WORKERS in Canary Wharf, London’s financial capital, were greeted every day with the cheerful tune “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”, as the Philippines Department of Tourism in London (PDOT London) once more undertook a major campaign to attract more travelers to the country.
In a news statement, Gerard O. Panga, Philippines tourism attaché in London, said the campaign was implemented from July 31 to August 6. “Imagery of the Philippines’s best islands, tarsier, rice terraces and the Manila jeepney, among others, dominated the 30 digital screens and 40 static posters inside Canary Wharf’s malls.”
It also included a pub night at a Canary Wharf favorite, Smollensky’s, on August 2, with social-media influencers and PDOT London’s partners as guests, he said.
The United Kingdom is considered a key tourism market for the Philippines with 173,299 arrivals in 2016, up 12.1 percent from 2015. Data from the DOT also show arrivals from the UK up 7.8 percent 93,649 in the first half of 2017.
Panga said there was an “experiential zone” outside the main tube station, where visitors could have their photos taken with Philippine backdrops, and use interactive gadgets that virtually brought the users to the country.
Samples of well-loved Filipino delicacies, like lumpia, turon and ice cream in ube, mango and macapuno flavors, were offered to visitors. Dennis Barela, a multiawarded flair bartending champion, wowed the crowd with tricks and turns with bottles of alcoholic beverages, the DOT said.
Young London professionals were, likewise, attracted to the Filipino cultural dances, with a few even braving the Tinikling, with their leather shoes on, the agency added.
“The Canary Wharf Station has a 1.2-million footfall a week. There are also more than 100,000 working professionals who hold office in the area. The consumer activation is meant to engage the British consumers for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Philippines not only as a leisure destination but business, as well,” Panga explained.
Partners of PDOT London, such as Premier Holidays, Hayes and Jarvis, Crystal Travel and Selective Asia, created holiday packages to encourage the public to consider the Philippines for their holidays. Pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) also participated in the event to provide special fares to the Philippines. Selective Asia, for one, prepared a nine-night holiday to the Philippines, in cooperation with PDOT London and PAL, which was raffled off to visitors.
The Philippine booth was constantly engaged with guests wanting to enter the competition to get a chance to win the luxury holiday for two persons to the Palawan, dubbed by Travel + Leisure magazine as the “best island in the world”, with stays at Sheridan Beach Resort & Spa in Sabang and Kalaw, and Balai Adlao in El Nido, plus Henry Hotel and Manila Hotel in the city capital.
Meanwhile, almost 200 bloggers and influencers from the UK attended the PDOT London’s second pub night at Smollensky’s, Panga said. Guests also included the agency’s travel trade partners and friends in the local tourism industry.
Philippine Ambassador to the Court of Saint James Antonio M. Lagdameo welcomed the guests and toasted to a “fun” evening as Panga talked about the Canary Wharf takeover project.
The PDOT London official said “digital marketing partnerships” have been forged with Expedia, Secret Escapes, Amazon and Singapore Airlines, and cited a forthcoming Bloggers Famtrip to the Philippines, as another initiative to promote the country.
He also announced a tieup with adventure travel organizer Large Minority (LM) for the Philippine Sailing Challenge, scheduled from November 18 to 26 in Boracay Island, as well as the launch of the agency’s new destination app— Visit Philippines—which is now available to download both in iOS and Android versions.
According to its web site, LM offers adventurous, team-based competitive group travel experiences that give back to flagship charity projects in the countries visited. Julian Carnall of LM, who was at the pub night, said the Philippines Sailing Challenge is a “sailing adventure for nonsailors”. Participants will be ferried around Boracay and its uninhabited islands aboard a locally skippered paraw, with challenges, such as fishing for dinner and climbing coconut trees, among others. The available travel packages are at $1,840
per person (for a three-man team), and $2,750 per person (two-man team), at the company web site https://bit.ly/2xinCVw.
Guests were treated to Filipino food and cocktails, live music and “bandaoke” jamming, a newspaper dance challenge, a San Miguel beer-drinking competition and flair bartending stylings of Barela. A 10-night holiday to the Philippines was also raffled off at the end of the night, courtesy of Huma Island, Makati Shangri-La, Dusit Thani Manila, Sheridan Resort and Spa, Asia Grand View and Malaysia Airlines.
Image credits: Pdot London