Cover An aerial view of Monaco (Photo: Getty Images)
An aerial view of Monaco (Photo: Getty Images)
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Many people hold a distinct fascination for the romance of Europe. Here’s why Monaco might be the best destination to satiate one’s wanderlust—and why Filipino travellers are excited to visit
There’s no doubt that travel has changed in the past few years. With the romance of Europe luring wanderlusts to sunny shores and its distinctive cobblestone streets, many people have turned their eyes towards the continent and deemed it a must-visit. But while Filipino travellers have become much more curious about destinations across the world, they’ve also become much more discerning of their choices as well.
On November 7, 2023, Tatler Gen.T hosted an intimate luncheon at Shangri-La the Fort with delegates from Visit Monaco and a few Tatler friends to discover how the idyllic state located on the French Riviera has come to be on everyone’s bucket lists.
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Though relatively small—with an area of only 2.1 square kilometres—this sovereign city-state holds plenty of culture and an exciting must-see list to boot. There are the casinos, the Cathedral of Monaco, the Oceanographic Museum founded by Prince Albert I and the beautiful Princess Grace Japanese Garden. Every year, international events are held all over the city, such as the Grand Prix, the Monaco Yacht Show and the Monte Carlo Jazz Festival to name a few. With special guest, Manila di Giovanni present, attendees came to discover the land where this young Filipino-Italian techpreneur is currently based.
Di Giovanni, who is the CEO and founder of DWorld VR has created software that allows one to explore the principality of Monaco while in the Metaverse. These are the insights gained from di Giovanni and our guests who came to speak on the unique pleasures of tech, travel and what excites them most about Monaco.
What makes travel memorable?
Clockwise from top left: Marco Lobregat, Paolo Martel, Jet Acuzar, Manila di Giovanni, Choy Teh, Tim Yap, Ryanne Co, Deniza Marcinkeviciute, Franco Varona, Janina Manipol, Chit Juan, Irene Martel Francisco, Marivic Limcaoco, Chinkee Koppe
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What makes a journey exciting is different for each person. Iran, which was the destination of Chit Juan, the founder of Echostore’s, most memorable journey, was a unique destination that not many people have a chance to visit. Her experience of their unique traditions and welcoming people is what made the ultimate impression. For venture capitalist Franco Varona, and entrepreneur, Marco Lobregat, the Middle East is perhaps their most memorable experience. Their weekends in Tel Aviv and Beirut were a wonderful backdrop for their early adventures. “What’s nice about both of those cities is that they’re both on the beach, on the same coast even,” Lobregat added.
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What makes a destination memorable is its versatility. As Marivic Limcaoco, proprietress of Paris Brocante, says, “[What makes travel memorable] really depends on what kind of traveller you are. Are you a shopper? Do you like culture?” The businesswoman, who arrived from Lyon just the other night, frequently takes frequent sojourns to Europe. “I love [it there],” she says. “I always try to go [to the furthest cities] and that’s why I love Monaco. You can base yourself there to go to all these different places [such as France and Italy].”
Monaco itself has a wonderful nightlife, great culture and different landscapes for people to enjoy. It is also an easy middle point for travels to charming cities around its neighbouring countries.
The most important aspect of travel
Marivic Limcaoco, Chit Juan, Irene Martel Francisco
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There are many considerations when it comes to travel—for many people in our forum, safety was number one. “This is especially so if you’re travelling with children,” adds food writer and editor Chinkee Koppe. “Easy transportation [is also essential]. So is hygiene. You wouldn’t want to be getting sick when you’re abroad. When you have your own family and are with little children, those are some of the things that you have to factor into your plans.”
Producer and storyteller, Janina Manipol agrees. “I’m a big foodie; I love culture. In Indonesia, I was caught off-guard when I caught [the travel sickness] Bali belly—a type of food poisoning. I don’t want that to happen again because it made my trip underwhelming. I wasn’t able to do much after that.”
The tech of travel
Above Manila di Giovanni introduces her exciting projects to the Filipino attendees
Manila di Giovanni introduces her exciting projects to the Filipino attendees
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There’s no doubt that technology has changed the landscape of travel. It’s made things easier for many people. “Booking, checking-in, cross-referencing sources, reviews—they’ve all been made easier thanks to technology,” shares Juan. “It will only get better and better.”
“You can easily research everything now,” adds design enthusiast, Jet Acuzar.
“For example, with ChatGPT. You can say, ‘I’m going to Prague, make me an itinerary’ and it will do that for you,” continues entrepreneur Paolo Martel.
But perhaps one of the highlights of the lunch was di Giovanni’s exciting new announcement. She and her team at DWorld.VR are planning to incorporate El Nido into the Metaverse. This will be the first Philippine city to be virtualised into the space. Di Giovanni, who previously did the same work for Monaco, makes it easy for people to fully immerse themselves into the destination from the comforts of their own homes.
In fact, during the 2023 edition of the Monaco Yacht Show, di Giovanni and her team updated the Monaco Metaverse to include Port Hercule, the only deep-water port in Monaco. Their project to do the same for Palawan aims to encourage people to see and experience the beauty of the Philippines, where di Giovanni's mother originally hails.
Meet more technopreneurs on the Gen.T List 2023.
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Photography: Ian Santos
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