Tags: Tourism
By Alexander Villafania
MANILA CITY, METRO MANILA – In an effort to entice local businesses to travel in the Philippines, the Philippine Tour Operations Association (PHILTOA) has embarked in a nationwide campaign to promote what it identified as the top emerging business destinations.
There are about two emerging destinations from each of the 14 regions in the Philippines. These locations range from Pangasinan and La Union in Region 1 down to Butuan and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao in Caraga Region.
Other places include Baler in Aurora, Zambales, San Juan in Batangas, Marinduque, Naga in Camarines Sur, Silay, Dumaguete, Catarman in Northern Samar, Cagayan de Oro, Samal, and Sarangani.
These destinations were chosen specifically for the availability of access infrastructure as well as presence of commercial locations, which enables entrepreneurs to visit for leisure and for establishing commerce.
In an interview, PHILTOA President Cesar Cruz said they have also set up several tour package rates from P500 to P10,000 for traveling local businessmen.
“We worked with the members travel agencies of PHILTOA and some hotels to create these package rates. That way, businessmen can choose their budget for the destinations they want to visit.”
They are also working with the Department of Tourism (DOT) to expand marketing campaigns both local and and international to get entrepreneurs from abroad to visit the Philippines and establish their business locally.
PHILTOA will showcase these top business destinations during the upcoming Philippine Travel Mart Conference in September. Cruz said several international travel experts will come to the Philippines for several days to tour these destinations.
Cruz said that tourism in the Philippines has been growing in the past two years. From 2008, where there were about 2 million international visitors, the current statistic is about 3 million.
However, Cruz said the Philippines is still behind in international visits, hindered by several factors that includes lack of security, problems with the airline industry, and some inadequacies in infrastructure makes travel easier.
Cru also stressed that both private investments and government involvement in building better infrastructure are key elements in promoting tourism in the Philippines.
He compared the Philippines to other Asian countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia, which have close involvement between private firms and their respective governments for tourism programs.
“You still have to give credit to the administration of former DOT Secretary Ace Durano who really marketed the Philippines. We hope that the new secretary (Alberto Lim) will further endeavor to promote the country’s tourism industry,” Cruz said.
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