Over
200 top international tour operators and travel agents joined PHITEX
2018
More
than 200 travel agents and tour operators visited the Philippines to
attend one of the biggest and most significant travel trade events in
the country – the Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) 2018.
Organized by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of
the Department of Tourism (DOT), PHITEX 2018 served as a venue for
the world’s top travel and tour buyers to meet over 220 local
sellers and discuss how best to promote the Philippines as a premier
travel destination in Asia.
Held
at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, PHITEX 2018 is now in its 17th year
and aims to contribute more to economic growth and provide more job
opportunities for thousands of Filipinos nationwide.
Tourism
Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said, “The tourism sector
continues to be a key economic driver in the country. It has
contributed 12.2% in the country’s GDP in 2017. This has exceeded
our target of 10% in 2022 in the national development plan. At the
same time, tourism has provided business employment for 5.3 million
Filipinos.”
“Last
year, PHITEX saw an increase in the number of buyers and first time
sellers with business generation computed at Php 2.3 billion, a big
leap from 2016 record of Php 1.7 billion,” said TPB
Officer-in-Charge Arnold Gonzales.
PHITEX
2018 is slated on the theme, “Tourism is our business: Guarding our
Environment, Reliving our Culture.” It kicked off with a pre-tour
in Bataan, Laguna, Tagaytay, and Batangas, which featured unique and
interesting Philippine culture and heritage.
Highlighting
the event was the Travel Exchange (TRAVEX), an exclusive
business-to-business appointment between Philippine sellers and
international buyers. The foreign travel agents were introduced to
the country’s best marketing trends and practices and were able to
experience first-hand hand the diversity of the country’s best
tourism products and services that they can promote in their home
countries. On the other hand, sellers were able to offer globally
competitive tour packages to the international market and learn other
countries’ trade strategies to apply to their own practices.
More
than 30 countries participated in this year’s event. Key buyers
include Korea, China, Japan, USA, Canada, and Australia, with new
participants from New Zealand. There were also participants from
Germany, United Kingdom, Middle East, Russia, Singapore, and Canada,
to name a few.
Aside
from the pre-tour and the two-day TRAVEX, buyers were also treated to
a five-day post tour to main attractions and destinations in the
country namely Bicol,
Davao, Palawan (Puerto Princesa-El Nido and Coron),
Dumaguete-Siquijor-Sumilon and Ilocos.
This allowed the buyers to experience first-hand the beauty and
warmth of the Philippines.
Seminars
on sustainable tourism and culture and tourism were also held for the
local sellers. These were conducted by former Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary and known Filipino
environmentalist and philanthropist Gina Lopez and Cultural Center of
the Philippines (CCP) president Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso.
Since
its foundation in 2001, PHITEX has been continuously putting the
Philippines at the forefront of the global tourism market. It has
helped promote the country not only as a premier destination for
travel but also for trade, lifestyle, entertainment and business
opportunities.
For
more information, visit www.phitex.ph.
Post a Comment