By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is seeking to increase the number of Taiwanese visitors to the Philippines by 20 percent this year, and has embarked on a unique advertising campaign to promote the country.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Project Officer for Taiwan Monina Valdez said the TPB and the DOT-Taiwan “launched a bus ad campaign featuring Philippine destinations through an art gallery on May 1, which will run for one month.”
She said a total of 225 buses plying the roads of Taipei from May 1 to 30 “showcase Philippine-themed artworks and was a spin-off of the MRT Art Gallery Competition held in November 2016”. A total of 191 entries were gathered by the DOT-Taiwan, through the online platform Bounty Hunter, she added.
Valdez said the TPB spent $96,000 for the bus ad campaign.
In an e-mail, Philippine Tourism Attaché Hazel V. Habito Javier further explained that the bus ad campaign is “a tactical promotion aimed at enhancing the Philippine brand, as many are still unaware of the ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ ad campaign. This is a grand project where I’m very much interested in capturing the wider market and making the Taiwanese participate/engage in our promotions.”
Aside from the said campaign in Taipei, she said the DOT also has an ongoing bus ad-wrap campaign plying the Kaohsiung area involving 50 buses, promoting the Star Virgo Cruise from Manila to Hong Kong. This particular campaign, she said, “is a joint venture between the DOT and Star Cruises-Taiwan, and will end next week. We featured the destinations in Manila and Ilocos.” The recently launched Star Virgo Cruise package brought tourists from Manila to Hong Kong, with stopovers in Laoag and Taipei.
Javier said the DOT is targeting visitor arrivals from Taiwan “to grow by 20 percent based on our 2016 achievement”, or 278,161 arrivals this year. In 2106 Taiwanese arrivals jumped by 28.71 percent to 231,801, surpassing the 200,000 target of the agency for the year.
“We are very aggressive in our marketing and promotions, and nonstop in our efforts in inviting Taiwanese tourists to have fun in the Philippines.” However, she admitted that the current advisories and warnings on travel to the Philippines, “as well as [its] ongoing security issues, which are easily captured by Taiwan media, might affect our target this year.”
Javier said Taiwanese tourists “generally consider” such factors as well-developed facilities, safety and security, and accessibility, “preferring direct flights”, when traveling to holiday destinations.
Taiwanese tourists also like “stress-free destinations, such as island holidays”, which makes Boracay an attractive choice for them, Javier added.
But the Taiwanese also like destinations that are “affordable; this is a major consideration for the majority of Taiwanese travelers, that’s why they like Thailand and Vietnam because the prices of Philippine tours compared to the 2 destinations are higher.” At present, she said, Japan and China are the top two destinations for Taiwanese travelers. She pointed out that Taiwanese also love good food and love to eat, and go to destinations that are rich in history.
Yet, the tourism attaché pointed out that, “in terms of accessibility, the Philippines should be the first choice of Taiwanese as we have several daily flights from Taipei to Manila, Boracay and Cebu, and we have also flights to Puerto Princesa from Taipei two times a week, and three times a week from Kaohsiung to Manila.” There are five airlines servicing these routes between Taiwan and Philippine: Philippine Airlines Cebu Pacific (CEB), AirAsia, Eva Airlines and China Airlines (CAL).
“For their island holidays, Boracay is one of their top choices. It is easy for us to sell Boracay and Cebu; the market for these destinations is good,” she stressed.
Javier said DOT-Taiwan is also “developing new markets to other destinations such as Iloilo, Guimaras, Bacolod and the Ilocos region; re-introducing golf in the Philippines; developing the MICE [meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions] market; aggressively promoting the Philippines to study English as a Second Language; and increasing our dive market and sporting events.”
Meanwhile, she explained that the bus ad-wrap campaign in Taipei was a spin-off of the art competition/poster design contest held last November. The winning designs were printed on MRT Easy Cards, loaded with NT$200. “My office was delighted and grateful with the positive response of the Taiwanese, as many artists joined and supported the invitation.” The art competition was a collaboration among DOT-Taiwan, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office as well as PAL, CEB, CAL and Eva Air.
“This bus ad-wrap campaign is a way of extending DOT-Taiwan’s immense gratitude to the huge support of the Taiwanese and in recognition not only to the winners, but to all the participants. DOT-Taiwan hopes that this endeavor will enhance and strengthen Philippines image as a fun and family-oriented destination for Taiwanese and other markets,” Javier underscored.
The launch of the bus ad campaign was also the official launch in Taiwan of DOT’s
#WhenWith Filipinos ad campaign, featuring the “Anak” TVC.
Image credits: Photo courtesy TPB