Thursday, September 13, 2007 Group develops marketing plan for more growth in Cebu tourism
TO sustain tourism growth in Central Philippines, a travel group has outlined a 20-year tourism marketing plan involving the participation of all stakeholders.
National Association of Independent Travel Agencies-Philippines Inc. (Naitas) chairman Robert Lim Joseph said the plan will ensure focus in priority areas like environmental conditions, peace and order situation, and infrastructure development, among others.
These, he said, will ensure efficient growth in tourist arrivals and tourism-related revenues in the country.
“We are targeting 3.5 million tourists in the country, and about one million in Cebu alone. To reach that we need to increase marketing efforts,” Joseph said.
Apart from spearheading tourism seminars and exhibits, Naitas has started producing CDs that contain tourism protocol tips like good manners, norms and traditions of Filipinos. The CDs have been distributed to different barangays.
Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 Director Aurora Patria Roa said efforts to involve the barangays are necessary in the tourism interplay of the country since they (barangays) deal directly with tourists.
She stressed the importance of hospitality and the friendliness of Filipinos as among the factors that contribute to raising tourist arrivals to the country.
Roa admitted, though, that “Cebu is not yet at the peak of (its) tourism boom.”
“Cebu’s tourism is still going there,” she said. She added, though, that the province has very strong potentials in driving the tourism growth for Central Philippines being the gateway of tourists.
Roa lauded the success of the recently concluded Philippine International Tourism Fair and the Philippine Travel Exchange in Cebu.
The three-day event gathered more than 100 foreign and 300 local buyers for a business-to-business travel trade fair.
In the same event the League of Tourism Students were also inducted.
Joseph said the involvement of the academe is essential to maintain “the number one industry that saves the Philippines.” (MMM)
