SEAsian themed tours expected to boost Phl tourist arrivals

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine tourist arrivals are seen to get a boost from the launch of Southeast Asian themed tours.

According to Aileen Clemente, TCP executive vice president and Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Tourism Association president, ASEAN would start offering four themed tours for international visitors who plan to travel to the region next year.

“It will be a diverse set of package that will focus on the collective strength of ASEAN member countries.  We have always maintained that instead of competing for tourist arrivals, we should be cooperating with each other to maximize the potential of each destination,” she said.

Clemente said the new scheme would support growth, as well as encourage more investments in the tourism industry.

The four themes to be made available to tourists are: Community Based Tourism (CBT), Nature Based Tourism (NBT), Cultural and Heritage Based Tourism (CHBT), and Cruise and River Based Tourism (CRBT).

CBT would offer 25 landmark sites from the 10 member ASEAN countries starting in Cambodia, while NBT would have 30 destinations that has Malaysia as the starting point.

CHBT would offer 34 destinations beginning in Indonesia and CRBT would have 34 destinations with Singapore as the first stop.

Among the destinations to be highlighted in the themed tours are Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Hoi An Town in Vietnam, Ifugao Rice Terraces in the Philippines, and Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.

Aside from the themed tours, Clemente said the region would also offer Intra-Asean packages which would allow tours to three or four countries in the region, depending on the tourist’s preferences including their choice of airline and hotels.

An Asean directory would likewise be made available for tourists to see the services and destinations each member country could offer.

“We envision the ASEAN region as a single tourist destination with multi-faceted attractions that has world-class standards and facilities,” Clemente said.

Latest data from the Department of Tourism showed that foreign visitors to the Philippines reached nearly 3.27 million as of end-August, 2.72 percent more than in the same period last year.