BusinessMirror
  • News
    • News
    • Top News
    • Regions
    • Nation
    • World
    • Asia Today
  • Business
    • Business
    • Agri-Commodities
    • Asean Economic Community
    • Banking & Finance
    • Companies
    • Economy
    • Entrepreneur
    • Executive Views
    • Export Unlimited
    • Harvard Management Update
    • Monday Morning
    • Mutual Funds
    • Stock Market Outlook
    • The Integrity Initiative
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Editorial cartoon
  • Life
    • Life
    • Art
    • Design&Space
    • Digital Life
    • Journey
    • Motoring
    • 360° Review
    • Property
    • Show
    • Tech
    • Tourism
    • Y2Z
  • Features
    • Biodiversity
    • Education
    • Envoys & Expats
    • Explainer
    • Faith
    • Green
    • Health & Fitness
    • Mission: PHL
    • Our Time
    • Perspective
    • Photo Gallery
    • Science
    • Today in History
    • Tony&Nick
    • When I Was 25
    • Wine & Dine
  • BMPlus
    • BMPlus
    • SoundStrip
    • Live & In Quarantine
    • Bulletin Board
    • Marketing
    • Public Service
    • CSR
  • The Broader Look
Subscribe
BusinessMirror
BusinessMirror
  • News
    • News
    • Top News
    • Regions
    • Nation
    • World
    • Asia Today
  • Business
    • Business
    • Agri-Commodities
    • Asean Economic Community
    • Banking & Finance
    • Companies
    • Economy
    • Entrepreneur
    • Executive Views
    • Export Unlimited
    • Harvard Management Update
    • Monday Morning
    • Mutual Funds
    • Stock Market Outlook
    • The Integrity Initiative
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Editorial cartoon
  • Life
    • Life
    • Art
    • Design&Space
    • Digital Life
    • Journey
    • Motoring
    • 360° Review
    • Property
    • Show
    • Tech
    • Tourism
    • Y2Z
  • Features
    • Biodiversity
    • Education
    • Envoys & Expats
    • Explainer
    • Faith
    • Green
    • Health & Fitness
    • Mission: PHL
    • Our Time
    • Perspective
    • Photo Gallery
    • Science
    • Today in History
    • Tony&Nick
    • When I Was 25
    • Wine & Dine
  • BMPlus
    • BMPlus
    • SoundStrip
    • Live & In Quarantine
    • Bulletin Board
    • Marketing
    • Public Service
    • CSR
  • The Broader Look
  • BM Reports

DOT chief hails new travel media for boosting local economies

  • Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
  • October 16, 2016
  • 7 views
  • 3 minute read
In Photo: This October 14 story shows travel and tourism stakeholders giving a thumbs up during the Asia leg of the Travel Blog Exchange (Tbex), the world’s biggest conference for travel bloggers, writers, content media creators and tourism-industry professionals at the Philippine International Convention Center. The stakeholders are (from left) Joji Gregorio, Tourism Promotions Board TPB) officer in charge; Tourism Assistant Secretary Ricky Alegre, TPB Head Susan del Mundo, Tbex Director Rick Calvert, Agoda Vice President Timothy Hughes, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, TBEX Speakers Ian Cumming and Evo Terra, and Department of Tourism executives Raquel Tria, Celeste Ramos and Czarina Loyola.
Total
0
Shares

CLOSE to 400 international travel bloggers, online travel journalists and new media content creators got a taste of the infamous Philippine typhoons during the four-day Travel Bloggers Exchange, Asia Pacific 2016 (TBEX 2016).

As Typhoon Karen’s rains lashed Manila early Sunday morning, the travel media, however, were warmly welcomed by Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. In her speech, she extolled the importance of the new media in sharing the “joys of your travel…across the world in an instant,” using their cameras, phones, laptops, drones and other gadgets.

She described new media as being the voice of a new generation and of the eyes of the masses, inspiring millions to live vicariously through the bloggers’ posts about their vacation, and bringing focus and attention to locations normally looked over in the usual packaged tours.

Teo also praised the bloggers’ influence in boosting the economies of countries with high incidences of poverty, like the Philippines. “Travel bloggers like you actually help prop up economies. For example, in a region in the Philippines called Bicol, for every foreign tourist that visits the region, five jobs are created for three days. What you do is no less than spur trade and industry in different parts of the world.”

Aside from encouraging the new travel media to visit many parts of the Philippines during their stay, TBEX, she said, allowed the government tourism agency to learn from them by exchanging opinions and insights on ways of promoting the country and “[improving] the Philippine experience for travelers.”

In highlighting the Filipinos’ fluency in English and their world-famous hospitality, Teo invited the participants “to really dig below the surface…and use this opportunity to really get a glimpse of the soul of the Philippines. Not everything is pretty and perfect and new, but I guarantee you that if you look closely, this is a country that really tries. We try to put our best foot forward. We are not known as a land of riches. We are a country struggling with poverty in many areas. But what we do have is an abundance of heart, and you can feel it in our efforts. If you open yourselves up to the Philippine experience, you will feel the soul of the most gentle nation in Asia.”

She also outlined other features, “more than the beaches of Boracay,” that make the Philippines an exciting destination, such as its “centuries-old heritage” from the Spanish, Americans and Japanese, as well as the cultures of its native tribes. “This is reflected in the melting pot of our cuisines, and in the look of our people…. Look for how we Filipinos have incorporated other cultures and made it our own. Look for traces of our old soul in a new world,” she added.

TBEX was first created in 2009 by six friends, and has since grown into the world’s largest travel community reaching close to 1,000 participants, with conferences held annually in North America, Europe and Asia.

According to the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism, participants in TBEX 2016 are from Australia, India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the Philippines.

“We are honored and excited to bring in the largest travel bloggers’ conference. By hosting this year’s TBEX Asia-Pacific leg, we will be able to showcase the best of the Philippines,” TPB Officer in Charge Joselito V. Gregorio said. “[The event] gives us a great opportunity to share with the world the many wonderful gems the country has to offer,” he added.

Highlighting the conference were a series of talks by some of the world’s most renowned travel journalists and bloggers, including international best-selling author (1,000 Places  to See Before You Die) and veteran travel journalist Patricia Schultz; host of the award-winning podcast Slice of Sci-Fi Evo Terra; award-winning writer from the National Geographic Traveler, Frommer’s and San Francisco Chronicle Bill Fink; Agoda Vice President for Business Development Timothy Hughes; Founder and Global Community Leader for Travel Massive Ian Cumming; and marketing expert and Founder of Hastracking Inc. Ciaran Blumenfield, to name a few.

Topics discussed were the proper use of social-networking sites, video blogging, content management, marketing techniques to building brands, and challenges and opportunities in blogging.

Before the two-day conference at the PICC, the participants were taken on tours of the walled city of Intramuros, Pampanga and Binondo for food samplings, Quezon City and Bulacan for volunteer sociocivic activities with Gawad Kalinga, and Tagaytay for wellness activities.

From October 17 to 21, remaining participants will travel to the Banaue Rice Terraces; Boracay, Coron and El Nido in Palawan; Vigan in Ilocos Sur; Iloilo; Siargao; Bacolod; Sorsogon; and Davao.

Image credits: Nonie Reyes

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Related Topics
  • Featured
Previous Article
  • BM Reports

Result of probe on gencos’ ‘anticompetitive behavior’ out soon

  • Lenie Lectura
  • October 13, 2016
Know more
Next Article
  • BM Reports

DTI eyes separate incentives scheme for locators in domestic ecozones

  • Catherine Pillas
  • October 16, 2016
Know more

Know more

Know more
  • 384
  • 6 min
  • BM Reports
  • Health & Fitness

Injecting new life into Asian Hospital

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
  • March 20, 2023
Know more
  • 354
  • 4 min
  • BM Reports

Asean women seek skills upgrade to compete with men in digital economy­—study

  • Roderick L. Abad
  • March 8, 2023
Know more
  • 371
  • 6 min
  • BM Reports

Biñan: ‘The City of Life’ returns with a brighter future yet to unfold

  • Roderick L. Abad
  • February 20, 2023
Know more
  • 360
  • 5 min
  • BM Reports

GALING POOK AWARD 2022 | Balik-Biñan Project: Tourism development through heritage conservation

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz and Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
  • February 3, 2023
Know more
  • 361
  • 7 min
  • BM Reports

Biñan City, the premier heritage and trade capital of the South

  • Maria Luisa C. Jalandoni
  • February 3, 2023
Know more
  • 355
  • 4 min
  • BM Reports

Biñan’s rich cultural and historical legacies

  • BusinessMirror
  • February 2, 2023
Know more
  • 382
  • 6 min
  • BM Reports

Araw ng Biñan 2023 | A time for memory and celebration

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
  • February 2, 2023
Know more
  • 353
  • 8 min
  • BM Reports

Celebrating 124th founding anniversary: One vision and mission to build better more for the Filipino people

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
  • January 31, 2023
Know more
  • 374
  • 5 min
  • BM Reports

STRONGLY BUILT AS EVER | New San Jose Builders, Inc. brings property development legacy to Metro

  • Roderick L. Abad
  • January 23, 2023
Know more
  • 324
  • 4 min
  • BM Reports

Stakeholders push for Boracay as ideal MICE destination

  • Patrick Miguel
  • August 5, 2022
Know more
  • 310
  • 5 min
  • BM Reports

A Boracay experience like no other

  • Edwin P. Sallan
  • August 5, 2022
Know more
  • 336
  • 3 min
  • BM Reports

SM Retail has a new sustainable workplace that promotes health, wellness

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
  • June 27, 2022
Know more
  • 404
  • 4 min
  • BM Reports

What is causing the rise of obesity in the Philippines?

  • BusinessMirror
  • June 14, 2022
Know more
  • 302
  • 6 min
  • BM Reports

Pakistan Day celebrates 75 years of freedom

  • Maan D'Asis Pamaran
  • March 23, 2022
Know more
  • 331
  • 5 min
  • BM Reports

An update on Pakistan-Philippines relations

  • BMPlus
  • March 23, 2022
Know more
  • 306
  • 3 min
  • BM Reports

Have a safe Christmas with these government guidelines

  • BMPlus
  • December 9, 2021
Know more
  • 293
  • 3 min
  • BM Reports

Be vigilant against fraud, bank clients told

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
  • November 24, 2021
Know more
  • 320
  • 5 min
  • BM Reports

Mark Villar assures Duterte administration to leave ‘legacy of continuity’

  • Stephanie Joy Ching
  • October 21, 2021
Know more
  • 314
  • 3 min
  • BM Reports

SMDC’s Glam Residences is the smart choice for millennials on the go

  • Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
  • August 16, 2021
Know more
  • 301
  • 2 min
  • BM Reports

Bridging lives and connecting others

  • BMPlus
  • August 2, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

BusinessMirror
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Podcast
  • Text-Only Homepage

Input your search keywords and press Enter.