India eyed as new Philippine tourism market

Hello there! Are you now planning for your next Summer Vacation in the Philippines? Checkout our list of Hotels in the Philippines for your accommodation needs.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is eyeing India as the Philippines new tourism market, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said.

Durano said the DOT has been eyeing India in the past three years and it is now ripe as the Philippines new tourist market.

Durano was in Cebu Friday for the opening of the 4th Trabaho sa Turismo Fair at SM City Cebu.

India is a fast-growing economy is considered the second largest in the world and its labor force has a high purchasing power. A large chunk of its work force is in agriculture, services and industrial sectors.

Durano said the DOT is working with national flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) to establish direct flights between the Philippines and India sometime in the second or third quarter of this year.

India is now among the targets of the diversified marketing strategy that the DOT started four years ago.

The DOT is also promoting the Philippines in Russia and China, in addition to South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Kuwait.

The DOT is planning to coordinate with airline companies and add more flights to Russia and to penetrate the “interior” areas of China.

Earlier, the DOT disclosed plans to spend P100 million for promotions in China, another P100 million in South Korea and P150 million for other areas in the Asia-Pacific this year.

Durano said the DOT intends to maintain a steady flow of tourists to the country to spur investments, develop the local tourism industry and create jobs.

Apart from targeting new tourist markets, the DOT is also pushing for the creation of new products like eco-tourism sites and is promoting activities such as bird-watching and scuba diving among tourists from France and Germany.

Durano also cited Cathay Pacific Airways for having achieved last year a double growth in the number of German passengers and a 60-percent growth for those from France.

He said the tourism industry is one of the sectors that can help our country amid the global financial crisis, adding that about four million Filipinos are directly employed by the tourism industry.

He said tourism will continue to grow in the next three to four years.

Some 8,000 hotel rooms across the country, he said, are anticipated to become operational in the next few years, at least 2,000 of which are expected to open this year.