With over 7,100 islands, the Philippines has always been one of the favorite destinations for adventure seekers, nature lovers and tourists. Having beautiful and breathtaking sights and attractions, it is not a surprise that foreigners and local tourists alike flock the country.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) in San Francisco is on the forefront to encourage, promote and develop programs that builds tourism in the Philippines as a major socio-economic activity to generate foreign currency and employment to spread its benefits to both the private and public sector. One of the four (4) tourism offices in North America that undertake the marketing of the Philippines as a prime tourism destination, the DOT in San Francisco covers ten (10) states in northwestern United States namely Northern California, Northern Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and two provinces in Western Canada, namely British Columbia and Alberta. The office is manned by Mr. Rene de los Santos (Tourism Director), Mrs. Ma. Debbie Gallano (PRO), Mr. Juan Gabriel Agcaoili (Administrative Officer) and Ms. Theresa Bautista (Tourism Assistant).
Projects and programs
Among the major programs the DOT undertakes to entice various types of visitors to the Philippines include participation in travel and tourism trade shows, exhibits and expositions, like the Seattle Travel Show, Bay Area Travel Show in Santa Clara, California, Morris Murdock Travel Show in Salt Lake City, Utah and EAT! in Vancouver, Canada.
The DOT also has developed an online educational module for travel professionals who want to specialize on Philippine travel and tourism by logging on to www.travelagentacademy.com and undergo a short online training program in four modules. Passing the exam will award a certificate of completion to the travel agent as a certified Philippine Specialist.
The distribution system of Philippine tour products has also been upgraded to meet the changing travel trends among North American travelers with the development of a website that is dedicated to the US market. The new website, www.experiencephilippines.ph has a Travel Mall which features all possible Philippine tour programs being offered by tour operators and travel agents. Prospective tourists can find travel bargains and other tourist information in the website and could instantaneously make reservations of their tours to the Philippines via its online reservation system.
The Philippine Department of Tourism in partnership with the Philippine Consulate General and the Philippine Trade and Industry, undertakes an annual promotional tour to expand Philippine travel business and encourage travelers that have been to the country for a long time to revisit their homeland. The Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour of the Philippines is done yearly in the month of July and has attracted hundreds of participants to join this special tour which is led by no less than the top officials of Philippine Embassies and Consulates. Aside from visiting top tourist destinations, the participants have the chance to visit Malacanang Palace and have courtesy meeting with the Philippine President.
Other DOT programs include the Consumer Promotions, Publicity and Public Relations, and the department’s assistance to US and Philippine-based organizations for business and cultural missions.
Major market segments
The Philippine Tourism Office in the United States concentrates its efforts in marketing the following market segments which the country has unique advantages.
One of the major market segments actively being promoted among the North American traveling market is diving. Having identified as the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity, the DOT has actively promoted the country’s diving industry through the conduct of Philippine dive seminars and participation in diving shows like the DEMA Show, the largest diving show in North America. Advertisements in dive magazines are also placed to heighten the interest of dive tour operators and travel agents, and divers on Philippine diving. It also organizes dive familiarization trips to the Philippines for dive tour operators, dive tour leaders and underwater media people or photographers.
There is a dive spot for every time of diver in the Philippines. Among the popular diving sites are found in Anilao, Palawan, Puerto Galera, Dumaguete, Cebu, Bohol, Davao and Tubbataha Reef which was declared by UNESCO as one of the world’s heritage sites. These sites teem with big fishes, marine turtles, nudibranchs, colorful reefs, World War II wrecks and underwater caves, which amaze every diver.
Another market segment is adventure, having hundreds of extreme escapes waiting for every adventurer from aquatic sports to hiking, and spelunking which satisfy to any kind of craving for adventure at very affordable budget, from accommodation, transportation and food. Aquatic adventures include sea kayaking in Calamian Islands in Palawan where an enthusiasts can explore pristine, palm-fringed limestone islands or in famous destinations like Subic Bay and Boracay Island. Other activities are white water rafting in Cagayan de Oro River or surfing in La Union, Zambales, Leyte or the internationally known Siargao in Surigao province.
Our country’s natural wonders offers soft to extreme adventures depending on the liking of every adventurer like mountain hiking in world famous Banaue Rice Terraces or mountain biking in the Cordilleras. Rock climbing and cave exploration are also haven for enthusiast. The St. Paul Subterranean River, the world’s longest underground waterway fascinates every adventurer while the caves in Sagada feature spectacular lime formations and hanging coffins.
Lastly, health and wellness and medical tourism has also been recently launched by the Philippine government offering its healthcare services to the world through its state-of-the-art diagnostic and medical equipment, competent medical practitioners and excellent medical services at a fraction of the cost in other countries. Philippine hospitals and specialty centers offer a full range of health care services from health screening, cosmetic treatments and health management to cardiac treatments, bariatric surgery and other highly specialized procedures. The caring and nurturing spirit of Filipino professionals makes the Philippines different from the rest of medical tourism destinations in the world.
DOT San Francisco has participated in the World Medical Tourism Summit and Conference held in San Francisco, California and assists medical institutions in marketing their products to Americans particularly the Filipino-American communities.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the Philippine’s tourism campaign is rated as the best improved in Asia with a 15.79% annual growth rate for the period 2003 to 2007, the highest in Southeast Asia, and surpassing the 7 percent increase of tourist traffic recorded by countries in Asia-Pacific Region.
From foreign tourist arrivals of 1.9 million in 2003, the Philippines managed to entice 3.1 million visitors in 2007. Correspondingly, the tourism industry has generated foreign exchange earnings amounting to more than $ 3 billion yearly, as each tourist spends an average of $1,000 during his stay in the country, i.e. computed from an average stay of 10 nights and $100 daily expenditures which were mostly spent in accommodation, food and beverage, tours, in-land transportation, entertainment and other incidental expenses.
On the other hand, the United States has remained a top source of visitors for the Philippines, generating a total of 578,983 visitors in 2007. This market accounted for about 20% of the country’s visitors and grew at an average of 9% over the period 2003 to 2007.
Philippine tourism is expected to remain a top foreign exchange earner and job creation of our country in the coming years considering the major tourism infrastructure projects in the Philippines and the aggressive marketing campaigns being undertaken in major sources of foreign visitors like the United States.
For more information on the programs of the Department of Tourism, you may contact them at the Philippine Center Building, 447 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 with telephone number (415) 433-6666.
(With special thanks to Mr. Rene delos Santos and Mrs. Debbie Gallano for their assistance.)
(Published November 28, 2008 p.sf2 NC)
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
| Comments |
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
