Ever wondered living in a place called 'The City of Smiles'? Bacolod City, is dubbed to have that description. Bacolod City is in the Visayas Region in the Philippines, particularly at the northern part of Negros Occidental. 'Stonehill' was the literal meaning of the word 'bacolod' (from 'bakolod' a Hiligaynon terminology). The place was established on a literally mound-like terrain and it was stony. The place is now of Granada District. Muslim raids during those days forced the new settlement to be pushed along the shoreline in 1787. The old site was regarded as the 'old town' or Da-an Banwa.
Sugar plantations have been the archetypal scene along the main roads of Bacolod. This has been the source of the natives' bread and butter and as of the present moment, almost 9000 hectares of agricultural or rural land are dedicated for sugarcane planting. Other source of income and livelihood are fishing, pottery and being engaged to livestock. Knocking in at the doors of international competency in economy, local government established some language centers catering foreigners. This type of business scheme has been giving English tutorials and instructions especially to Koreans. Other subjects and courses are also being offered. The usual colleges and universities around the city are also offering English language instruction for foreign students presently residing at Bacolod City. The onset and the emergence of the so-called business process outsourcing or BPO in most companies had changed the international market big time. In order for most business ventures to survive, they have to adopt this type of market scenario. The city of Bacolod is one of the cities in the Philippines that implemented this business wave. For this reason, there are distinguished BPO companies working in the city like, TeleTech, Transcom, Focus International Teleperformance and Convergys.
The city is highly regarded as the most livable city in the Philippines. Bacolod City is the province of Negros Occidental's capital city. The city prides itself as the only city in the Philippines to achieve a grand slam award for being the greenest and the cleanest highly urbanized city. Traffic jam is never a problem in the city because of the wide roads that prevent congestions. Bacolodnons, the natives of Bacolod, really love to enjoy life and that is the fact behind the moniker the 'City of Smiles'. Their noted festivities are the Pana-ad Sa Negros Festival and Maskara Festival. Making arrangements with some notable travel agencies would make the trip and stay to Bacolod City a reason for tourists to smile. T3 (Trips, Tickets and Tours) Centre is one of the tours agencies of Bacolod located at G/F Bargain Square Mall. Décor Travel Agencia situated at Goldenfields Commercial Complex also provides travel related services. For accommodations and travel needs, SN Travel House and Tours could make special packages for visitors (located at G/F Sea Breeze Hotel, San Juan St.). Mariton Air Travel is another office for tourists' itinerary and lodging needs. These travel agencies have served a lot of tourists who really and literally 'smiling' after their Bacolod adventure. As a travelers' tip, always check the internet for updated information regarding these travel agencies. As a final note, for a lovely vacation, always wear a smile.