This will be supported by larger budgets from the government, revealed Maricon B. Ebron, TPB deputy chief operating officer, marketing and promotions, speaking at Asean Tourism Forum.
To achieve its rosy target of 7.5 million tourist arrivals this year, Philippines’ Tourism Promotions Board (TBP) will focus on 10 major activities including ‘bring home a friend’ (a referral incentive programme encouraging Filipinos to invite foreign friends to visit), a dive fiesta, regional cross-selling missions as well as a mega media familiarisation trip in April.
This will be supported by larger budgets from the government, revealed Maricon B. Ebron, TPB deputy chief operating officer, marketing and promotions, speaking at Asean Tourism Forum.
While she kept mum on actual figures, Ebron described the budget as being ‘bigger’ than what she had ever seen in her 39-year career in the industry.
Tourism efforts will be shifted toward the lesser-known areas such as Iloilo city, Sagada, Banaue, the Ilocus region, Legazpi as well as Siargao in order to address issues of overcrowding in popular islands such as Boracay, Cebu and Palawan.
Last year, Philippines saw 6.62 million tourist arrivals, a figure which is ahead of its target of 6.5 million, despite reports about safety and political concerns largely from the western markets.
“When it comes to travel, Europeans and Americans keep coming despite travel advisories and the negative reports. I think that shows our continuous allure,” said Ebron.
South Korea remains the largest source market for the Philippines, followed by China with double-digit increases and the US.
Rounding up the rest of the list are Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, the UK and – the only ASEAN countries – Singapore and Malaysia.
Tourism receipts generated stood at P313.6 billion (US$6.17 billion).