THE current border issues between Mexico and the United States are forcing many Mexicans, as well as other Latin Americans, to look to other countries for their vacation plans. One of those beneficiaries is the Philippines, judging from the influx of buyers to the Philippines booth at the recent Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings (IBTM) Americas held in Mexico.
“We received an extremely warm reception from the Mexican trade. Generally, they’re now starting to look for ‘exotic’ destinations. Those already doing Asia are looking beyond the usual Thailand, Japan, etc. And those who aren’t still, are now looking at Asia,” said Sonia Lazo, managing director of Intas Destination Management Co., who attended the international travel trade show on May 29 and 30.
She added: “Mexicans have been traveling to the US, Canada and Europe. And given the border issues with the US, they’re slowing down on travel to the US.”
Jose Clemente, president of Rajah Tours Philippines, reported the same enthusiastic reception from Latin American buyers. He said distance didn’t even seem to be a factor against the Philippines: “Apparently, it’s the rich who are traveling in droves so they can afford to go to the Philippines. They have the disposable income to travel.”
Easy trip
LAZO averred since the market was already traveling to Japan, “they can easily travel to the Philippines.” Round-trip airfare aboard All Nippon Airways from Mexico to Manila via Tokyo, for instance, costs about $1,500. Other possible carriers servicing the route are Japan Airlines and Eva Air (via San Francisco and Taipei).
This was the first time for the Philippines private sector to participate in IBTM, and included heads of major companies such as Annset Holidays, Corporate International Travel, Intas, Rajah Tours, and Sharp Travel Service.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Attaché for the US Southwestern States and Latin America Richmond Jimenez said the Philippines’s participation for the first time was “ripe this year, as well under the leadership of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, as the Philippines is making an aggressive approach in promoting the MICE (Meetings Incentives Conferences Exhibits) sector to renew the country’s image and status as “the premier MICE destination in Asia.”
He added, they presented Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao as strategic MICE destinations: “[These] not only offer best tourism products, venues and services, but also have consistently growing economies, which attract investors to build more hotels and meeting facilities.”
‘Amazing’ beaches
IN the first quarter of 2019 alone, there were 6,922 arrivals from Mexico and South America, up 24.6 percent from the 5,556 arrivals in the same period last year.
Lazo said most of her buyers were from Mexico, while the others were from South America and the US. Despite the market’s proximity to the Caribbean region, her buyers were interested in the “beaches and exotic islands. Palawan and Bohol are very attractive to them! You show them photos of El Nido and Bohol, and they are amazed!”
Although this is the first time for the Philippines to send a private-sector delegation, Clemente was hopeful that the buyers are going beyond the exploratory talks. “I would say about 30 percent to 35 percent are ready to send [clients] and have been sending. The rest just needed more information about the Philippines so they could better sell it [to their clients]. They also needed to meet destination management companies that they could work with. Before, they didn’t know who to work with or how to go about making bookings…. If we have a sustained presence in Latin America, it can be that new market we are looking for.”
More forthcoming events
Lazo agrees. “Sustaining their interest is the key,” she said, adding that their leads could pan out “anywhere from three to six months, while for MICE, up to a year.”
On the part of the Department of Tourism and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), Jimenez said, “We were able to secure three confirmed events to happen the remainder of this year and year 2020, plus over 30 other leads we met. As for the private sector, in my estimate, each of them took home about 15 active leads that we need to follow through on.”
Although IBTM Americas is more a MICE trade event, Clemente said, “We had a lot of leisure clients also. Many incentives organizers were interested in the Philippines because they were really looking for new destinations.” For the leisure destinations, he offered Palawan and Boracay, and a number of his buyers commented that “our beaches [in the Philippines] are more beautiful.”
Aside from the travel trade event, the DOT and TPB also held organized product presentations and a news conference as peripheral events. Philippine Ambassador to Mexico Demetrio Tuason personally welcomed the Mexican buyers and media to the press event, and extended his invitation for them to come to the Philippines, and visit the Philippine booth at IBTM Americas 2019.
Image credits: Maxim Tupikov | Dreamstime.Com