DOT to maximize P500M budget to priority markets

CEBU, Philippines - With limited budget of P500 million, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is maximizing the overseas marketing promotions only within the Philippines’ top biggest markets.

“With small budget we are compelled to be more creative and more focused. Obviously, we cannot compete with Singapore, Thailand [for instance] in this area. But, we noticed that promotions will be more effective and competitive in participating international fairs,” said DOT assistant secretary Benito C. Bengzon, Jr.

DOT is putting its promotion nerve to the top markets, such as Korea, United States, Japan, and China.

While the growing Middle Eastern market will have a P15 million marketing budget share for this year, Bengzon said.

Bengzon, who was in Cebu recently to personally expressed DOT’s support to the newly launched “Partnership for Better Infrastructure,” or PBI initiated by the Cebu Business Club (CBC) in partnership with Research, Education and Institutional Development (REID), said vowed that Cebu will get considerable support and budget for this year in order to further boost its tourism advantage.

DOT is geared on aggressive move in hosting “familiarization tours” of foreign travel agents, as well as members of foreign press corps to promote the Philippines in other emerging destinations like India, Russia and Europe.

He applauded the strong support from the private sector in the “Familiarization Tour” for foreign delegates, in providing free logistics, and accommodation of the delegations.

The limited budget, he said pushed the DOT to carefully “chose its battle” in the very competitive tourism market worldwide.

DOT is proposing P1.5 billion tourism budget this year, but this has to be approved by Congress and unless some funds from PAGCOR will also be given to the department.

Bengzon further reported that visitor arrivals in 2010 posted a 17 percent growth to reach 3.52 million, the highest in the history of Philippine tourism.

In the first three months of this year, visitor count continued to show a hefty increase of 13 percent.

“The numbers reveal that we have been largely unaffected by the ongoing Middle East crisis and the recent earthquake in Japan. We estimate visitor arrivals to expand by a modest five percent to hit 3.74 million by the end of 2011,” he said.

More than the expansion of foreign arrivals, Bengzon made emphasis on the active domestic tourism movement in the country.

Based on the latest National Statistics Office (NSO) report, there are 22.8 million Filipinos traveled throughout the country in 2009.

“This growth in foreign and domestic tourists has stimulated greater private investment in accommodation facilities in various destinations,” he said.

From 2010 until December this year, some 4,358 hotel rooms will open in Metro Manila, Cebu, Bohol, and other destinations like Cagayan Valley, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.

From 2011 to 2014, room capacities will expand with the completion and opening of 10,524 rooms in these destinations alone. – (FREEMAN)