THE Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) has been allocated a P1.73-billion budget this year to increase the visibility of the Philippines in the global tourism arena, and attract at least 7 million arrivals from key international markets.
TPB Chief Operating Officer Ma. Anthonette Velasco-Allones told the BusinessMirror, “We proposed P1.3 billion but DBM [Department of Budget of Management] increased it to P1.7 billion, which was approved by Congress.” TPB is the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT).
She added, “[DBM officer-in-charge/Undersecretary Tina Rose Marie Canda] told me they saw it fit to increase our budget since we have demonstrated fiscal judiciousness, and we need resources to support tourism promotions.” This year’s TPB budget is just a tad less than the P1.78-billion allocated to the agency in 2021.
Funds for TPB are sourced from the national government’s earnings from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (25 percent) and fees from international airports and seaports (25 percent).
According to the agency’s board-approved Work and Financial Plan for 2022, among the agency’s important tasks this year is the hiring of a marketing representative in Singapore and Malaysia, in the absence of a DOT Foreign Office. Visitor arrivals from Singapore and Malaysia, though still in the Philippines top 10 tourism markets, had been sliding even prior to the pandemic. In 2019, arrivals from Singapore fell 7.7 percent to 158,595, while those from Malaysia slipped by 3.7 percent to 139,882, which industry observers note should be the opposite, considering they are among the Philippines’s nearest neighbors.
Another major task for the agency is the undertaking of a Meetings Incentives Conventions Exhibitions (MICE) Branding Campaign, aimed at promoting the Philippines as a premier MICE destination in Asia. In 2018, the DOT launched an ambitious MICE Roadmap 2030 aimed at increasing the country’s MICE revenues to some P25 billion by 2030, from P4.6 billion in 2016.
Part of TPB’s strategic objectives this year is to “optimize the use of technology to implement innovative marketing and promotions programs.” For one, the agency plans to finance virtual reality “[VR] experiential tours” for domestic destinations and engage the services of a digital marketing agency for an “integrated marketing communications campaign.”
For its international promotions, TPB will have “co-branding [partnerships] with popular brands” in South Korea, launch a “Welcome Back to the Philippines” campaign with key opinion leaders/influencers in China, undertake a social media activation campaign with consumers and travel partners in Japan, forge a young travelers social media campaign in The Americas, along with other digital and social media campaigns in other key TPB markets in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In Asia Pacific, there will be virtual familiarization tours; online content marketing (through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube); and virtual business-to-consumer promotions in Australia.
Among the major travel events the TPB intends to participate in this year include the Marine and Diving Fair (April) and Tourism Expo Japan (September) both in Tokyo, IBMTM Americas in Mexico (August); ASTA (American Society of Travel Advisors) Global Convention in Washington D.C. (August); PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Annual Summit in UAE (March); ITB Asia in Singapore (October); and the World Travel Market in London (November), subject to confirmation by organizers.
Other strategic objectives of the TPB this year are to “strengthen partnerships with stakeholders and customers” as well as “improve customer satisfaction.”