VernaCovar-Buensuceso, the Department of Tourism’s director for Market Development, told The Filipino Times the Middle East remained a significant source market for the Philippine tourism industry. Although the number of arrivals from the region was smaller than that from other countries, tourists from the Middle East stayed longer and had more disposable income, she said.
Covar-Buensucesosaid most Arab tourists visiting the Philippines do so accompanied by an extended family. They typically stay for three days in five-star hotels in Manila and spendmore days at another destination like Palawan, Boracay, Ilocos Norte, Bohol or elsewhere, to explore and to shop.
Saudi Arabia, where more than a million Filipinos live and work, remains the top Middle East source market for the Philippines, followed closely by the UAE, from where the country received more than 17,000 visitors in 2014.
“The UAE is a growing market for us. Last year, we grew it by 12 percent. They (Emiratis and expatriates from the US, UK, Australia, Europe and India) usually stay in Manila for three days and spendanother three days at another destination (in the Philippines),” said Covar-Buensuceso, who was among the top Filipino officials who came to the UAE for the 22nd Arabian Travel Market held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center from May 4 to 7, 2015.
Investing in exposure
Organized by Reed Exhibitions, more than 400 exhibitors participated in ATM, each paying at least EUR350 per square meter of space at the travel fair, which is considered the largest in the region.
Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka had the largest floor space in the show and the largest amount of promotional material.The Philippine Department of Tourism had a 150-sq.m. booth for the four-day event, which cost approximately PhP2.645 million (about Dh216,862).
Covar-Buensucesosaid that’s just about what the government could afford on its tourism promotion budget.She said travel shows like ATM were proven venues to generate interest.
The Philippine DOT delegation was joined by representatives from 24 trade partners in the aviation, hospitality and travel industries all over the country.Among them was Boracay Foundation, Inc., which seeks to promote ethical ecological tourism in the world-famous beach resort of Boracay in Aklan.
Pia Carmela Miraflores, executive director at the Foundation, said their goal isto protect the natural environment of the island, especially its marine resources, by planting coral under the sea.
Miraflores confirmed that the number of Arab tourists visiting Boracayhad witnessed a significant increase in recent years. Arabs visitors were also active in promoting biodiversity and protecting natural resources there, she said.
In Cebu, another popular destination among tourists, Shangri-La Hotel’s representative at ATM told TFT there had been a lot of interest among Arabs to visit the Philippines, booking as early as now for the Eid holidays in July.She said OFWs could pay local resident rates at the hotel, which were about 40 percent lower than published rates.
All OFWs are PHL ambassadors
Acting Consul General Giovanni Palec said all OFWs should consider themselves ambassadors of the Philippineswith a mission to uplift the image of their country overseas.
“It is implied that every Filipino is an ambassador of goodwill for his or her country. Any action that you take is a reflection on our country. If you do good, that’s a positive recognition for us. If you get into trouble, it puts us in a negative light,” Palecsaid in an interview.
He said Filipinos in the UAE had successfully transitioned from low-paid jobs to key managerial positions.This, the diplomat said, would make it easier for Filipinos to convince Arabs and other nationalities in the region to consider visiting the Philippines.
“Fortunately for many Filipinos in the UAE, through hard work and determination, they have transitioned themselves to more key roles in various employment sectors,” he said.
Covar-Buensuceso said that although her agency hada limited promotional budget overseas, Filipinos themselves and their international friends made up for it, which was evident when the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign was launched.
“We may have limited budget, but we have ways of doing things. The “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaignwas positioned and focused on the social media. In the beginning, we only had three memes on whyit’s more fun in the Philippines; now we have 80,000. OFWs are contributing a lot of content with pictures,” she said.
“So natutuwa kami. Even if our budget is not that big, we still generate a lot of impact overseas,” she added.
The Philippines welcomed about 4.8 million tourists in 2014 with Koreans, Americans, Japanese and Chinese accounting for the majority.This year, the country is aiming to attract more than 6 million tourists.
“Filipinos are really well received anywhere. In the UAE, most of them hold frontline positions. Can you imagine if everybody talks about how beautiful the Philippines is… that will really help. We have millions of overseas Filipinos around the world,” said Covar-Buensuceso.
“We’ve also seen OFWs who are investing in resorts and restaurants (back home). They may also have foreign investors behind them. They are now investing in the Philippines, which is a good sign for all of us,” she added.
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