The Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, is hopeful of continuing its record growth of 2016 from the Indian market in 2017 by targeting more FIT travellers, Leisure and MICE travellers. Philippines has registered a growth of about 21.37 per cent, in tourist arrivals from India last year. To sustain and grow tourist traffic from the Indian market, the DOT recently organised training sessions for travel trade partners in Ahmedabad and Delhi.
The 25 member delegation, comprising hoteliers, airlines, and representatives of tour attractions, interacted with over 200 key travel and tour operators, MICE providers, up-market leisure operators and media personnel. Glen Agustin – Chief Tourism Operations Officer, Market Development Division, DOT Philippines, led the delegation. The training sessions included interactive B2B sessions, destination awareness, education programmes and workshops to aid trade members in planning itineraries and responding to customer queries.
Agustin said, “India is a growing market for the Philippines. In 2016, it has jumped into the list of top 12 source markets and this year we are aiming to achieve the mark of 100,000 visitors from India. The training programmes are one of the most effective ways to interact in-depth with valuable trade partners and impart destination knowledge. I am very pleased with the outcome of this initiative and would like to carry out similar programmes at other important cities in future.”
Located at the very eastern edge of Asia, the Philippines are home to more than 7,000 islands, and are famous for beautiful landscapes, adventure locations and warm hospitality. “Some of the most popular tourism products preferred by the Indian tourists are Manila city tour, Pagsanjan tour, Cebu heritage city tour and island hopping tours in Bohol, Palawan and Boracay,” Agustin added.
