DOT promotes RP at World Travel Fair

Thousands of travel industry officials and professionals, including representatives from the Philippines, gathered at the World Travel Market (WTM) to stimulate tourism trade. Held at Excel in the Docklands, WTM 2010 attracted nearly 27,000 visitors throughout its four-day run, an increase of 10% from last year. Alongside hundreds of other countries, the Department of Tourism (DOT) continued to promote the Philippines as a prime destination for travelers, showcasing its nature, culture and lifestyle.

“By way of attending this kind of global event, we will be able to gain business-to-business contracts. We’re aiming to gain business from all over the world,” said Chit Afuang from DOT London. The 153-square-meter Philippine stand was strategically located at the front of the Asian section, which boosted its presence at the event.

It was designed to present key attractions of the Philippines, including images of sandy beaches, clear sea waters, and lush mountainous areas. It featured several decorative plants, a lounge area featuring Philippine products, a ‘Jeepney Bar’, and over a dozen television screens showing videos of different attractions in the country. The DOT also hired some iconic double-decker buses with Philippine banners to extend their promotion in the streets of London.

“It’s extremely important for each country to present itself as the best, in order to seduce [travelers] and to have ties [with businesses]. Competition is extremely hard now. If you don’t do that, you don’t exist anymore,” explained Gael de la Porte du Theil from Interface Tourism France, who is responsible in promoting the Philippines in the French travel market. Over a dozen Philippine travel companies also attended the event, including tour operators like Annset Holidays and Blue Horizons, and resorts like El Nido, Eskaya, and Manila Hotel.

“We’re here to basically promote the Philippines as a whole and, particularly for me, Boracay. After the economic crisis, we have to be more aggressive. We’ve been hearing positive things about the World Travel Market, and we expect a lot of good feedback from tourism around the world. We have to continue in promoting the Philippines,” enthused Jill Miranda from Fridays Boracay Resort. She continued: “A lot of people from Europe do travel to the Philippines, because the Filipinos are very warm, that’s why they come back. The warmth of the Filipino - that’s extraordinary.”
 
De La Porte du Theil also added: “It’s a kind of paradise of sea, nature, and fauna, and obviously the culture - the culture of the Filipino, which is a mixture of some European culture and some Asiatic culture. All these give an extremely attractive product for people who come hours away from the country, and come to see things they won’t be able to see anywhere else.” The DOT was supported by Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, who attended the event alongside Assistant Tourism Secretary Chicoy Enerio and Deputy Chief of Mission in the UK Reynaldo Catapang.

World Travel Market is an annual business-to-business event for tourism professionals around the world. Now in its 31st year, it continues to attract thousands of participants who collectively generate millions of pounds of tourism trade. Its main agenda include building contacts, discovering destinations, promoting sustainability, and showcasing relevant new technology, discussing industry issues, and promoting tourism. The Philippines has been participating at the event for 11 consecutive years.

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