To speed up tourism recovery: Tourism players urged to join virtual travel fair taff Member

Singaporean digital exhibition platform provider, Unique Event and Exhibition (UEE), to spend at least P11 million to help the Philippines speed up its tourism recovery efforts by promoting the country’s key destinations to Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The UEE team led by Unique Event founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Sebastian Yap was in Cebu Thursday, April 27, 2023, to invite tourism stakeholders to participate in its inaugural Philippine Digital Travel Fair, which will be launched between August to December 2023.

According to Yap, the UEE is investing at least P3.7 million (300,000 Malaysian Ringgit) in Malaysia promotion, P4.17 million in Singapore (100,000 Singaporean Dollars), and P3.5 million (500,000 Hong Kong dollars) in Hong Kong digital travel fair, all to promote the Philippines. Combined, the UEE and the Tourism Promotion Board of the Philippines will spend more than P11 million for the basic expenses of the virtual travel fair.

The virtual travel fair will feature various tourism-related businesses and destinations in the Philippines, including hotels, resorts, travel agencies, tour operators, and airlines. Participants will be able to showcase their products and services on the digital fair platform by offering special deals and discounts to potential customers.

“We are excited to be partnering with the Tourism Promotion Board Philippines in organizing this travel fair. We believe that this digital platform will provide a unique opportunity for tourism-related businesses in the Philippines to reach a wider audience and generate new leads and sales,” said Foong Cheng Hon, Chief Operating Officer of Unique Event and Exhibition.

With the obvious resurgence of travel activities all over the world, Yap aims to attract a conservative estimate of 150 exhibitors from various tourism players across the Philippines, seen to generate millions of potential travelers, as the digital platform allows an unlimited number of online visitors globally.

Yap believes that the Philippines has huge potential over its counterparts in Asia, like Bali Indonesia, and Thailand among others, as the country has a long list of diverse destinations. However, he said the Philippines will just have to do more in terms of promotion and attracting tourists.

Yap mentioned that for Singapore tourists for instance, about 1.2 million traveled to Bali, Indonesia, and another 800,000 visited Phuket, Thailand. However, with the Philippines' vast choices of islands and unique destinations only 300,000 Singaporeans traveled to the country in 2022, despite Filipinos’ fluency in English.

“Remember, Bali is just a small island in Indonesia,” Yap noted explaining further that the Philippines has thousands of islands to choose from, yet foreign tourists, including Singaporeans still have to discover the Philippines.

Aggressive promotion is needed for the Philippines to be made known to every foreign traveler, he reiterated.

“There's no reason why the Philippines cannot attract more tourists from Asia (or other countries) or from Singapore to the Philippines,” Yap said adding that Philippine tourism stakeholders should do more in attracting tourism money to the country.

Looking at this figure, Yap believes that the Philippine “tourism players are not doing enough to lure the international market.”

Participating in the cost-effective virtual travel fair is one of the boldest and most effective actions that tourism stakeholders should do to take advantage of the multi-million-dollar foreign tourism potential, he added.

Compared to joining physical or traditional travel fairs abroad, digital travel fair is the most cost-effective as promotion investment is cut more than half, yet getting the same impact in terms of audience, Yap explained.

In this time and age, digitalization is an essential element of the modern travel experience, allowing companies to streamline processes, increase efficiency, and provide a more personalized service to their clients. By focusing on Cost Savings, Green Economy, and Digitalization, the travel industry can build a stronger, more resilient future, Yap added.

"The Philippines Digital Travel Fair is a timely initiative that aims to provide our tourism stakeholders an additional platform to market and promote their products and services to a wider audience of these targeted markets, helping in revitalizing the Philippine tourism industry,” said Maria Margarita Montemayor Nograles, Chief Operating Officer of the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines.

UEE and the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines are inviting various travel and leisure sector businesses in the country, including hotels, resorts, destination management companies, tour operators and agencies, and transportation services providers to participate in the upcoming Philippines Digital Travel Fair.

Virtual exhibitors will only have to pay the usual fair participation fee, personnel to man the 24-7 online booth to assist online clients and other minimal expenses.