Beaches, culture, heritage tours top Phl draws at Chicago show

MANILA, Philippines - Beach holidays, culture and heritage tours emerged as the top draw in the Philippine participation in the Incentive Travel and Meeting Executives (IT&ME) Show held in Chicago, United States recently.

At the same time, Cebu and Boracay topped the list of Philippine destinations that drew inquiries from among the 2,600 visitors of the IT&ME expo, while the image of Palawan caught the interest of most visitors who used it as a backdrop for their photo shoots.

Yet, the most sought-after are neither tourism attractions nor destinations, but destination management companies (DMCs) which the show’s corporate visitors wanted to partner with for their incentive travel needs, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

“Executive meetings abroad and other overseas travel activities requiring DMCs serve as a traditional incentive given by companies to their employees usually as a reward for good performance,” said DOT Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio III.

“This practice, particularly among corporations with international presence, has thus evolved into what is now called “incentive travel,” which accounts for a substantial chunk of the Philippines’ inbound tourism volume and offers a huge potential source of foreign tourists from the world’s globalizing economy,” added Enerio, also the acting executive director of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).

Incentive travel also accounts for a major share of the world’s meetings, incentive, conventions and events (MICE) market, where the TPB is strategically re-establishing the Philippines as a major player after a long absence.

Part of that effort was the Philippine participation in the IT&ME, according to the TPB, citing the Philippines as the only Asian country among the 577 exhibitors in the three-day show.

In a report to Enerio upon her arrival, TPB MICE and business development officer-in-charge Stanie Soriano recommended the increased participation of DMCs in next year’s IT&ME show in order to optimize foreign visitor arrivals from the US corporate and business community.

“Partnerships between US fi rms and our DMCs can increase and enhance the stable infl ow of corporate executives from North America to boost not only our inbound tourist volume, but also our prospects for foreign investments in tourism,” Soriano said.

“We need as many people and sectors, including the DMCs, to speak well about ourselves as our country’s most attractive and vital resource that makes Filipino hospitality a uniquely superior international brand by itself,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez.

“We must be proud of our being a Filipino, and of our history, culture, nature and all the rest that make us what we are — a cheerful and happy nation who loves to share that happiness through the best that we can offer to our guests,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez underscored the importance of the IT&ME as the “Motivation Show” that should “fi rst motivate us to look deep into the most positive attributes of the Filipino and speak proudly about them in order to encourage foreign tourists to experience the Philippines.”

The show offered opportunities to connect directly with the US incentive travel market and learn from business leaders the emerging engagement strategies and tactics, client motivation and retention, motivational meeting services and event management, and innovative incentives and reward packages.

Making up the Philippines’ 55.7-square-meter exhibit booth were tourism merchandising materials and beautiful wall images of the Makati skyline, Pampanga Christmas lanterns, Intramuros, MassKara Festival, Palawan, Bohol and the famous vinta.

Constituting the Philippine delegation were representatives of the TPB, Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority, Philippine Airlines, and Travelvision.

Assisting them was tourism attaché for Chicago Vernie Velarde-Morales.