Tag Archives: Philippines

The Philippines has recorded a whopping growth of 37 per cent in Indian arrivals in the month of May, 2017, in comparison to the same period last year, as per a release shared by the Department of Tourism (DOT) Philippines. City of Manila, Pagsanjan, the heritage city of Cebu, Boracay, and Bohol are some of the most popular places among Indian travellers visiting the Philippines. India is currently the 11th source market for the island nation in terms of foreign tourist arrivals and DOT is aiming for double-digit growth this year through aggressive marketing initiatives. Speaking about this growth, SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office India, says, “We are pleased to announce such a ground breaking growth rate in Indian arrivals to the Philippines. DOT engages travel trade partners in various awareness programmes and travel shows in order to maintain and sustain tourist traffic from the Indian market. In 2017, we aim to achieve the mark of 100,000 visitors to the Philippines from India.”  

Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines recently held training sessions for travel trade partners in New Delhi with an aim of achieving 100,000 mark in 2017. A 25-member delegation, comprising hoteliers, airlines, and representatives of tour attractions, interacted with over 100 key travel and tour operators, MICE providers and up-market leisure operators, and provided first-hand information on tourism products. Along with interactive B2B sessions, education programmes, workshops and destination awareness was the key area of focus to aid trade members in planning itineraries. Leading the delegation, Raymund Glen A. Agustin, Chief Tourism Operation Officer, Market Development Group- Russia, India & the Middle East, DOT Philippines, said, “The numbers have been very encouraging the past few years. We registered a growth of 21.37 per cent and are aiming for better numbers this year. The fact that Indians have to pay a fee for the visa and that there is no direct connectivity yet, the growth has been extremely positive.” Highlighting the importance of the Indian market, he affirmed that India has jumped into the list of top 12 source markets for the Philippines and such roadshows would be highly effective in boosting the rank even further.

The Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines will be conducting training sessions in Ahmedabad and Delhi this February, in conjunction with the DOT’s participation in OTM 2017 in Mumbai. The training sessions will be conducted by top suppliers from the Philippines in Ahmedabad on February 24 at Hyatt Ahmedabad and on February 27 in Delhi at The Lalit New Delhi. The objective of the workshop is to educate, interact and establish commercial ties with Indian trade in these cities. Representatives from DOT Philippines along with a 14 -member delegation will interact with over 400 key travel agents and tour operators, MICE and up-market leisure operators. SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism, said, “India being an important source market for Philippines tourism, such training sessions ( our first of 2017) will provide an excellent platform to showcase the destination’s products and services. The Indian travellers’ palate has become experimental and therefore, through our numerous trade initiatives, we envisage the influencers of the Indian travel market to sell the destination more effectively to the end consumers.” The programme for the workshop will include presentations by officials of DOT Philippines, DMCs and hotels from the Philippines in addition to Q&A, detailed networking sessions, entertainment by Filipino artists and a special lucky draw for the participants.

India’s ranking among the Philippines’ top source markets has gone a notch higher this year with the country occupying 12th position, up from 13th last year. Speaking at the launch of a promotional campaign in New Delhi, SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism said, “In 2015, over 74,824 Indians travelled to the Philippines, recording a growth of 22.36 per cent while between January-July 2016, 53,498 Indians have already visited the country. That’s a growth of 25.41 per cent more than the same duration last year. India is now the 12th most important international source market for the Philippines. Once there is direct flight connectivity, we expect the numbers to grow even further.” It has been observed that an increase in MICE movements has lead to the rise in tourism. Additionally, the country is also working on launching visa-on-arrival for groups.

Optimistic by the increasing number of tourists from India, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Philippines along with Her Excellency, Ma. Teresita C.Daza, Ambassador, Republic of Philippines to India launched 135 branded taxis in New Delhi as part of a promotional campaign. Through it, the country attempts to raise awareness of the lesser known places, as well as the popular cities. Speaking at the launch, the ambassador said, “This is one way of raising awareness about the Philippines as each taxi displays various destinations from the country. We hope to encourage more and more Indian travellers to visit the country. The Philipppines has a lot to offer and its slogan, ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ has been very helpful in attracting more tourists.” Additionally, 100 radio cabs were branded in Ahmedabad and Pune earlier this year in an attempt to promote the destination. 2015 recorded a growth of 22.36 per cent over the previous year with 74,824 Indians visiting the country.

Buoyed by the success of its roadshow this February, The Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines is back with yet another four-city roadshow for the travel trade in India during August 2016. The roadshow will commence from Taj Bengal, Kolkata on August 8, The Raintree Hotel Anna Salai, Chennai on August 9, Vivanta By Taj, Bengaluru on August 10 and conclude at The St. Regis Mumbai on August 11. The objective of such B2B sessions is to interact and establish commercial ties with Indian trade in these cities. Representatives from DOT Philippines along with a 20-member delegation will interact with over 400 key travel agents and tour operators, MICE and up-market leisure operators. SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism said, “The year 2016 is witnessing a strong start for Philippines Tourism, especially from the India market. We believe in putting our best efforts to make every roadshow more promising than the last one. The Indian travellers’ palate has become experimental and therefore, through our numerous trade initiatives, we envisage the influencers of the Indian travel market to sell the destination more effectively to the end consumers.” The program for the roadshow will include presentations by officials of DOT Philippines, DMCs and hotels from the Philippines in addition to Q&A, detailed networking sessions and a special lucky draw for the participants.

As a part of its marketing development strategy, the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines has recently branded 100 radio cabs in Pune and Ahmedabad. The DOT, Philippines successfully conducted the ‘Visit the Philippines Year (VPA) 2016’ roadshow for its travel trade partners based in the cities of Pune and Ahmedabad on February 22 and 24, respectively. Speaking at the event, Raymond Glen A. Agustin, Chief Tourism Operation Officer, Market Development Group- Russia, India & the Middle East, DOT Philippines, affirmed that India is an important source market for the Philippines with 74, 824 Indians visiting the destination last year, which was a 22.36 per cent year-on-year increase. Overall, the Philippines expect to welcome 100,000 Indian tourists by 2017. VPA 2016 campaign’s aim is to drive excitement among travellers so that they revisit the country in 2016 for more fun and adventure and to garner fabulous memories to cherish.

The Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines is conducting the ‘Visit the Philippines Year (VPA) 2016’ roadshow for its travel trade partners based in Ahmedabad on February 24, 2016. The 25-member delegation is led by Raymond Glen A. Agustin, Chief Tourism Operation Officer, Market Development Group- Russia, India & the Middle East, DOT Philippines. The delegation comprises of hoteliers, resorts, spas, and representatives of tour attractions, interacted with over 100 key travel and tour operators, MICE providers, up-market leisure operators and media personnel. The roadshow, also held in Pune on Feb 22, included interactive B2B sessions, educaion programmes and workshops to aid trade members in planning itineraries and responding to customer queries in these cities. Speaking at the event, Raymond Glen A. Agustin affirmed that India is an important source market for the Philippines with 74,824 Indians visiting the destination last year, which was a 22.36 per cent year-on-year increase. Overall, the Philippines expect to welcome 100,000 Indian tourists by 2017. VPA 2016 campaign’s aim is to drive excitement among travellers so that they revisit the country in 2016 for more fun and adventure and to garner fabulous memories to cherish. “In order to strengthen co-operation between DOT and our important business partners in the Indian travel industry, several promotional activities such as roadshows, taxi branding, participation in fairs and exhibitions and Fam trips have been carried out and further activities will be organized during this year,” added Glen. As a part of its marketing development strategy, Department of Tourism, Philippines has recently branded 100 radio cabs in Pune and Ahmedabad.  

The Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines is conducting its ‘Visit the Philippines Year (VPA) 2016’ roadshow today in Pune for its travel trade partners in the city. A 25-member delegation, comprising hoteliers, resorts, spas, and representatives of tour attractions, will interact with key travel and tour operators, MICE providers, up-market leisure operators and media personnel. Raymond Glen A. Agustin, Chief Tourism Operation Officer, Market Development Group- Russia, India & the Middle East, DOT Philippines, will lead the delegation. The roadshow will include interactive B2B sessions, education programmes and workshops to aid trade members in planning itineraries and responding to customer queries in these cities. The Indian market continues to be one of the important contributors of international visitors to the Philippines. In the upcoming year, targeting over 25% rise in outbound travel from India.

Registering a huge surge over last year, the Philippines has recorded a growth of 40.54 percent in visitor arrivals from India in October 2015. According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, there were 6590 visitor arrivals in October 2015 against 4689 in October 2014. Between January-October 2015, 61,155 Indian tourists travelled to the Philippines, recording an increase of 24.13 per cent. The India has jumped up to the 12th position for tourist arrivals in the Philippines in September 2015 and is consistently maintaining the position in the top 12 markets. SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office India, has attributed the showing to be in line with DOT’s plan of achieving 100,000 Indian tourist arrivals by 2017. He said that the double-digit growth in arrivals can also be attributed to major metros as well as feeder markets. “One of the main reasons is the increase in disposable income for leisure and travel related pursuits amongst middle and affluent class travellers. There has also been a steady increase in MICE movements as well as FITs and small groups travel from India,’’ he said. Travel agents credited continuous efforts made by the Philippines Tourism Marketing Office for increase in visitor arrivals. Samina Munshi, Director, N Chirag Travels, said, “We have seen an increase in demand and more people are willing to visit the Philippines as a holiday destination. Due to the increase in awareness, we get many queries on a daily basis. We are quite hopeful that 2016 would definitely double the visitor arrival numbers for the Philippines.” Agents also mentioned that there is a definite requirement of new destination matching features such as sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, friendly, economical and safety. …