...the beach, the culture and the heritage

Beaches, culture, heritage tours top PH allures at Chicago show

 

December 11, 2011

Manila Bulletin

 

 

 

Boracay (Photo by RONALD JAYME)

MANILA, Philippines — Beach holidays, culture and heritage tours emerged as the top draw in the Philippine participation in the Incentive Travel and Meeting Executives (IT&ME) show held recently in Chicago,USA.

At the same time, Cebu and Boracay topped the list of Philippine destinations that drew inquiries from among the 2,600 visitors of the IT&ME expo, while the image of Palawan caught the interest of most visitors who used it as a backdrop for their photo shoots.

Yet, the most sought-after are neither tourism attractions nor destinations, but destination management companies (DMCs) whom the show’s corporate visitors wanted to partner with for their incentive travel needs, according to the Department of Tourism (DoT).

“We need as many people and sectors, including the DMCs, to speak well about ourselves as our country’s most attractive and vital resource that makes Filipino hospitality a uniquely superior international brand by itself,” stressed Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez.

“We must be proud of our being a Filipino, and of our history, culture, nature and all the rest that make us what we are – a cheerful and happy nation who loves to share that happiness through the best that we can offer to our guests,” Jimenez stressed.

Jimenez underscored the importance of the IT&ME as “The Motivation Show” that should “first motivate us to look deep into the most positive attributes of the Filipino and speak proudly about them in order to encourage foreign tourists to experience the Philippines.”

For his part, DoT Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III said: “Executive meetings abroad and other overseas travel activities requiring DMCs serve as a traditional incentive given by companies to their employees usually as a reward for good performance.”

“This practice, particularly among corporations with international presence, has thus evolved into what is now called “incentive travel”, which accounts for a substantial chunk of the Philippines’ inbound tourism volume and offers a huge potential source of foreign tourists from the world’s globalizing economy,” added Enerio, also acting executive director of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).

Incentive travel also accounts for a major share of the world’s meetings, incentive, conventions and events (MICE) market, where the TPB is strategically reestablishing the Philippines as a major player after a long absence.

Part of that effort was the Philippine participation in the IT&ME, according to the TPB, citing the country as the only Asian exhibitor from among the 577 in the three-day show.

In a report to Enerio, TPB MICE and business development officer-in-charge Stanie Soriano recommended the increased participation of DMCs in next year’s IT&ME show in order to optimize foreign visitor arrivals from the US corporate and business community.

“Partnerships between U.S. firms and our DMCs can increase and enhance the stable inflow of corporate executives from North America to boost, not only our inbound tourist volume, but also our prospects for foreign investments in tourism,” Soriano explained.

The show offered opportunities to connect directly with the US incentive travel market and learn from business leaders the emerging engagement strategies and tactics, client motivation and retention, motivational meetings services and events management, and innovative incentives and reward packages.

Making up the Philippines’ 55.7-sqm exhibit booth were tourism merchandising materials and beautiful wall images of the Makati Skyline, Pampanga Christmas lanterns, Intramuros, Masskara Festival, Palawan, Bohol and the famous vinta.

Constituting the Philippine delegation were representatives of the TPB, Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority, Philippine Airlines, and Travelvision. Assisting them was Tourism attaché to Chicago Dir. Vernie Velarde-Morales.