The never-ending journey

MANILA, Philippines - Bitten by the travel bug since he was a teenager and after visiting over a hundred countries, Jaime Ferrer, Jr., views travel as a way to promote the Philippines.

For people like businessman and property developer Jaime Ferrer, Jr., there is a world of difference between being a tourist in a foreign land and being a traveler on a journey. A tourist looks at his visits from the point of view of hotels, landmarks, and itineraries; a traveler relishes meeting new people, learning new cultures, getting lost to find out what the place is all about.

Stories and experiences are always fresh and endless for Ferrer, who has visited 121 countries – and counting. From his very first travel abroad to Hong Kong as a young man in May 1964, it became clear that traveling would be his life and passion.

He has climbed the Great Wall of China, gazed at the great pyramids in Egypt, professed his admiration at the Taj Mahal, drove with gazelles and lions on an African safari, and enjoyed cappuccino and baguettes at a café in Paris. But he lists the Holy Land (Israel) and Rome, Italy as his favorite. “Being Catholic, I suppose one is easily drawn to highly spiritual places,” he says, observing that many Catholic churches in Europe have become more vibrant with the presence of Filipino expatriates who are actively involved in church activities.

Roving diplomat

Ferrer, who is as judicious with his enterprises as he is with documenting his trips abroad, has recorded meeting at least 5,000 foreigners and joining about 32 two-week cruises around the globe. But documenting his travels isn’t merely just for posterity. Ferrer has found a good cause: in meeting fellow travelers, he has made it a point to introduce the Philippines to them.

He surmises: “Traveling has a way of making one appreciate what one has left at home. Not that you’re not enjoying what you are encountering in every foreign land you visit, it’s just that your mind becomes broader, you sense differences and similarities, and somehow, you get a better point of view of how our country and our fellow Filipinos are standing out in this global landscape.”    

In a sense, he adds, his trips have transformed him into a roving diplomat. “As part of my exchanges with foreigners, I always see to it that they leave our dialogue with a good impression and a little bit more knowledge about the Philippines. On the other hand, when I see a Filipino overseas worker, be it a chance encounter on a street, restaurant or cruise, I have this urge to talk to them, find out how their life is, and give them encouraging words for the hard work and sacrifices they’re putting in for their families back home.”

In the course of his interactions with Pinoys abroad, Ferrer thought of encouraging local government offices to provide brief seminars to Filipino workers about to work abroad so that they may somehow impart more knowledge about our country and culture to their foreign employers or co-employees. “We have tens of thousands of kababayans who can serve as unofficial tourism agents, all they need are incentives. It would be good to have them encourage people to visit the Philippines. Now, the question is how to translate their being unofficial ‘travel agents’ into incentive programs offered by the Philippines government.”

Purposeful journey

A couple of years ago, he put up a small real estate business with low- to mid-range housing projects that would cater to Pinoy overseas workers. The area is a property south of Manila that he owns but decided to give to Filipino expats who have been working hard to save up for a house for their families back home.

That sense of giving is nothing new to Ferrer whose father, the late Jaime N. Ferrer, was a known public servant. He has imbibed the older Ferrer’s legacy of service and nationalism. “Life and living in this country has been good for my family, so we feel it’s just right to give back what blessings have been granted to us. Helping the kababayans we meet abroad is the one that’s closest to my heart now.”

Though many families have already benefited from this pet project, Ferrer says his love for traveling and finding out how else he could help our heroes abroad remain foremost in his heart and mind.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once wrote, “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” As a travel aficionado, Ferrer relates to that idea of not setting deadlines for himself when it comes to future travel plans. Who knows what other adventures – and deeper insights – his journeys will bring? “My life would not be complete or whole if it weren’t for traveling. Just when you think you know everything, along comes an exciting place to be in, new people to meet and befriend, and new experiences to share with family and friends. I like traveling because it always opens my mind up. And most of all, in my encounters with noble Filipinos working abroad, it also makes me have a better appreciation of our home, the Philippines.”