Phitex accommodates more local sellers

The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) has expanded this year’s Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex) as the agency seeks to generate more income for the tourism industry.

Susana del Mundo, officerin-charge of the TPB’s Domestic Promotions Department and deputy secretary general of the Phitex, said the event was made bigger this year to provide more opportunities for local tourism stakeholders to conduct business and develop linkages with foreign buyers.

“For this year, it’s our first time to expand the program to give more business for the Philamounted ippine sellers. We would like them to really maximize their participation,” Del Mundo said.

“It’s about time that revenue generation becomes our focus on marketing. We already promoted the Philippines worldwide. There’s great awareness on the Philippines and interest, that’s why there are many buyers who joined the Phitex this year,” she added.

Phitex, now on its 15th year, is a venue for a series of business-to-business meetings between foreign tour operators interested to sell Philippine tour packages, and local tour- ism stakeholders, such as hoteliers, tour operators, airlines and convention centers.

It also gives an edge to local stakeholders to offer globally competitive tour packages to the international market and learn of other countries’ trade strategies, the TPB said.

This year, the event accommodated about 200 international buyers from 35 countries and 199 local sellers from 132 companies.

TPB deputy chief operating officer Maricon Ebron said this year’s Phitex has the most number of buyers since it started in 1989.

She added the TPB also extended the sessions to oneand-a-half days from just one in the past.

“We have expanded it to a day and a half. It used to be just one day, where you can get a maximum of 28 appointments. But this time, because of the extension they’re gonna have a maximum of 40 appointments,” Ebron said.

Del Mundo said China, South Korea and Japan remained some of the countries with the most number of representatives during the event. She also mentioned that foreign buyers showed the most interest in Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Ilocos, Bicol, Southern Luzon and Boracay to include in their tour offerings.

Aside from the business-tobusiness sessions, the TPB also took the foreign buyers to pretours last Sept. 3 to showcase Metro Manila’s tourist sites and to let them inspect various hotels in the city.