Travel firms shift attention to Asean

 

The Philippine Tourism Operators Association (Philtoa) makes sure that when it holds its 25th Philippine Travel Mart on Sept. 5-7 at SMX Convention Center, Asean tour packages are available— a first for the local travel showcase that has never allowed the promotion of outbound destinations in the past.

“Basically, this is the first time that we are allocating a pavilion for an intra-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) product campaign [involving the member countries] so we [can] boost our tourism economy as one united Asean,” 

Philtoa public relations officer Clang Garcia said during the recent media launch of the 25th Philippine Travel Mart at Island Cove in Cavite province.

Asean tours in the travel fair, however, will not be marketed at the expense of the country’s own.

After all, this is the Philippine Travel Mart whose primary objective is to beef up the local tourism industry.

Philtoa resolved to bundle up Asean destinations with local tourist spots under its Twin City package.

“These Asean packages will be sold with a local destination. For example, [there] will be a combination of Boracay-Bali, 

Manila-Siem Reap, Vietnam-Cebu,” said Philtoa president Oscar Cruz.

The idea is to make the most of the seamless travel opportunities resulting from the economic integration and to create an “Asean hub” in the country, which, Cruz said, will probably be the trend in the member-countries come 2015.

“This means that when you go to Manila or Cebu, for example, you can now be connected to other Asean countries. Let’s say, Puerto Princesa could be connected to Kota Kinabalu. There’s also a direct flight now from Manila to Siem Reap in Cambodia, or to Vietnam,” Cruz said. “We want to establish that the Philippines can be a hub for the Asean, too.”

For these offerings at the Philippine Travel Mart, different airlines operating within the Asean region were also tapped to extend the best airfares to the visitors, he added.

It may be easier for other Asean countries, especially those in landlocked areas, to pull off such a trend because they have more access points and more frequent flights, but Cruz said “it would be best not to ask for something we do not have and instead make do with what we have.”

Besides, in terms of destinations, the country is never far behind, he said.

Philtoa and the Department of Tourism (DOT) are convinced that, with so many destinations all over the archipelago, the Philippines can definitely compete with other countries in tourism.

What sets us apart from the rest of the Asean is that we could easily name 10 destinations for foreign travellers, DOT Assistant Secretary Art Boncato said at the launch.

Banking on this multi-destination feature, the DOT has created an international advertising campaign highlighting various destinations rather than the Philippines as a whole. The first wave of the ads released early this year was composed of 30-seconders for Boracay, Davao, Cebu and Manila. The second wave, which will be rolled out soon, includes Zamboanga and Iloilo, each having its own exposure on international TV channels.

“The strategy of the second wave is really focused on being multi-tier and multidimensional in terms of offerings. So when you go to Cebu, for instance, aside from enjoying the culture of music, color of history, you also enjoy underwater world, diving,” Boncato said.

From January to June this year, around 2.4 million foreigners visited the country, representing a modest increase of 2.2 per cent from the same period last year.

 “From an average rate of around 3,800 pesos (US$87.3) last year, the traveller this year has spent 4,800 pesos. So that’s about a 25-per cent increase in expenditure,” Boncato said.  “And the average stay of a tourist last year was calculated at 10.3 days, this year, we’re [seeing that it’s] around 11.5 days.”