Tourism in the Philippines

The Philippines, is an archipelagic country located in Southest Asia with Manila as its capital city. The Philippine archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean. The Philippines is a country that contains a myriad of different amalgated cultures and influences. The superficial face of modern Filipino culture has many more influences from the Western world than other nearby Asian cultures. Most of these influences are a product of previous colonization and derived mainly from the cultures of Spain and the United States, with a secondary influence from Latin American cultures who were under Spain during the same period the Philippines was. Despite the visual Western and Hispanic influences, the older Asian aspects of Filipino culture are seen through the strength of filial peity, family and its influence, empahasis on the group before the individual, the concept of maintaining social harmony, ancient cultural beliefs and mythology, the complexities of local pyschology (such as hiya or shame and the concept of saving face ), and accepted social etiqquete between other Filipinos. Within Asia, this Western-Eastern juxtaposition is most seen in the Philippines, and continues to fascinate many a guest to the country.