Rediscover the North » Lakbay Norte 3: Outdoor Adventures of the North Blogger Contest

The North Philippines Visitor Bureau (NPVB) is a non-stock, non-profit organization created in 2006. Founded by the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), NPVB was created for the purpose of promoting tourism in North and Central Luzon, primarily through meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) and by enhancing the visitor experience in the region.
 

One of their major projects is the Lakbay Norte , an 8-day, 8-night media familiarization tour of North Philippines for 20 travel media writers and bloggers on board a Victory Liner bus.

The third staging of Lakbay Norte is scheduled for January 22 to 30, 2012.

So for all the Filipino travel bloggers out there, you may want to try your luck here. I'm also planning to join this contest -- wish me luck!

  

Blogger Contest Mechanics:

On January 22-30, 2012, the North Philippines Visitor’s Bureau (NPVB) in cooperation with Manila North Tollways Corporation and Victory Liner will be holding Lakbay Norte 3. A 9-day Media Tour of North Philippines.

During this event, NPVB will bring a bus load of media participants from broadsheet, TV, travel magazines, and blogs to produce over 100 articles and features about North and Central Luzon.

This year, NPVB will be choosing six lucky bloggers to join the much awaited Lakbay Norte 3: Outdoor Adventures of the North. This familiarization tour is inclusive of transportation around North Luzon from Manila and back, food, lodging, and activities included in the itinerary, excluding personal expenses. Winners who do not reside in Manila will have to fly themselves to Manila at their own expense.

Description of the Terms and Conditions for the Lakbay Norte 3 Blog Contest

Application for the Lakbay Norte 3 Blog Contest (“Competition”) is open to each individual blogger (“Participant” or collectively “Participants”) at www.northphilippines.org (“Website”). A “Participant” is defined as an individual blogger who has accepted experience in writing tourism, adventure, or sports tourism related blog/s in English language and/or bloggers’ local language.

The Competition will be organized by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB) and sponsored by sponsors of the North Philippines Visitors Bureau for this Competition (“Sponsor”). The Competition process will operate as follows:

The submission period to apply as a Participant begins on October 7, 2011 and ends on October 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM (GMT +8) (“Submission Period”).

Review of Submissions and Notification of the Finalists Submissions will be reviewed and judged by a committee consisting of representatives from the NPVB and the media (“Judging Committee”), on an ongoing basis throughout the Submission Period. The twenty (20) selected Participants (“Finalists” or individually “Finalist”) who will participate in the Competition will be notified by the NPVB via email as well as by an announcement posted on Website on or around November 5, 2011.

Notification of the Winners. The competition period to select the winning Finalists will start on November 16, 2010 and last until December 18, 2011 11:59 PM (GMT+8). The winning Finalists (“Winner” or “Winners”) will be notified by the NPVB via email as well as by an announcement posted on the Website and NPVB’s Facebook page on or around December 23, 2011.

1.Participant’s Eligibility: 

1.1 Participants must be available to travel in North Philippines from approximately January 22-30, 2012 in case they win and become part of Lakbay Norte 3 Media fam tour. Participant must complete the Fam Tour.

1.2 Competition is open to Participants of any nationality residing in the Philippines who have reached the age of 18 by the time of submitting his or her application form.

1.3 Participants should are bloggers and have experience in writing tourism, adventure, or sports tourism related blog/s in English language and/or Filipino.

1.4 All Participants are required to provide their true personal details (i.e. name, e-mail, country of citizenship, gender, age, profession, and address). Any invalid, untruthful, or incomplete entry will result in disqualification.

1.5 Participants must be fit to travel at the time of the Lakbay Norte 3 Fam Tour otherwise they are disqualified from joining Lakbay Norte 3.

1.6 All Competition criteria must be fulfilled. Failure to perform any criteria may render a submitted entry ineligible for prize consideration.

1.7 Application is limited to one (1) submission per Participant; individual Participants cannot submit multiple applications, and whose blog the Participant represents has been in existence for at least one (1) year from the start of the Competition (Nov 1, 2011).

1.8 Applicants are required to provide complete and accurate information about their professional background and associations, submitted blog and blog performance as required by the Official Rules of the Competition (“Official Rules”). Participants’ submissions must be their original work; unoriginal entries and/or submissions will be rejected by NPVB.

1.9 Previous participants of Lakbay Norte are not qualified to join the contest.

Each Applicant shall make full and honest disclosure of particulars as requested in the Competition. Any misrepresentation of any facts or particulars may result in disqualification, forfeiture or withdrawal of any prize won at the sole discretion of NPVB

2. Participation Instructions and Requirements of Submission: 

2.1 To participate, visit the Website during the Submission Period (October 7 – October 31, 2011) at http://www.northphilippines.org/lakbaynorte3contest and download the application form. Application requirements must be submitted on or before Oct 31, 2011 11:59 (GMT +8) to info@northphilippines.org with the subject: “My Official Entry to Lakbay Norte 3 Blogger Contest”

2. 2 Each Participant is required to submit the following:

• Accomplished application form
• Links to 5 of your best blog entries (all in the same blog) with photos
• Screenshot of your google analytics showing the URL of your blog

Also participants are required to post an entry in their blogs announcing the Lakbay Norte 3 blog contest.

2.3 Each Participant is required to be present in all processes and procedures of submission and will serve as the primary contact of NPVB.

Failure to submit any of these requirements will render automatic disqualification of the entry.

2.4 Note that the Judging Committee will also take into consideration the above information as part of the criteria in selecting the Finalists.

2.5 The Participants may submit only one entry in the Competition. Only the application submitted originally will be considered an eligible entry. Subsequent applications will be disqualified from selection in the Competition.

3. Judging, Selection, and Notification of Finalists

3.1 Submissions will be judged by representatives of NPVB and the media (“Judging Committee”) to select up to twenty (20) Finalists.

3.2 Submissions will be judged equally on the following four criteria:

• Blogging experience and accomplishments (based on your submitted blog URL which will be verified by the Judging Committee)

• Knowledge about Tourism, Adventure, Sports Tourism

• Blog Content

        • Enthusiasm

3.3 The twenty (20) Participants selected as Finalists will be announced on the Website and be contacted via email on or about November 5, 2011.

3.4 The Finalists will be required to respond to the notification as directed by NPVB within the given period of time. Failure to respond timely to the notification may result in forfeiture of the opportunity to be selected as Finalists and in such case NPVB reserve the right to declare alternate Finalists.

3.5 The Finalists will be required to enter into a contract with NPVB called the “Finalist Agreement” which will be sent via email to be returned complete within a given period of time to be able to go ahead with the Competition. Failure to accept the Finalist Agreement shall result in forfeiture of the opportunity to be selected as Finalists and, in such case, NPVB reserve the right to declare alternate Finalists.

4. Selection and Notification of the Winners of the Lakbay Norte 3 Blogger Contest

4.1 The blog visiting / best blog content selection will last from November 16, 2010 to December 18, 2011. 11:59 (GMT +8)

4.2 Each finalists will be given a finalist number from 1-20 with no particular order.

4.3 Each of the twenty (20) Finalists will submit a 500-word article with the theme “Why I want to visit North Philippines” accompanied with up to 2-3 photos which NPVB will post as a Facebook Note in the North Philippines facebook page together with their profile and finalist number. This will be the Finalist’s official entries.

4.4 Finalist’s entries may receive one vote per profile from the voting Public by way of “likes”.

To receive a vote, an individual must go to the North Philippines Facebook page ang “like” the page first. Then, he can go to the specific post of a Finalist and “like” that entry. Each facebook like to their entry will receive one vote. Each individual can vote more than one Finalist.

4.5 There will be six (6) winners to Lakbay Norte 3 Blogger Competition

• Top Likes: Two winners with the most number of “likes” in their facebook entries

• Best Blog Content: Two winners with the best content and blog consistency

• Sponsor’s Choice: Two winners will be picked by NPVB and/or its sponsors

4.6 The best blog content and consistency will be selected by the Judging Committee with the criteria as follows:

• Quality of the content

• In-depth knowledge

• Persuasion

4.7 The Winners chosen by NPVB sponsors will be at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

4.8 The Finalists whose entries have the most number of likes at the end of the Competition as stated will be declared winners for the “likes” category.

4.9 In the case of tie-breakers, NPVB reserves the right to choose and declare the winners.

4.10 The Winners will be announced on the Website and will be contacted via email on or around December 23, 2012 to confirm eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules.

4.11 Winners will be required to enter into a contract with NPVB called the “Winner’s Agreement” and, unless prohibited by law, a publicity release and other documents as specified by NPVB “Agreement”, all of which will be sent via email, to be returned complete within a given period of time.

4.12 The Winners will be required to respond as directed by NPVB to the notifications within given periods of time. Failure to respond in a timely fashion to the notifications may result in forfeiture of the opportunity and, in such case, NPVB may declare an alternate Winner.

4.13 Blog content review and “likes” counting mechanics and execution will be done at the sole discretion of NPVB

4.14 Decision(s) made by NPVB will be considered final.

Summary of Competition Dates:

Application Period:Oct 7-Oct 31

Pre-Selection: starts as soon as entries come in until Nov 4

Notification of Finalists – Nov 5

Article Preparation – Nov 6-14

Uploading of Entries in Facebook – Nov 15

Contest Period: Nov 16 – Dec 18

Judging Period: Dec 19 – Dec 21

Winners Informed: Dec 23

Lakbay Norte 3: Jan 22-30

TENTATIVE ITINERARY for Lakbay Norte 3

Exact Location of activities, restaurants, and hotels will not be revealed at time until final confirmation.

Side trips are not yet included in this itinerary

View past Itineraries: Lakbay Norte 1, Lakbay Norte 2

Day 1, January 22, Sunday

Call Time
Departure in Manila
Travel Manila-Bulacan
Trekking and Rappelling in Bulacan
Lunch on site
Travel Bulacan-Nueva Ecija
Firing Range at Cabanatuan
Freshen-up at Microtel Cabanatuan
Dinner in Cabanatuan
Travel Time Cabanatuan-Tuguegarao
Check-in at Hotel in Tuguegarao, Rest

Day 2, January 23, Monday

Call Time
Breakfast
White Water Rafting in Kalinga
Lunch on site
Wash up
Dinner in Tuguegarao
Return to hotel

Day 3, January 24, Tuesday

Call Time
Breakfast
Travel Tuguegarao-Pagudpud
Lunch at Pagudpud (Blue Lagoon)
Beach Bumming / Beach Activities
Travel Pagudpud-Laoag
Dinner and Videoke
Check-in at hotel in Laoag

Day 4, January 25, Wednesday

Call Time
Breakfast at Hotel
Biking / Kayaking in Laoag
Wash up at hotel
Lunch
Travel Laoag-La Union
Check-in and Dinner at La Union

Day 5, January 26, Thursday

Call Time
Breakfast at Hotel
Activity in La Union
Lunch on site
Travel La Union-Baguio
Airsoft
Check-in and Rest at Hotel
Dinner
Ghost Hunting Tour

Day 6, January 27, Friday

Call Time
Travel Baguio-La Union
Breakfast
Travel Time Baguio-Pangasinan
Bangus Harvest
Lunch on site
Travel Pangasinan-Tarlac
Dinner in Tarlac
Check in at Tarlac

Day 7, January 28, Saturday

Call Time
Breakfast at Hotel
Go Kart
Travel Tarlac-Subic
Lunch at Subic
Jungle Survival
Thai Spa
Travel Subic-Clark
Dinner at Clark
Check in at Hotel in Clark

Day 8, January 29, Sunday

Call Time
Breakfast at Hotel
Off Road 4×4 in Angeles
Lunch in Clark
Travel Clark-Pampanga
River Cruise
Dinner in a Farm
Shopping
Depart for Manila

Final Itinerary will be announced once it is complete and confirmed. Tour may extend for a total of  9 days.

________________

Disclaimer: Above information are correct at the time of posting. For updates check out the official NPVB announcement or check their official website at: http://northphilippines.org/

Source: NorthPhilippines.org  [Retrieved: 07 October 2011]