PTAA expands partnerships with international counterparts
THE Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) is steadily expanding its partnerships with its international counterparts in a bid to provide its members with the needed networks to grow their operations.
As the 26th Travel Tour Expo (TTE) opens today at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, eight national tourism organizations (NTO) are participating to showcase their destinations while also working closely with PTAA members to provide the public with a wide range of options for their travels.
At the same time, the fourth International Travel Trade Expo (TTE) will also open with tourism stakeholders from 13 participating countries.
TTE 2019 chairperson Marlene Dado Jante said they want to expose and match their members with the most number of international tourism stakeholders for them to explore new business opportunities.
“The tourism industry landscape is evolving rapidly. The introduction of disruptive technologies requires travel agencies to adjust with the times. As an association, we have to provide our members with the tools needed for them to continue growing,” Jante said.
“Having the NTOs at the Travel Tour Expo and providing a venue for business-tobusiness meetings during the International Trade Expo gives PTAA members the perfect setting to find new partners to widen their products and services.”
Participating in this year’s edition of the TTE are eight NTOs including the Guam Visitors Bureau, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Japan National Tourism Organization, Korea Tourism Organization, Singapore Tourism Board, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Tokyo Convention and Visitors, Bureau, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
At the same time, this year ’s iTTE will feature 47 companies from Australia, Cambodia, France, Guam, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates doing businessto-business meetings with 150 members of the association.
“Filipinos are traveling the world more. International arrivals has been rising rapidly over the past several years. Tourism is one of the country’s sunshine industries. Done the right way, businesses will flourish in the industry,” Jante said.
The PTAA conducts regular trainings and seminars for its members relevant to the industry needs. It also takes its members to at least two international and domestic familiarization tours annually. It also holds meetings and dialogues with various government agencies and with the diplomatic community.
This year’s TTE will cover 16,230 square meters of floor space and is being participated by more than 400 travel and tourism related entities, government offices, and embassies.