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THE
DEPARTMENT OF (DOT) is stepping up its
marketing campaign in Japan, this time tapping a
new group of big travel wholesalers from Nagoya
and Tokyo to push the country’s tourism
destinations |
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to the
Japanese outbound market.
DOT Team Japan head Director Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said the group
included Rakuten Travel of Tokyo, the largest
travel online booking agency in Japan. “The
delegates, representing seven big com
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Indians a
Lucrative Market
—Sec. Durano
By Richard C. Ramos
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The
Japanese, Koreans, Chinese and now
the Indians are coming in large numbers,
adding to the merry mix of Asian
tourists in the Philippines who are
discovering the numerous attractions of
the country.
More known for their prowess in Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) and for
their presence as students in local
colleges and universities, the Indians
are set to redefine their standing among
foreign tourists in the country as among
the most brand-conscious of the lot.
According to Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano, the Indians are
the highest spenders among the top
foreign markets in the Philippines since
entire clans indulge in their desire for
branded goods and merchandise.
“Shopping is their favorite pastime. And such branded goods in the
Philippines are usually not found in
India. Entire families bond together to
purchase such goods here which they find
reasonably-priced,” Durano told
reporters along the sidelines of the
Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex) held
at the Cebu International Convention
Center.
Durano hinted that the malls would greatly benefit from the Indian
market since most malls do carry a wide
genre of signature brands such as Gucci,
Valentino, Ralph Lauren, and the
like—along with other merchandise such
as watches, electronic gadgets, and
cosmetics.
“Moreover, the Indians are amazed at the wide array of shopping
choices since they never expected the
Philippines to carry such brands. They
are also surprised that the Filipinos
speak straight English, thus removing a
large chunk of the language barrier” he
beamed.
New Destinations Sought
When asked why the DOT was con |
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centrating solely on the Asian markets,
Durano replied that it all started in
the second half of 2004 when he felt
that the tourism industry needed a boost
for more regular clients instead of the
seasonal genre.
“There was a distinct need for year-round tourists instead of
experiencing booked accommodations for
only three months in a year. We wanted a
consistent and steady flow of foreign
arrivals from chosen destinations.
Hence, we targeted mainly the Japanese,
Chinese, and Koreans,” he explained.
The new marketing thrusts has evidently worked out quite well since
the Philippines has consistently
experienced record-breaking numbers on
an annual basis from the three countries
alone. The all-time high of the
three-million mark by the year-end is
easily expected to be met.
Before, statistics from the DOT revealed that the number of foreign
arrivals per month would exceed 200,000
only three months in a year prior to
2004.
But since the new thrusts were in place, the DOT has always hit the
200,000 mark every month in recent
years.
The tourism official also disclosed that organizing European
packages to the Philippines are quite
costly and often takes years to bear
fruit. Much unlike the Asian markets
wherein the visitors pour in as early as
the following week in huge numbers.
While European tourists are long-staying and often travel to the
countryside, they usually visit the
Philippines only during the last quarter
of the year in order to escape the harsh
winter season in their own countries.
Additional markets have also been finalized by the DOT in seeking
additional markets in Australia,
Singapore, Russia, and Europe
(especially the United Kingdom, Germany
and Spain). |
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panies in
Nagoya and four in Tokyo, attended the
recently-concluded Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex)
2007, reporting very good feedback, particularly
of Cebu, Bohol and Manila, which they vowed to
promote in Japan,” Bengzon said.
Leading the group were general manager Akira Ishida of the Philippine
Airlines office in Nagoya and board member
Nishikawa of the Japan-Philippine Tourism
Council. They were among the 110 foreign buyers
who transacted business with the 148 delegates
of 86 local seller companies.
It was the first time for Phitex to be held outside Manila, and it
generated an unprecedented number of local and
foreign participants, according to DOT Secretary
Joseph Ace Durano, who hinted that the campaign
has reached expansion mode.
“The last half of 2004, the (tourism) industry needed a boost, so
we focused on markets and market segments that
could immediately bring us the volume (of
foreign arrivals). We did layers and layers of
highly focused marketing to jumpstart our
tourism campaign,” Durano said. This time,
however, Durano is employing Phitex to tap new
foreign markets and revive dormant ones,
apparently in a bid to expand the country’s
global market reach and build on its consistent
record-breaking gains over the past three years
since 2004.
In his welcome remarks at the opening of Phitex, Durano said
“the best is yet to come for Philippine tourism”
as he cited 2007 as “the first time for the
Philippines to have more than three million
tourists.” Phitex is an industry-focused
marketing event that promotes Philippine tourism
directly to selected foreign companies, who
sells travel packages in their respec |
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tive
countries. “This (Phitex) enables us to bring
our marketing campaign at the OTC
(over-the-counter) or POS (point-of-sale) level
through the industry players (travel firms) who
deal directly with the Japanese consumers and
display or distribute our merchandising
collaterals,” Bengzon explained, virtually
affirming the DOT’s ongoing market expansion
thrust.
Just recently, the DOT has assembled a 65-man delegation for the
September 14–16 World Tourism Congress and
Travel Fair in Tokyo Big Sight. The fair,
organized by Japan Association of Travel Agents,
is now Japan’s sole travel industry exhibition
and major tourism marketplace catering to the
17.4-million Japanese outbound market. For this
international event, the DOT Team Japan has
secured 15 booth spaces spanning 135 square
meters, where it will showcase the country’s
tourism attractions focusing on health and
wellness.
Similarly, Continental Airlines is bringing in a group of selected
travel agents to Manila for an incentive tour
this week. “Continental will do a ‘twinning
program’ for Manila and Guam out of Niigata.
This tour is significant since it allows us to
tap into the Niigata market, which is currently
not being regularly serviced by PAL,” Bengzon
said.
“From Sept. 30 to Oct. 16, a Japanese production group will do a
film on Philippine forest mangroves. Likewise,
Toyokawa City Mayor Kazuyuki Nakano will lead a
22-man delegation to the Philippines on Oct.
27-31 to establish sisterhood ties with the
cities of Manila and Bohol. Another 20-man group
from Takatsuki is scheduled to visit Manila next
month,” Bengzon added. |
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Splash to
Wash: Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa, headed by
its General Manager Peter Pedersen and the
resort’s Health, Safety & Environment Committee
chairperson Chief Engineer Antonio Dizon, joined
the world in the massive cleanup of the coastal
area Ocean Conservancy’s Annual International
Coastal Cleanup is the largest and most
successful volunteer event of its kind. Since
1986, thousands of volunteers from around the
globe have cleared over 100 million pounds of
trash from 170,000 miles of shorelines, rivers,
lakes, and wetlands. |
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