Philippine tourism wows Portugal

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines stood out at Portugal´s biggest tourism fair, the Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa, held recently in Lisbon.

The annual tourism fair, now on its 27th year, drew the participation of Portugal´s national and regional tourism boards, airline companies, hotels and resorts, tour operators, travel agencies and other members of the tourism industry. This year’s edition saw more than 60,000 visitors and 400 foreign tour operators from 36 countries.

“The Philippines is slowly being recognized as a travel destination by the Portuguese. While there has been around a 14-per cent increase in tourist arrivals from Portugal, there is much more room to grow. All we need to do is to continue to raise awareness of the Philippines to the Portuguese and build linkages between the travel industries of both countries so that a variety of products can be developed for the local market,” said Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier.

Lhuillier also participated in the opening session of the 3rd International Workshop on Religious Tourism in Fatima, Portugal. He noted that the Philippine Embassy was able to work with the Business Association of Ourem-Fatima to sponsor the participation of a Philippine tour operator and that Emirates Airlines sponsored another two tour operators from the Philippines as well.

“Religious tourism is an important sector of the Portuguese tourism industry. Fatima is a major attraction that specifically attracts around six per cent of the millions of tourists that visit Portugal each year. This is a market that has good potential for the Philippines. In fact, tour operators from the Philippines were invited to participate because the Philippines is considered an important market for religious tourism due to its strong Catholic history, faith and traditions,” he added.

The Philippines is slowly being noticed by the Portuguese market as a holiday destination. Following efforts made by the embassy to intensify its tourism promotion campaign, tourist arrivals from Portugal increased by 6.82 per cent in 2013 and by 14.88 per cent in 2014.