The announcement was made early December during a press briefing at the Stamford Plaza in Auckland, New Zealand following the inaugural flight of Philippine Airlines (PAL) to Auckland via Cairns, Australia on Dec. 2, 2015, the latest in PAL’s growing list of international destinations.
The tactical campaign under the banner tourism program “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” has been recognized as the “Best Marketing and Relationship” campaign for 2015 by the prestigious TTG Travel Awards, which also gave the Philippines the honor of being the “Destination of the Year” in 2014.
The success of Visit the Philippines 2015 has been phenomenal, headlined by the Papal visit in January, the culinary event Madrid Fusion in April, and last November’s APEC Economic Leaders Summit. Jorda-Apo reported that from January to September in 2015, the Philippines had recorded 3.9 million tourist arrivals and there were still October and November, plus the peak month of December and throngs of holiday tourists to account for. “The target for this year is five million,” Jorda-Apo said “We’re sure to meet the target.” In 2014, over 4.8 million tourist arrivals in the Philippines were recorded.
But 2016 is promising to be yet another milestone year for Philippine tourism. With all the recognitions the 7,100++ islands of the country have been reaping, such as “Best Island in the World” for Palawan, according to Conde Nast Traveler Reader Choice Awards, and the return of Filipino food on the world stage, “the next big thing in food,” as international food authority Andrew Zimmern put it in 2012, the Philippines and the DoT are poised to strike while the iron is hot, proclaiming 2016 as Visit the Philippines Year “again,” as Jorda-Apo emphasized at the PAL-organized press briefing in Auckland.
Already, big tourism events are lined up for the year in Manila, among them the hosting of Routes Asia, an annual forum of aviation-based companies that “wish to conduct business to, from, and within the region”—“Over 100 airline companies are expected to come to the Philippines (for Routes Asia),” said Jorda-Apo, to explore it as a destination.
From Jan. 18 to Jan. 25, 2016, the ASEAN Tourism Forum will also run in Manila, at the SMX Convention Center and Sofitel Philippine Plaza along Manila Bay.
In April, Madrid Fusion, a shining moment for Philippine cuisine early in 2015, will again give Philippine tourism a boost with a second event in Manila under the theme “Manila Galleon: East Meets West.” Many of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, such as Joan Roca, Yoshihiro Nariwasa, and David Thompson, have confirmed their participation.
Right now, however, the opening of the Manila-Cairns-Auckland route, along with PAL’s more aggressive plans in Oceania, with a maiden flight made to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea before the end of last year, is a big move toward attracting more tourists to the Philippines from this part of the world, although the main market, according to PAL president and COO Jaime Bautistista, is the over 44,000 Filipinos in New Zealand. In 2014, a total of 17,000 tourists visited the Philippines from New Zealand. Last year, from January to September, 14,000 New Zealand tourist arrivals have been recorded.
The opening of these routes in Oceania and elsewhere in the world, along with an ongoing refurbishment campaign, particularly the provision of new, upgraded seats in both economy and business class, as well as WiFi streaming and an embedded online system, on its growing network of 39 international destinations and 30 domestic ones, came as a result of Philippine Airlines’s recent review of its mission and vision.
“The industry is becoming more and more competitive,” said Bautista. “But we are ready and we are thankful that competition is keeping us focused on what we can give our passengers anywhere in the world.”
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