THE Philippines as a top tropical destination in Asia can best be represented through Cebu’s flourishing tourism industry.
“It’s easier to market the Philippines through Cebu,” said Angel Ramos Bognot, National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) Philippines president.
With Cebu Province being the “vortex” of Philippine tourism, luring more foreign tourists will not be difficult given Cebu’s positive reputation in the international market, she said.
“It’s like selling an infant’s milk. You only tell them one thing good about the product like it boosts brain development (and it sells),” Bognot said.
“Cebu is indeed a world class destination. It’s a tourism magnet,” she added.
She said growth in tourism-related developments — such as the entry of international hotel operators, increase in the volume of foreign visitors and additional flights to and from Cebu — only proves that there is growing interest among travelers and businessmen.
She said that with Cebu’s strategic location as gateway to the rest of the country, it will be easier for tour operators to create inter-island linkages and tourism packages.
Leisure
Neighboring provinces like Bohol, Oriental Negros, Palawan, Samar and Leyte are already benefiting from the spill over of tourists from Cebu.
“If Manila is for business, Cebu is for leisure,” Bognot told reporters during the launching of the First Philippine International Tourism Fair (PITF) 2007 last Wednesday at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel Cebu.
PITF 2007 is an international business-to-business travel trade fair that aims to renew the Philippines’ image as a world-class tourism destination and put central Philippines, particularly Cebu, in the forefront of the global tourism map.
“Cebu and central Philippines are now the intense focus of Philippine tourism promotion through PITF,” Bognot said in a statement.
She said growing interest in Cebu is the reason for holding the first PITF here.
“We have chosen Cebu to be the centerpiece of our marketing program because it has the elements and ingredients of a perfect tourist destination. If we succeed in promoting and selling Cebu, definitely there will be renewed interest in other tourist destinations,” said Bognot, who is also this year’s PITF chairperson.
Opportunity
The event to be held on Sept. 5 to 7 at the Cebu Internatioanl Convention Center will be conducted in cooperation with the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex), where more than 120 top national and international travel decision-makers are expected to attend.
Bognot said the PITF will be an opportunity for tourism stakeholders to showcase their products and services and create linkages and networks with foreign and local corporate buyers through cross-matching sessions.
Bognot said seminars and forums will be conducted that will revolve on topics like effective branding, growing the medical tourism industry and more.
In relation to promoting domestic tourism, the third day of the fair will be open to the public, she added.
Bognot said PITF 2007 will be an opportunity not only to lure foreign travelers and prospective businessmen but also to develop community-based tourism activities.
“We would like people to know — from vendors to janitors, tricycle drivers and housewives — to understand that there is so much dignity in tourism activities so we always involve the community so (residents) can create a living through tourism. It’s a kind of multiplier effect to economy,” she said.
PITF 2007 is organized by Naitas and the Philippine Travel Mart Foundation, in cooperation with the DOT, Philippine Tourism Authority, Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp., Naitas-Cebu, the Provincial Government, and the City of Mandaue. (MMM)
