an infrastructure problem.In this video, we explore the uncomfortable truth about why first-...

^{Naked Expat (YouTube)}

As More Filipinos Visit Vietnam, Philippines Attracts Less Vietnamese Tourists

In 2025, more than 480,000 Filipinos visited Vietnam while the Philippines failed to attract a significant number of Vietnam tourists which reflected its weakness with foreign visitors, according to a new report by VnExpress.

The travel platform Agoda confirmed that online search by Filipino users for accommodation in Vietnam surged 86% in 2025. Vietnam itself achieved an all-time high of 21.2 million foreign tourists who arrived in 2025. The Philippines attracted only 5.94 foreign tourists last year.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…

Vietnam is increasingly emerging as a preferred destination for Philippine travelers, welcoming over 482,000 arrivals in 2025, thanks to ASEAN visa exemption policies and closer bilateral exchanges.

According to the Tourism Information Center under the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), since the Covid pandemic, the number of Filipino visitors to Vietnam has recovered and grown impressively. Filipino tourists are particularly fond of destinations such as Da Nang, Sa Pa, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang, as well as Vietnam’s distinctive cuisine.

VNAT Director Nguyen Trung Khanh said Vietnam and the Philippines share many similarities in tourism resources, natural conditions and culture. Both are located in Southeast Asia and have favorable conditions for cooperation in developing tourism products and attracting visitors.

The expansion of direct flight routes between major cities by airlines of both countries has also significantly contributed to boosting tourist arrivals.

Conversely, the number of Vietnamese tourists traveling to the Philippines remains unstable and has even shown a declining trend recently. This is partly due to increasing competition among destinations in the region.

Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III noted that Philippine airlines are actively implementing various initiatives to attract tourists. The Philippines is also considering establishing a tourism representative office in Vietnam to strengthen its presence and promote cooperation.

Tourism cooperation between the two countries was established early on and continues to be reinforced. In 2026, the Philippines will host the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) under the rotational mechanism, with Vietnam’s tourism sector actively participating in the event.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? If you are a citizen of the Philippines, have you thought about touring Vietnam recently? Do you think the government of the Philippines has not done enough to promote itself actively to the Vietnamese?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
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Author Carlo Carrasco

2026-02-02 16:00:00

A Lot More Filipinos Searched For Accommodations In Vietnam In 2025

While the Philippines continues to endure difficulties on attracting foreign tourists (click here and here), statistics of the global travel platform Agoda revealed that a lot more Filipinos searched online for accommodations in Vietnam, according to a travel article by VnExpress.

It is recalled that Vietnam itself achieved an all-time high of 21.2 million foreign tourist arrivals counted in 2025 and among them are more Filipino visitors. Already operating are direct flights between Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the travel article of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…

Travelers from the Philippines showed the strongest interest in visiting Vietnam in 2025, with accommodation searches rising 86% year-on-year, according to travel platform Agoda.

The trend was consistent with official tourism data. The number of Filipino visitors to Vietnam reached 482,173 in 2025, up 81.3% from 2024, according to the General Statistics Office.

Air connectivity between the two countries has also improved, with several carriers launching new direct routes.

In July last year, Philippine Airlines began operating a Manila-Da Nang service with three flights a week. A month later, Vietjet opened the Ho Chi Minh City-Manila route, offering five round-trip flights per week.

“Growing international interest suggests Vietnam is consolidating its position as a leading regional destination, benefiting from improved connectivity, visa policies and diversified travel experiences,” said Vu Ngoc Lam, country director at Agoda Vietnam.

Vietnam welcomed a record 21.2 million international visitors in 2025, up 20.4% from the previous year and the highest total on record.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think a lot more Filipinos will visit Vietnam this year as the direct flights continue? What is it about Vietnam that captures the interests of foreign travelers? If you have been to Vietnam as a tourist, how much did you spend per day there?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at and on Instagram at
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Singapore Leads Southeast Asia in Tourism Development

Singapore emerged as the best among the economies of Southeast Asia in the 2026 Travel and Tourism Development Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF), according to a news report of VnExpress. Globally, Singapore ranked 13^th in a field of 110 economies.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…

Singapore ranked 13th among 110 economies in the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Travel and Tourism Development Index, the highest position among ASEAN.

The city state scored 4.89 points, up 3.4 percentage points from 2024 in the biennial ranking released on Friday by the World Economic Forum, an international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank based in Switzerland.

Indonesia ranked at 23rd, followed by Malaysia at 26th, Thailand at 38th, Vietnam at 52nd, the Philippines at 57th, and Laos at 75th.

The index measures factors and policies that enable sustainable and resilient development of tourism like business environment, safety and health conditions, price competitiveness, air transport infrastructure, ground and port infrastructure, tourist services and infrastructure, natural resources, and cultural resources.

Singapore received high scores in business environment, safety and security, travel policy and enabling conditions, and infrastructure and services.

Singapore, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia by nominal GDP, is known for its strict laws and low crime rates. It has earned (its) reputation as one of the safest countries in Asia.

The city-state is ramping up investment in large-scale tourism infrastructure as it seeks to strengthen its position as a leading travel and business hub in Asia.

The government announced a S$740 million (US$584 million) tourism funding package, more than twice the S$300 million allocated under the Tourism Development Fund in 2024, in May to strengthen industry resilience until 2040.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Have you visited Singapore over the past twelve months? Do you think Singapore can keep innovating and improving itself on tourism development?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
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Biohub, Google y Meta invertirán 1,800 mdd en célula virtual con IA

Mark Zuckerberg y el Gobierno Trump se alían para usar IA en la predicción de enfermedades

SN Redacción | EFE

Washington.- La organización científica Biohub, respaldada por Mark Zuckerberg y su esposa, Priscilla Chan, se alió este miércoles con el Gobierno del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, Google y otras instituciones para invertir 1.800 millones de dólares en el desarrollo de modelos de inteligencia artificial (IA) capaces de predecir cómo funcionan las células humanas y qué efectos tienen sobre ellas distintas enfermedades y tratamientos.

El proyecto busca crear una suerte de «célula virtual» que permita a los investigadores realizar experimentos de forma digital y anticipar qué intervenciones podrían ser más efectivas antes de probarlas en el laboratorio, de acuerdo con un comunicado de Biohub.

El objetivo es «acelerar la investigación de enfermedades y el desarrollo de nuevos medicamentos», detalló la misma fuente.
Biohub, que coordina la iniciativa, trabajará con los Institutos Nacionales de Salud (NIH) para reunir y estandarizar grandes cantidades de datos biológicos que puedan utilizarse para entrenar estos modelos.

El proyecto de Mark Zuckerberg con el Gobierno Trump

La organización también desarrollará tecnologías para medir e interpretar el comportamiento de las células a una escala mucho mayor que la disponible actualmente.

El Departamento de Energía aportará más de 500 millones de dólares durante cinco años para investigación, medición y computación, mientras que los NIH incorporarán conjuntos de datos biomédicos desarrollados con más de 500 millones de dólares de inversión federal previa.

Google DeepMind, Isomorphic Labs y Meta aportarán conjuntamente otros 300 millones de dólares.

El alcance de la iniciativa

La iniciativa, denominada Virtual Biology Initiative, no supone que ya exista una célula virtual capaz de sustituir los experimentos reales, sino que busca construir los datos, tecnologías y modelos necesarios para hacerla posible.

Los impulsores esperan que estas herramientas permitan identificar posibles tratamientos y experimentos prometedores antes de llevarlos al laboratorio.

El anuncio llega ocho días después de que Zuckerberg participara junto a otros de los principales ejecutivos tecnológicos, entre ellos los de Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft y Tesla, en un almuerzo con Trump y otros altos cargos de su Gobierno en la Casa Blanca para abordar el desarrollo y las salvaguardas de la inteligencia artificial.

En ese encuentro, los empresarios acordaron principios voluntarios de seguridad para la IA y Trump defendió que el sector se autorregule. –sn–
El presidente de EE. UU., Donald J. Trump (izq.), escucha al director ejecutivo de Meta, Mark Zuckerberg (centro), en una fotografía de archivo. EFE/EPA/Tierney L. Cross / POOL

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Disappointing Economic Growth Ahead for the Philippines Until Mid-2028

For Capital Economics, the economic growth of the Philippines will end up disappointing by finishing below the national government’s targets until the middle of 2028, according to a news report by the Manila Bulletin. Capital Economics also sees the inflation rate of the country reaching 5.6% this year.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of the Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine economy is expected to “disappoint” until the end of the Marcos Jr. administration in 2028 as the lingering effects of the energy shock, weak business confidence, tighter fiscal policy, and El Niño weigh on recovery, according to think tank Capital Economics.

In a report last Tuesday, Sept. 29, Capital Economics forecast Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth at just three percent in 2026, before picking up to 4.5 percent in 2027, and 5.5 percent in 2028.

Capital Economics’ forecasts for 2026 and 2027 fall short of the government’s downgraded economic growth targets of 3.5 to 4.5 percent and five to six percent, respectively, while the 2028 projection falls within the five- to six-percent target but remains below the economy’s estimated potential annual growth of about six percent.

Despite the gradual recovery, Capital Economics noted that its growth forecasts for the Philippines from 2026 through 2028 remain below consensus estimates.

“The Philippines has been among the hardest hit economies globally by the energy shock and the recovery will be sluggish,” Capital Economics said.

The think tank noted that the Philippine economy was already on weak footing, even before the global energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East, due to the fallout from the multibillion-peso flood-control corruption scandal. As such, GDP growth slowed further to a post-pandemic low of 2.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter.

Capital Economics also cited that the second-quarter GDP expansion was the weakest outside the Covid-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis in 2008 to 2009, while pointing to more timely indicators such as purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs), which have provided mixed signals on economic activity in the third quarter.

The Philippine economy grew by an average of 2.6 percent during the first half of 2026, well below the government’s full-year growth target.

Capital Economics sees elevated global energy prices keeping Philippine inflation above six percent for the rest of the year, which the think tank said would dampen consumer spending.

Headline inflation eased slightly to 6.1 percent last August, but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the September rate to settle within the 6.4- to 7.4-percent range, potentially accelerating amid higher oil and food prices, plus a weaker peso.

Inflation averaged 5.2 percent during the first eight months of 2026, way above the government’s two- to four-percent target band for manageable year-on-year consumer price hikes.

Capital Economics expects Philippine inflation to average 5.6 percent this year, before easing to a within-target three percent next year and 2.3 percent in 2028.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Considering all the factors and what has happened economically over the past six months, are you convinced that there is no way to boost the nation’s economic growth this year? Do you think the government has been negligent with economic management? Do you find it ironic that as host of the ASEAN Summit, the Philippines is looking like the economic weakling of ASEAN?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
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