Hopes to draw in more arrivals DOT wraps up sales mission to Singapore and Malaysia

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu tourism stakeholders, led by the Department of Tourism (DOT-7) regional office recently concluded its five-day sales mission to Singapore and Malaysia, which aimed to push Cebu’s advantage to the Malaysian tourists.

The sales mission, which ran from July 15 to 19, was the first sales mission spearheaded by the DOT regional office here, after participating in several sales missions and travel fairs abroad organized by the head office in Manila, said DOT-7 regional director Rowena Montecillo.

Montecillo said the move to sell Cebu to neighboring countries is its contribution to the country’s target of hitting 10 million tourist arrivals by 2016.

Along with several travel and tourism players in Cebu, the sales mission was also supported by the Cebu City government, Profoods International Corporation, and Cebu Pacific.

Montecillo said that the event was aimed at bringing Cebu’s fun advantage, not only to the Malaysian and Singaporean nationals, but also to the ASEAN market as well.

“This is the first time that DOT 7 is organizing a sales mission outside the country,” she said adding that the group chose Singapore and Malaysia due to its proximity to Cebu, not to mention the increasing number of flights between the Philippines and the two countries.

“Singapore and Malaysia are two of the biggest tourism and travel markets in the ASEAN region. With the Reasonable Cost Carriers making travel between the Philippines and our ASEAN neighbors more affordable and easy, it is high time we make an aggressive selling of Cebu to Singapore and Malaysia,” Montecillo said.

During the mission, Cebu was promoted as leisure, shopping and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibits) destination in both countries.

Cebu only takes three to four hours flight from both Singapore and Malaysia, Montecillo said Cebu is an ideal destination for short holidays, vacation or MICE gatherings.

She hopes that the marketing blitz would bring in more arrivals from both countries to Cebu.

Among the activities that were conducted during the sales mission included a product presentation about Cebu and a travel exchange (B2B session) where Cebu stakeholders interacted and conducted business meetings with their Malaysian and Singaporean counterparts.

Aside from the Cebu Sales Mission, DOT 7 also participated in the “Philippine Tourism Fair 2012”, which was organized by DOT’s Team Asia-Pacific Marketing Team. The 3-day consumer fair allowed Philippine tourism stakeholders to interact directly with Malaysian consumers as the event was held in one of Malaysia’s biggest shopping and commercial complex.

Cebu stakeholders that participated in the five-day mission include; Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Bluewater Resorts, Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel, Harolds Hotel, San Remigio Beach Club, Destination Specialists Cebu, Southwind Travel & Tours, Travelite Travel & Tours, Divaishnavi Travel & Tours, ESR Travel & Tours and iTravel iExplore Tour and Travel Services. (FREEMAN)