MANILA, Philippines – Explore the Philippines in a new, different light.

To boost and support local tourism, the Basta Pinas travel portal, www.bastapinas.com.ph, an online site that contains travel information that will help tourists plan their destinations, has been launched.

The website, a joint project of the Department of Tourism and Bonamine, an anti-dizziness tablet, contains latest travel packages and a traveler’s stories and experiences.

The Library of Experiments gives travelers twists in their itineraries such as visiting the location where a film was shot or taking photos of their every 100 steps.

In March, Bonamine partnered with the DoT in launching the first part of the Basta Pinas campaign through a Facebook page that aimed to encourage Filipinos to explore the Philippines. At present, there are about 123,000 Facebook ‘likes’ on the fan page.

At the launch, three personalities from various fields shared their travel stories. Travel author Randy Urlanda shared his visit to Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; Runner Joy Rojas shared how she traveled across the Philippines through running; Surfer Paolo Soler shared how he discovered the beauty of Philippine beaches through his sport.

To encourage the participation of more people, an experiment will be featured on the BastaPinas website every week to encourage people to share their travel experiences and win corresponding prizes.

“Through the Basta Pinas web portal, we hope to build a strong Filipino community that shares the same passion and love for the country’s tourism. The Basta Pinas website is a place where people can share their travel stories and by doing so, help would-be travelers find their way,” said Roz Noriega, Johnson & Johnson Assistant Brand Manager.