By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
CREDIT-card companies Visa and Mastercard will be offering special payment schemes to encourage tourist spending at “The 2020 Philippine Shopping Festival,” to be held the entire month of March.
Tourism Assistant Secretary for Branding and Communications Howard Lance A. Uyking told the BusinessMirror, “Mastercard and Visa will roll out promos with their partner-banks for the entire month.” While the credit-card firms and their partner-banks have yet to finalize their promotions for the shopping festival, many merchants usually offer flexible payment terms such as zero-percent interest on three- to 12-months installment plans on select purchases using credit cards.
The nationwide shopping festival, the first of its kind in the country, is a project of the Department of Tourism to help boost visitor arrivals. But the DOT official did admit, if it weren’t for the coronavirus disease 2019 oubreak, the agency was aiming for at least a 5-percent increase in arrivals from key markets compared to their arrivals in March 2019. “Had there been no Covid-19, our target was 5 percent especially for South Korean, China, Japan and Southeast Asia versus March 2019,” he said.
“But now, this huge sale in airfares, hotels, tours and various brands, has become a mitigation effort instead of an incremental one,” explained Uyking. The DOT has projected tourism revenue losses of some P38.2 billion from the travel bans on mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. China, where Covid-19 originated, is the second- largest source of tourists for the Philippines, accounting for 21 percent or 1.74 million tourists, of total arrivals in 2019 which was placed at some 8.2 million. The Chinese are also among the top spenders as a market although on a per-capita basis, they are edged out by Europeans.
Meanwhile, restaurants will also have their own promotions during the shopping festival, said Uyking. “Restaurants are also giving discounts. For example, some partner restaurants in Ayala [malls] will give free merienda if you shop there,” he said, underscoring that unlike the usual payday weekend sales, “this is the first time that all the malls are going on sale at the same time,” along with airfares, hotels and tours.
Retailers have reported sluggish sales since the Covid-19 outbreak as patrons stay away from malls and restaurants. A report by ABS-CBN quoted Roberto Claudio, vice chairman of the Philippine Retailers Association, saying retailers and restaurants have registered a 30-percent to 50-percent drop in sales, while SM Supermalls said its sales fell by 10 percent to 20 percent.
Local products by Filipino artisans and craftsmen are the main feature of the nationwide shopping festival, the DOT officially launched on February 19, along with its partner malls, retail associations, and tourism stakeholders groups.
During the shopping fest, foreign and local tourists alike can expect up to 70-percent discount on many Philippine-made products, including food and dining choices, jewelry and fashion, crafts, furniture, and décor, and beauty and wellness products.
Based on DOT’s Visitor Sample Survey in 2018, shopping is among the most popular tourist activity in the country, according to 38 percent of survey respondents. (See, “Shopping is more fun in the PHL, say tourists,” in the BusinessMirror, July 5, 2018.)