It was a herculean struggle for Delano Europa to live and migrate to Canada. Being appointed a municipal judge of Solano, Nueva Ecija at a young age, there was certainly a bright future for Europa in practicing law in his land of birth.

However, fate had designed another plan for Europa. After becoming a widower upon the death of his first wife, things changed for him when he met his second wife, a former classmate who's working in Canada as a nurse.

Further, his only daughter Rochelle wanted to experience living abroad. And so, father and daughter packed their bags and flew to Canada in the late 80s.

            From being a judge in the Philippines, Europa was 'demoted' as a laborer in Canada. Life would be easier for him if relied on the good income of his nurse-wife Leticia. However, the hard-working Europa was not used to dole outs and opted to work in an asbestos plant pushing drums. In this job, he would inhale the chemicals that he admitted caused him to age fast.

THIRTY million workers are expected to exit from Japan’s formal labor force, forcing a very insular society to accept 10 million foreign workers.

“That is the greatest challenge and responsibility we face,” Monte Cassim, president of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), told the BusinessMirror.

The global financial crisis has begun to take its toll on the luxury hospitality industry as corporate and leisure travelers either shy away from high-end hotels and resorts or postpone travel plans altogether, but the local head of Ascott International remains optimistic this year, despite the challenging environment.

The Ascott Group is a leading serviced residence owner-operator with nearly 18,000 operating serviced-residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region. In the Philippines, the group operates three brands including its flagship development, The Ascott Residences in Makati, as well as the Somerset and Citadines brands, positioned “lower” than Ascott Makati.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Arthur Guindap, country general manager of the Ascott Group, said that business has slowed down slightly, as he noted the decrease in overall visitors for Ascott Makati.

“Occupancy is at 80 percent but traditionally we run closer to 90, when times were good. But our expectations [this year] are very high,” said Guindap.

He said the group is also waiting for signals of recovery before starting on expansion to other areas in Metro Manila, such as in the Oritgas Central Building district and Alabang, for Citadines, which Guindap described as the company’s growth brand.

The Ascott executive added that despite reports of hotels in the region reducing prices, Ascott has increased its rates. In the latest price index released by Hotels.com, a leading global provider of hotel accommodations, Asian rates dropped 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Globally, the drop was 12 percent, it said.