BERLIN, Germany—“The best ITB.” This was the pronouncement of Rajah Tours Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III, after having attended the largest travel trade fair in the world for the 22nd year.
“Personally for me it’s been very good. The quality of buyers [i.e., travel wholesalers] has been excellent this year; everyone is serious to sell the Philippines. This is evident because they do their research already because when they come to us, they already know which spots they want to visit, unlike before, we had to explain where the Philippines is, where everything is. That’s why we have those maps [points to a thick pad of large, tear-away Philippine maps]. We had to use those before, as late as, say, five years ago. But now they come very prepared, they do their research beforehand, so when they come here, you know they’re serious buyers.”
This was echoed by Allan A. Santos, general manager of the newly renovated, 88-room Bohol Beach Club on Panglao Island. “Compared to last year, I’ve met less people, but the quality is much, much better. It’s less effort for me to sell, because the people I speak with are all potential clients. None of them are exploratory. I ask them, ‘What are you looking for?’ And they ask what can I offer. Before, they would say, ‘The Philippines is not for me because of the insurgency.’ But now they’re like, ‘I heard about Bohol, what can I do there?’”
Held from March 6 to 8, 2019, at the Messe Berlin, the International Tourism Borse (ITB) 2019 featured over 10,000 exhibitors from 181 countries and regions in 26 halls. According to a news statement from ITB organizers, this year’s trade show attracted record-breaking numbers at 160,000 visitors, including 113,500 trade visitors. Hall 26 was devoted entirely to Asia, with the 253-square-meter Philippines booth, designed by award-winning Cebu furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue, competing for attention against tourism heavyweights like Thailand, Malaysia (this year’s country partner for the trade convention), Indonesia, Vietnam, Bhutan, and the like.
The BusinessMirror’s interviews with other destination management companies, travel agencies and resort establishments participating in this year’s ITB also indicate heightened interest in the Philippines, although a few noted that some foreign travel wholesalers are at a loss on how to package the Philippines to their clients, the retail travel agencies. As such, the stakeholders suggest heavier promotions on the uniqueness of the Philippines, increased air connectivity, and continuity in marketing schemes.
Looking for something new
“They are looking for something different,” said Lourdes T. Banzon, president of Sharp Travel Service, about the travel wholesalers she has met. “Most of their clients have gone to Thailand, to Vietnam, so they have to be innovative. Their clients are looking for a different destination,” as she tried to explain the unusually high interest in the Philippines at this year’s German travel trade show.
“They’re all interested in the Philippines now. It’s surprising. They are long staying, about two weeks…. They want more of the history, cultural, immersion with the people—they want to learn more about the Philippines, like the food,” she added.
Most of those keen on traveling to the Philippines are not just from Germany, the stakeholders noted, but also from Poland, Estonia, Switzerland, Romania, Denmark, Scandinavia, as well as Eastern and Central Europe. For these markets that don’t even have direct air connectivity to the Philippines, something about the country must have certainly drawn their desires to travel here.
Sonia Lazo, managing director of Intas Destination Management Co., which offers bespoke travel and unique experiences in Philippine travel spots, said her most sellable packages are Banaue, the Cordilleras and Palawan. “The entire Palawan journey from Puerto Princesa to Taytay, discovering that part of the province with pearl farms [near Busuanga Island and Coron], El Nido, the off-the-beaten-track islands out there,” she adds, are what sparks the curiosity of European travelers.
Clemente, for his part, said Bohol and Boracay are also attractive destinations to the long-staying, high-revenue European market. “They [the clients] know Boracay’s been closed; we’re explaining to them it’s been open since October 26. They’re asking, ‘Is it nice? What’s going on?’ We manage their expectations; [we say] it’s fantastic but there’s still work going on in the back. There are some inconveniences. But they remain interested. It’s just a matter of telling them what to expect. It’s up to their clients whether to proceed or not.”
Movenpick Resort & Spa is one of the establishments that have picked up on the goodwill now being reaped by Boracay Island, which was closed for six months in 2018 to give way to the government’s rehabilitation program. The island has been touted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) at foreign conferences and travel fairs as a model of sustainable tourism, a concept that has drawn the admiration of other countries.
Director of Sales and Marketing Grace F. Agatep said, “Boracay, the name, sells itself. It’s the white beach…they can go to Thailand, they have beaches as well, they can go to Bali, it has a beach too, but Boracay, it has a unique selling point. While the closure may have had some negative publicity, now that it’s open, it’s like the interest of the people is now hyped; they ask, ‘How’s Boracay now compared to before?’ On the downside, there are still excavations in some places, but nevertheless, it’s still publicity for us. Some people will ask, ‘why should I go to Boracay when it’s still chaotic,’ but on the flipside, the others also say, ‘It’s good; at least it’s now clean. I can stroll on the beach without worrying I might step on splintered glass.’”
Peace-and-order issues
Of course, not everything is all roses and chocolates.
The stakeholders admit that peace and order in the Philippines does still come up in a number of conversations with clients. “It’s still a super big issue….,” said Santos. “We just have to work a little bit harder in selling, just to convince [our clients] that it’s safe [to come to the Philippines]. Unfortunately, they will tell the operator, ‘We’ll do a familiarization tour [famtour] first. We’ll do an ocular first,’ because there’s this cloud that it’s unsafe. Operators will pay for that or pay 50-50 [half of the cost of the famtour]. So again, we have to spend a little bit more just to convince them that it’s a safe place,” he explained.
But he asserted that the European market has been able to generate visiting couples and families for Bohol Beach Club of late. “For them to be able to bring their kids means they consider us safe.” His clients also prefer to bypass Manila altogether, so they don’t have to deal with possible crime and the traffic jams. “So I have to pitch, ‘We just opened an international airport [on Panglao Island], and in six months, we’ll have international flights already.’ So they look forward to that. The thing is, Manila, which is supposed to be our country’s showpiece, is left out of the equation.”
Movenpick’s Agatep narrated that a few clients expressed confusion about the travel advisories against the Philippines. “They don’t know what these advisories are about. They’re not sure if it’s about safety, peace and order, political issues. Although these were just a few clients. But the advisories still affect them. One German agent I was speaking with, he said their Philippine sales had already been taking off, then suddenly, these travel advisories are issued. If only they could sustain the peak sales, but it’s like a rollercoaster to them. Which they compare to Vietnam, which is very, very safe. And their government is stable. They don’t receive any [negative] travel advisories at all.”
An expensive destination
Intas Destination’s Lazo also pointed to the distance of the Philippines from Europe, compared to Thailand and Vietnam, making the country a more expensive proposition to her clients’ retail customers. “They are eager to try promoting, launching the Philippines again. A lot of them are looking at other strategies to promote the Philippines, because they’re saying it’s a wonderful destination,” but Thailand and Vietnam continue to be her clients’ top-selling Asian destinations, they tell her.
“It’s common knowledge in the tourism industry that the Philippines is still more expensive compared to the two countries, especially in terms of airfare. The Philippines is farther. We don’t have as many rooms and as many hotel accommodations as Thailand. When we offer packages, they’re a little bit higher. Of course, we have to convince our clients that their euro, dollar, or British pound will come a long way when they go to the Philippines, because our food is inexpensive. They can have a decent meal for just €6 or €7. That’s what we have to put out there.”
Similarly, Agatep rued the lack of direct air connectivity between the Philippines and Europe. She noted that Vietnam Airlines, for instance, has direct flights to Frankfurt and London. But because of its codeshare agreements with alliance partners, it is able to attract tourists from Spain, France and Scandinavia. As such, Vietnam attracted 2.04 million visitor arrivals from Europe, accounting for 13 percent of its total foreign arrivals at some 15.5 million in 2018.
The Philippines, meanwhile, only has one direct service in Europe, from London to Manila via Philippine Airlines. Which probably explains why arrivals from Europe numbered only 720,586 in 2018, just 10 percent of total foreign visitors in the Philippines that year. And of all the European nations, only the United Kingdom made it among the top 10 markets of the Philippines.
Underscore the unique
Lazo suggests that we must promote what it is unique about the Philippines. “We have the same offerings [as our neighbors in Asia], but our culture is unique; I think we have to put out there our uniqueness. We’re a fun destination. Plus we’re not a one-time destination; we’re a destination where you can go back to over and over again and discover new things because we have 7,500 islands. There are tried and tested destinations like Banaue, the Visayas, but even in Banaue, you can go back again and again and discover new trails.”’
Santos also said one of the unique selling points of the Philippines is being a country of English speakers. “We don’t have a lot of budget to promote the country,” compared to our Asian neighbors. “That’s why when I do my sales talk and presentation, I always say 95 percent of Filipinos speak English. And that’s the most attractive selling point.”
Agatep pointed to how much other foreign governments are spending to market their countries. “You see how Malaysia sponsored the ITB? I’m sure they’re spending a lot. It’s a good avenue to promote Malaysia. Vietnam spends on CNN and BBC—they have a consistent global presence. [Marketing of destinations] is like attending a trade show. If you come here one time and then stop, nothing pans out. It has to be continuous [marketing globally].”
But they’re coming
Nevertheless, there is a definite renewed interest in the Philippines. While Rajah Tours’ Clemente said most of his clients’ trips will probably materialize in “late 2019 or mid-2020,” he has expressed confidence that things are finally turning up for the Philippines. The Europeans, who ironically came to the Philippines in droves in the 1970s until the early 1980s, and discovering the idyllic Boracay Island in their wake, are taking notice once more.
“Before, peace and order was their main concern,” he said. “But while some raise these issues, we only need to point out that these troubles happen everywhere else, too.” Santos quipped, “in our case, these are isolated incidents, not in prime tourist destinations like in other countries.”
Sharp Travel’s Banzon was just excited to talk about her meetings, “All of them want to go to the Philippines for two weeks! They want to explore the islands. So I booked [this client’s] 25 pax in 4- to 5-star hotels.” She underscored that money, it seemed, wasn’t an object to them. “[For one client,] they wanted to book a helicopter just to see the Chocolate Hills [in Bohol],” she enthused. “We offered them to go ballooning instead. They loved the idea.”
The amount of potential business generated at the ITB has yet to be released by the DOT, but if the meetings between our stakeholders and their foreign clients are of any indication, 2020 could be the breakout year for Philippine tourism. Cross our fingers.
Image credits: DOT-Frankfurt, Stella Arnaldo