We are saddened by the sudden passing of Dr. Gie Lao of Gie Gardens Hotel fame. Speaking of the late Gie, it was she who blazed the trail of the travel and tour business in Bohol way back in the mid-70's. With her Gie Gardens, Gie, a medical doctor, in tandem of husband George, catered to Italian tourists through the family-owned Momo Resort in barangay Bilisan in Panglao town. The Tawala beachfront property was still unknown that time but the Bilisan beach line was already the beach of choice with the Italians enjoying the sun, sand and azure waters.

That started Dr. Gie's fascination with the tourist business. In fact, long before the tourism business was in vogue as it is now, Dr. Gie was already on top of the fledgling enterprise with the Italians as regular clientele. It was to our good fortune that another no-nonsense businessman, the late Alfonso Uy of the burgeoning First Consolidate Bank, tapped this BGlante to handle the branch operations of the Cebu-based Orient Holidays Travel and Tour paving the way for the company to carve a name of its own as the first tour operator to open in Tagbilaran City.

Like a globe that fitted the hand of tourism in Bohol in its early days , our stint with Orient Holidays made a tie up with Dr. Gie's tourist business thus opening the floodgates of what is now a successful tourism enterprise, the precursor of the dozens of travel and tour businesses hereabouts. Our foray into the travel and tour business was backed up by the all-female staff of Towers Assurance Corp., the office of which was located at the ground floor of the prestigious Gie Garden's Hotel. Handling its branch office in this city, the company virtually “virginized” the business of compulsory insurance so much so that at that time, we already earned at least P1,000 a day. That enormous income in 1977, enabled us to maintain an air conditioned offices and affording a sky high rental considering that occupying a building as expensive as Gie Gardens, the occupant must be earning record highs, too.

It was through our coordination with the business of Dr. Gie of catering to Italian tourists that one of our female staff, the former Dolly Javier, was married to an Italian businessman. Dolly who is in town, and lately joined by her husband, will probably attend the burial of Dr. Gie whose families become very close. Dolly and her husband Giovanni Mattarana built a house cum resort in Tawala Panglao, a manifestation that the couple have their teeth cut out of Bohol tourism. With the death of Gie Lao, this BGlante and his own Bohol Sunday Post family, joined the Laos in their hour of bereavement. As our former landlord, we always treasure our days together as partners in carving a niche of what used to be the frontier of Bohol tourism which to this day is already a household name all over the world. We have to thank the initiative of Dr. Gie for her pioneering spirit to develop the humble beginnings of Bohol tourism.