PHITEX 2011 geared to launch Phl tourism diversification drive

MANILA, Philippines - The forthcoming Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) 2011 will practically launch the product diversification campaign of the Department of Tourism (DOT), effectively making the country’s brand cover all the needs of the global tourism market, including its sub-segments.

DOT Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio III, PHITEX secretary-general, said the event, in introducing the country’s “undiscovered treasures,” would also highlight a complete menu of “attractions, activities, and advantages” of visiting the Philippine archipelago.

“The three ‘As’ (attractions, activities and advantages) will depict and characterize the Philippines as a ‘triple A’ destination with all and everything that a tourist needs, including value for money,” Enerio said.

“And this brand image — spanning sports, holiday vacations, adventures, shopping, education, incentive travel, film-making, geological and scientific explorations, historical and cultural tours, professional and industrial visits, international meetings and events, weddings and honeymoons, health and wellness, medical and dental, agri and eco-tourism, and business and investment tourism, among many others — shall be inculcated in the minds of the visiting travel agents from 24 countries around the world who will later sell our Philippine tourism to their captive clientele back home,” Enerio added.

The foreign travel agents, numbering at least 200, will come from Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Italy, Russia, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, and United Arab Emirates.

They are joining the PHITEX 2011 to do business with the various sectors of the local tourism industry.

Slated at the SMX Convention Center, the PHITEX 2011 starts on Aug. 31 with educational seminars for local participants and a city tour for the foreign travel agents, and will culminate in a Travel Exchange (TRAVEX) on Sept. 1 and a Philippine Travel Mart exhibit on Sept. 2.

The TRAVEX is a full day of pre-scheduled one-on-one, business-to-business meetings between foreign travel agents and the local sellers of tourism products and services, while the educational seminars will enable the participants to embark on demand-driven product development and strategic marketing campaigns that can generate high tourism volume.

“There will also be post-event tours for the foreign travel agents on Sept. 2 to give them a first-hand experience of the Philippine tourism brand that they will promote to their clients in their home countries,” Enerio said.

The post-event tours include Palawan, Davao, Bohol, Boracay, Bicol, Pampanga, Bataan, Taal, Puerto Galera, Ilocos, and Cebu.

“Some of the travel agents are from untapped foreign markets. So this 11th PHITEX dubbed ‘Philippines: Undiscovered Treasures’ also becomes a venue for our global market development and expansion,” Enerio said.

The theme “Undiscovered Treasures” complements the government’s “pocket open skies” policy as it brings global attention to the country’s secondary international gateways like the airports in the cities of Davao, General Santos, Cebu, Puerto Princesa, and Laoag and Clark, which can all become tourism hubs in the Southeast Asian region.

“While we protect our local airline industry through reciprocity agreements, we also have to open our airports in unserved or inadequately served areas to foreign airlines, including budget carriers, that can bring tourists to our undiscovered treasures and further invigorate our Philippine tourism,” Enerio said, citing the DOT’s determination to hit its target of 3.75 million inbound visitors for full-year 2011.

Enerio is urging all sectors of the tourism industry to participate in PHITEX to take advantage of the business opportunities and the skills that they can acquire from the event.

For more information, contact the PHITEX 2011 secretariat at 525-7320, 525-9318 local 270 and 240; fax at 521-6165 or 525-3314; e-mail at phitex@dotpcvc.gov.ph or phitexsecretariat@yahoo.com; or visit www.phitex.net.

Organized by the Tourism Promotions Board, the marketing arm of the DOT, PHITEX 2011 is supported by the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, Philippine Tour Operators Association, Philippine Travel Agencies Association, and Philippine Airlines.