Rediscover Philippines campaign strengthens

Rediscover Philippines campaign strengthens

Destination to promote islands image

The Philippine Department of Tourism will continue its ‘Rediscovery Philippines’ campaign at World Travel Market, promoting accessible travel via the country’s eight anchor destinations.

According to Bernadette Lazaro, tourism attache for UK and Ireland at the Philippines Tourism and Cultural Office, the campaign will be upgraded this year. A new stand and advertising material will offer more in-depth information about the country’s primary and satellite gateways.

“This year we’ll be strengthening the image of ‘Rediscovery Philippines’ and the campaign will focus on the core image of each destination,” Lazaro said.

The anchor destinations are: Baguio and Banaue, Laoag and Vigan, Manila, Palawan, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Davao.

Lazaro explained the campaign would extend the theme that the Philippines consists of 7,000 islands.

Advertising will be built around the slogan ‘seven thousand times closer to nature, seven thousand times more celebrations, seven thousand times more relaxing and seven thousand times more romantic’.

Lazaro has arranged a fam trip in conjunction with Singapore Airlines and Shangri-La Hotels to coincide with the Philippine Travel Market to be held in Manila on November 24, after which the group spends three nights in Cebu.

Operator update

Premier Holidays, British Airways Holidays and Tropical Locations will be featuring the Philippines in more depth in their 2000/2001 brochures.

BA Holidays has dedicated four pages to the Philippines in its Worldwide brochure and it is the first time it has been sold as a package. BA Holidays product executive Lisa Laws said: “Compared to the introduction of Vietnam a few years ago, sales to the Philipinnes are looking much better.”

According to Laws, Cebu is the most well known and easily accessible island, often sold as a beach destination combined with a city break in Hong Kong or Singapore.

Philippines by Karen Maxwell

Philippines: WTMwill give the country a chance to provide the UK trade with more in-depth information

Agent Alert

&#42 British Airways Holidays has published a flyerdedicated to packages in the Philippines. It will be distributed to enquiring customers by the Philippines Tourism and Cultural Office.

Meetings destination

As part of the Rediscovery campaign, the Philippine Department of Tourism and the Philippine Convention and Visitors Administration will also be promoting their recently launched ‘Meetings Make Manila 2001’ initiative to capture a bigger share of the conference and incentive industry from Europe.

Manila’s new international airport will also be a talking point at the show.

The £32 million airport, NAIA 3, will replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

It will have an annual capacity of 13 million passengers, which represents an additional throughput of seven million passengers.

Looking up: sales to the Philippines have increased