MANILA – The Department of Tourism said the Philippines is seeking the support of Korean tourism players in its effort to ramp up the promotion of the country as a safe and fun destination in the new normal.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat, who recently led a delegation to Korea,
said the DOT is seeking to tap the Korean travel market to boost tourist
arrivals. Korean tourists were the Philippines’ largest visitors before the
Covid-19 pandemic.
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| DOT Secretary Bernadette Puyat and DOT Korea Office Director Maria Corazon Apo with DOT Assistant Secretary for Branding and Marketing Communications Howard Lance Uyking pose with South Korean stakeholders led by In-Tae Yu, President/Co-CEO at Modetour Network Inc. |
Puyat said
her delegation, including representatives from Philippine Airlines and Cebu
Pacific met with Korean tour operators Kyowon KRT, ModuTours, and Hana Tours
and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of
Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as executives from the Asiana Airlines, Air
Seoul, T’way, Jin Air, Jeju Air and Fly Gangwon and pitched the coyntry’s
newest tourism products and activities that will likely appeal to the Korean
travel market in the new normal.
“The Philippines is more than ready to welcome our Korean tourists. Our entry
requirements are one of the safest and most relaxed in Asia,” said Puyat in a
briefing held by the DOT for some 80 Korean tourism industry players at the
Lotte Hotel in Seoul during the visit.
Puyat said
she also assured Korean stakeholders that the Philippines instituted measures
to keep everyone safe, adding fully vaccinated foreign tourists with a negative
Covid-19 test results need not quarantine or undergo testing upon arrival.
Unvaccinated children below 12 years old may travel to the Philippines with
their fully vaccinated parents, she added.
She underscored
the high vaccination rate among the country’s tourism workers and stakeholders,
which is now at 97% nationwide, and the decreasing daily rate of Covid-19
infection in the country. “With the majority of the country’s tourism workers
being fully vaccinated, we have begun rolling out our booster shots for added
protection. We hope that these efforts will help entice visitors to return,
especially now that we have developed many new tourism circuits catering to the
interests of tourists in this new era of travel,” Puyat said.
The Duterte government took advantage of the tourism lull brought about by the
pandemic by developing a total of 112 new tourism circuits across the country,
introducing the best travel products and experiences, including culinary,
history, nature, wellness, and farm tourism. Puyat announced that 102 more
tourism circuits in 14 regions across the country are undergoing development,
according to Puyat.
While in Korea, Puyat said she promoted the DOT’s latest campaign “It's More
Fun with You” is aimed at welcomiong back foreign tourists and showcase the
preparations made during the pandemic, covering both safety measures and
tourism circuits. “In this campaign, we highlight the preparations that our
tourism industry has carried out while travel was put on hold. We will also
feature the exciting destinations to visit, activities to experience, and
culinary wonders to try. We have missed you; our destinations have also missed
you, and the Philippines would certainly be more fun if you come and visit us,”
she said.
Similar to the DOT’s seven-day mission to Japan last month, Puyat sought the
participation of Korean tourism officials and industry players in the upcoming
World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, which the Philippines will host
for the first time in Manila on April 20-22. “We hope that tourism
professionals and the media from Korea also come, attend, and enjoy. With the
theme “Rediscovering Travel,” the Summit will provide an opportunity to address
the social, environmental, and economic challenges as we rediscover global travel
amid this pandemic,” Puyat said.
Though
fourth in the ranking of arrivals in the Philippines in the past two months
with only 5,551 visitors, Korean tourists registered some 1.98 million arrivals
in 2019, which is considered the highest arrival figure among all markets ever
recorded in the country.
Other than its natural beauty, the lure of the Philippines to South Korean
tourists can be partly attributed to the proximity of the Philippines, which
takes only three and a half hours by air. The emergence of low-cost carriers,
resulting in frequent flights and reasonable travel cost, and good quality of
service have also attracted Korean tourists to the Philippines. (Mindanao
Examiner)
