The Philippine tourism has generated P3.33-billion business leads as a result of the Department of Tourism's (DOT) promotion and post-pandemic efforts, Tourism Secretary Christina G. Frasco disclosed.
(Department of Tourism)
In a media briefing, Frasco discussed the tourism roadmap for the country under the post-pandemic economy and the efforts of the DOT to transform the Philippines into a "tourism powerhouse in Asia."
“Through the efforts of the DOT and our attached agency, the Tourism Promotions Board, we have ushered in no less than P3.33 billion in estimated sales leads generated out of the various international expos that we have participated in across all hemispheres in the world – in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and the like," she bared.
"Domestically, we have also tried to connect our regions to each other in terms of promotions and access to connectivity and travel opportunities such as our North Luzon Travel Expo, our Mindanao Travel Expo, and soon — our Central Philippines Travel Expo, because admittedly, siguro meron pa tayong mga kababayan na living in Luzon for example, that have never been to Mindanao, living in Central Visayas, that have never been to the hinterlands of northern Luzon,” the tourism chief added.
Frasco also talked about the launch of the "enhanced tourism slogan", noting that while the agency will continue to market the country as a “fun destination”, it would also highlight that the Philippines is "a destination with a rich and diverse Filipino culture that can offer substantial, immersive, and purposeful experiences, perfectly matched with the love and warm hospitality of the Filipino people."
“We are enhancing the tourism slogan and we'll definitely take into consideration the opinion of our various stakeholders. May I just highlight that global trends, supported by data from various reliable and reputable tourism-related publications, have indicated that post-pandemic, people's reasons for travel have also changed, chief of which is that people now wish to have some sense of substantive, immersive, and cultural authentic experiences where they have opportunities to get to know the culture of the place that they're visiting. People also value the opportunity to get to know communities," she noted.
"These trends correspond very well to the assets of Philippines tourism that have yet to be fully maximized – our culture, our people, our communities. And that is why the enhanced tourism slogan will give our country an opportunity to market itself not just as a fun destination, which it will continue to be, but also a destination for everything else that includes highlighting our culture and our people.”
Meanwhile, Frasco also highlighted the salience of prioritizing infrastructure, connectivity, and digitalization.
“May I also qualify that the promotion of the Philippines tourism does not hinge on a branding campaign alone. More importantly, it highly depends on product development, improving aspects of the Philippine tourism industry that situates our country lower than our ASEAN neighbors,” she said.
She also stressed the need for tourism infrastructure, discussing the existing flagship tourism enterprise zones (TEZ) that are ready for investment which include San Vicente, Palawan; Panglao Island in Bohol, Corregidor Island in Cavite; Mt. Samat in Bataan; Clark, Pampanga; the vicinity of Rizal Park where the Manila Ocean Park is presently located; and 15 other registered TEZs.
