With Japanese tourist arrivals dropping by 6 percent in the first half of the year, the government has decided to revitalize its tourism promotional efforts in Japan by coming up with new offerings to lure particular segments of Japanese visitors here.

One strategy, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said, is to package the Philippines as a wedding and gourmet destination for the younger Japanese market.

He noted that, every year, over 450,000 Japanese couples hold their wedding ceremonies in other countries, with Hawaii and Guam as the current top choices, and spring (April to May) and fall (September to October) as the popular seasons.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) will start with this strategy at the September 19 to 21 Jata World Travel Fair at the East Exhibition Hall of the Tokyo Big Sight.

The DOT will be bringing hotels, resorts, tour operators, transport services and other stakeholders in the Philippines travel industry to the Jata World Travel fair, which is expected to be one of the biggest travel fairs in Asia.

The DOT will also attract older male Japanese to the country’s golf destinations, and entice the Japanese female population with the ideal shopping and spa sites in the country.

“We are shifting our campaign to the older male Japanese and female guests who have more spending capabilities. Through this method, we can expect higher returns,” he said.

Durano also said that the country will promote adventure tourism, which covers new and exciting activities such as white-water rafting, surfing, wakeboarding, wild-bird watching and treetop climbing, among others.

He said while beach destinations have traditionally been a priority for Japanese guests, the DOT is determined to give them a variety of other activities to do in the Philippines.

Although Japan is still ranked third in terms of tourism arrivals in the Philippines by country, the number of Japanese visitors in the first half of the year dropped by 5.9 percent to only 185,431 individuals.

“Japan remains one of the most important markets for the Philippines. While arrivals of Japanese tourists are slightly decreasing, the expenditures of these tourists in the country are actually growing, providing bigger opportunities for the domestic travel industry,” Durano said.

Manufacturing output expands 5.1% in June

THE country’s manufacturing output has posted a modest year-on-year growth of 5.1 percent in June, according to the latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Tuesday.

17th Mindanao business meet opens today in Dipolog City

ZAMBOANGA CITY—For businessmen and other concerned stakeholders, all roads lead today, Wednesday, to Dipolog City, the capital of Zamboanga del Norte, the venue of the 17th Mindanao Business Conference (Minbizcon).

Coco exports in May drop 40%, PCA figures show

THE country’s coconut exports for the month of May dropped by almost 41 percent to 95,271 metric tons (MT) in copra terms, from 160,939 MT shipped out in the same period last year, according to official figures from the Philippine Coconut Authority.

Local franchisers seek law to regulate franchising industry

LOCALLY bred franchisers are seeking the enactment of a law and the creation of a government body that will regulate the franchising industry and guard the public against “fly-by-night franchisors.”

Government eyes spreading cost impact of San Jose outage

WEEKS after the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) had announced an irregularity in electricity prices in its Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) owing to an outage of a transmission facility in Bulacan, the Department of Energy (DOE) has broken its silence, saying the government desires to minimize the price impacts on the public.

Subic golf course in $48-M redevelopment

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Hanafil Golf & Tour Inc., a Korean-Filipino company that recently won the contract to operate the 18-hole golf course here, announced on Tuesday the $48-million redevelopment of the Subic Bay Golf and Country Club into an all-weather championship course and a full-blown country club.

Government to revitalize tourism promo in Japan

With Japanese tourist arrivals dropping by 6 percent in the first half of the year, the government has decided to revitalize its tourism promotional efforts in Japan by coming up with new offerings to lure particular segments of Japanese visitors here.