South India travel group picks Phl DOT as best nat’l tourism body

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Tourism (DOT) was picked as the “Best National Tourism Organization” for 2013 by travel and tourism professionals in South India.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said this recognition has inspired the Philippines to further grow the market in India.

 â€œWe are very pleased to know that our Indian counterparts recognize and appreciate how serious we are in what we do. India is one of our priority opportunity source country markets with a potential for high growth,” he said.

“This award will definitely inspire the industry stakeholders to raise our country’s comparative advantage in terms of product offerings, as well as conduct more in-depth studies of this market segment to better prepare and match evolving preferences,” he added.

For his part, India Travel Awards convener Amit Bhasin said: “South India Travel Awards will create an all-India platform to recognize those behind the success of the travel and tourism industry and to recognize their achievements.” 

Bhasin said the DOT was cited for its branding campaign and roadshows in South India, particularly in the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

In 2013, the Philippines organized three roadshows and one location meeting with filmmakers in the region alone to promote various destinations and facilitate business-to-business deals among its private sector partners.

Bhasin said the South India Travel Awards, supported by the Indian Ministry of Tourism, is the first of four regional recognition events (the other three are in the North, East and West) leading to the nationwide India Travel Awards scheduled later in the year.

The South Indian cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai collectively made up 1.22 million out of 5.24 million Indian passports issued nationwide in 2012. 

These were also the top three cities in the number of passports issued the same year. The United Nations World Tourism Organization predicts that India will have 50 million outbound travels by 2020.

Last year, India contributed 52,206 visitors to the Philippines, a 12.53-percent growth from the 46,395 visitors recorded in 2012. Indian tourists comprise 1.12 percent of the total volume of visitors for 2013.