Tourism dep’t adopts new tack in local level promotion

THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DoT) has set its sights on sustainable ways of promoting local tourism, starting by showcasing festivities in Metro Manila in the first quarter.

Tourism Secretary Alberto A. Lim yesterday said the department will focus on “product development,” or the promotion of local tourist attractions and festivities, as a means to boost tourism in the short term.

“We will release schedules of festivities in Metro Manila and around the country for the whole year on a monthly basis,” Mr. Lim told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview.

The department started the strategy by promoting upcoming events in Metro Manila, beginning with the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9.

Other events from January to March are commemorations of the feast day of the Santo Niño on the third Sunday of January in Pandacan and Tondo, Manila, Caloocan and Pasig; Pangisdaan Festival in Navotas throughout the second week of January; and Caracol Festival in Makati also in the third Sunday of January.

Schedules of events in other provinces and regions will be posted soon on the Department of Tourism Web site.

Mr. Lim said such festivities have never been promoted extensively in the past.

“These festivals have been around for some time but we have not developed it [to attract] local and foreign tourists. Metro Manila needs attractions, and one we should take advantage of is our own festivals,” he said.

Asked if the new tack is in any way an attempt to counter the impact of last August’s bus hostage crisis, Mr. Lim denied that this was linked to efforts to restore the country’s image in the international community in the wake of the bungled hostage rescue and a tourism rebranding campaign gone wrong.

“We are not rushing [with the rebranding],” Mr. Lim said. “Before we create a strong brand we must focus on developing a good product, which is our tourist attractions.”

Despite the negative impact of the Aug. 23 hostage crisis on the image of the Philippines with the death of eight Hong Kong tourists, Mr. Lim has earlier expressed optimism that the country will be able to achieve and even surpass the 3.3 million tourist target for 2010.

The incident has chilled relations between Manila and Hong Kong, with the latter maintaining an alert against travel to the Philippines.

Figures from the Tourism department reveal that a total of 2.84 million visitors came to the Philippines from January to October 2010, a 16% increase from 2009 figures. — Nathaniel R. Melican, Businessworld