A backdrop of pristine white sand beaches and lively Filipino dance and musical performances proved to be the crowd pleasers in the recent NBC Travel Expo held at the Navy Pier in Chicago, U.S.A. To reiterate this, organizers awarded the Philippine booth, set up by the Department of Tourism (DOT), the third place in the fair’s design contest.

“We are very excited about building our presence in the American travel market. The success we’ve reaped in Chicago only tells us that the Philippines has what it takes to meet the wide and varying expectations of this particular tourist group,” enthused Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano.

The NBC Travel Expo 2007 is one of the much-awaited tourism events in Chicago and draws in potential tourists and travel trade decision makers from around the city. The weekend event is spearheaded by NBC, one of the leading media networks in the United States.

The Philippine booth highlighted the island’s extensive stretch of warm, sunny beaches and impressive seascapes. DOT staff accommodated inquiries by guests and assisted them in booking their next vacation with partner travel agencies based in the state of Illinois.

DOT Team North America Marketing Head Corazon Jorda-Apo and DOT-Chicago Tourism Attache Vernie Velarde Morales led the delegation.

Chicago-based Filipino artists Heritage of Asia Performing Arts Group and the Chicago Philippine Children’s Rondalla provided samplings of the country’s diverse and rich artistic and cultural heritage at the main stage. They were joined by the Novo Ecijanos Cultural Dance Troupe, an internationally-acclaimed dance company based in Nueva Ecija.

Photographer, author and renowned environmentalist Lynn Funkhouser lent support to the DOT by speaking at a featured seminar entitled Philippines: Explore. Experience. Return. She promoted the unique marine life and thrilling underwater adventures awaiting diving enthusiasts who attended the fair.

Funkhouser’s aquatic photographs have appeared on National Geographic, Time and Newsweek. She is also part of the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

According to DOT Team North America Marketing Head Corazon Jorda-Apo, “The expo itself is part of a bigger promotional campaign we arranged with NBC in Chicago. Even while the fair lasted for two days, this was amply sustained by print advertising, a month-long airing on television and six months exposure on the network’s website.”

Durano noted that “The department’s partnership with a major broadcast network allows us to reach not only the balikbayans and the Fil-Am community who have knowledge of our tourist destinations. More importantly, we are able to present to the larger U.S. tourist population to whom the Philippines is a different attraction.”

The tourism chief added that activities such as the NBC Travel Expo complement department’s Philippine Travel Specialist Program, an Internet-based course for travel wholesalers in the United States and Canada to help them better market the island’s destinations to their clients.

The four-session class introduces participants to the major cultural, adventure, shopping and entertainment attractions around the country. Module activities include research, online discussions, projects and qualifying exams. Those who complete the program are then given a tour of the country’s priority destinations to further enhance their virtual learning.

The Philippine Travel Specialist Program was launched in April 2007. Over 500 tour agents from the various states around North America have successfully graduated as of November 2007.

Durano is confident that with the Specialist Program and other marketing efforts in place, the United States will continue to be one of the Philippine’s top tourist sources.

The United States is currently the second largest provider of travellers. A total 433,425 visitors from this country came to our islands between January and September this year. This figure represents a 19.1 percent share of the over-all tourist traffic recorded within the first nine months of 2007.

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