A very spa-cial mission to Moscow
October 9, 2005 | 12:00am
Russian leader Vladimir Lenin predicted in l921 that the masses would one day sit on gold toilets. We recently went to Moscow and found hotel toilet fixtures gleaming in gold, indeed. Shopping malls were shining with gold-painted pillars. Underground Metro train stations looked palatial with chandeliers and oil paintings gilded in gold leaf.
After being shrouded beneath the Iron Curtain for so long, Russians have undergone a revolutionary change in lifestyle. Dressed in their hip signature jeans, they are now embracing the world. With their increasing awareness of health and beauty trends, they are not only going for beach holidays, sightseeing and shopping, they also value the wellness benefits of a holiday in a spa.
Attracted by our masahista and manghihilot, more and more Russian tourists are spending their holidays in the Philippines, and credit goes to the dynamic thrust of the Department of Tourism which has aggressively promoted the Philippines in Russia.
Last September 2l to 24, the DOT joined the Otdykh Leisure Fair 2005 held at the Olympiisky Sports Complex in Moscow. The Philippines’ ace salesman, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, knew it was a perfect venue. The results of our participation in this fair last year were impressive.
"Russia has become one of our emerging global markets, and joining this biggest international autumn trade fair is a good channel for us to strengthen our promotions for the Russian travelers. Russians now register 19 million outbound travelers yearly, mainly due to pent-up demand after 70 years of travel restriction," explains Durano.
It is a rich target market. With the country’s strong oil export earnings and a consistent growth rate, Russians are enjoying increases in their real personal incomes.
Tourism Assistant Secretary for Planning and Promotions Eduardo Jarque, Jr. with his insights based on more than 20 years of expertise as our European Tourism Attache, says that Russia is becoming one of the world’s top 10 spenders in international tourism. "With its population of 278 million, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) comprise our next big market. An average increase of l54 percent in growth rate has been registered by Russian visitor arrivals in the Philippines since January this year."
Jarque says the DOT is bullish about Russia because all tourism market intelligence and research and forecasts point to China, India and Russia as the three source markets for the Asia Pacific region. "The Philippines is now a ‘trend’ destination for Russians who are willing to spend for quality. They have the spending power and are big contributors to the economy. The Russians’ favorite destinations are Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, Palawan and Manila," explains Jarque.
Venus Tan, DOT director for Western, Central and Eastern Europe, points out:" The Philippines is still widely perceived by most Russians as a country shrouded in mysticism, Christian spirituality and yes, healers!"
The Otdykh Leisure Fair 2005, says Tan, was an opportunity to veer away from this perception and introduce the centuries-old Philippine traditional spa and wellness experience. "We are proud that the only Asian speaker at the fair was a Filipino – former Secretary of Health Jaime Galvez Tan."
At the fair, Dr. Galvez Tan explained the various Philippine healing and wellness practices. These include hilot or nerve therapy using virgin coconut oil and warm banana leaves warmed over fire. There is paligo or bathing, where a person is immersed using medicinal plants and flowers’ as well as steam inhalation to combat fatigue, using herbs to energize the body.
Herbal medicine comes in the form of guava bark for various ailments and guava fruit for exfoliating; sambong for melting kidney stones; and lagundi for treating asthma.
Dr. Galvez Tan spoke about how kisig galing (biomagnetic energy) has long been proven by the electrocardiogram. "This proves that there is electrical energy in the body," he explained.
As for unang lana (virgin coconut oil), "it’s an anti-aging ingredient that diminishes wrinkles. It’s thermo-generic – a fat burner – which can be taken twice a day, two tablespoons in the morning and two tablespoons in the evening." He also cited the extra benefits of extra virgin coconut oil, a product which the Philippine spa representatives brought to the Moscow fair, and which the Russians quickly bought, some offering twice the price for the last few stocks.
There is also bentosa (cupping), a tradition used also by the Chinese, Persians and Greeks to offset cold elements in the body.
Lastly, there is the use of tapik kawayan (bamboo sticks) for therapeutic massage.
The Otdykh Leisure Fair 2005 in Moscow was attended by more than 53,000 visitors from the trade and travel sectors, with 967 exhibitors from 67 countries in l5,000 square meters of exhibit space.
The Philippine booth , with its sun-and-sea ambience, attracted more than the DOT’s targeted number of visitors and inquiries.
Jomar Fleras, manager of Sanctuario Spa in Malate, says:" This Moscow fair enabled us to change the perception about Philippine healing-from faith healing to wellness in a spa setting. We were also able to show that our spas are world-class." Fleras gave a demonstration on traditional Philippine healing during the fair.
The Bellevue Spa Club through its spa therapist Nora Putulan likewise received a lot of inquiries from Russians who lined up to have a sampling of Nora’s therapeutic prowess.
Aside from the Spa Association of the Philippines, which demonstrated the Pinoy’s spa-cial talents, the Philippine team to Moscow also had representatives from the resorts and travel service sectors.
"We were bombarbed with inquiries and bookings for January," smiles Joy Denoga, El Nido Resorts marketing director. "We came at the right time. The Russians really love Palawan, and they come in groups or as honeymooners or couples. On the average, they stay in the Philippines for l4 days. They are big spenders !The Russians love our spas, and our kind of massage most of all."
While the Philippines is renowned for its healing and wellness practices using local herbs, it is also a beauty destination where tourists can buy world-class products at good prices. Rustan’s Essenses, which offers the all the latest global beauty products, distributed boxes of Clarins cosmetics at the Moscow fair.
Likewise reporting good business during the Moscow fair were Hatwig Schloz (Badian Resort), Serafina Joven (Annset Holidays), Aurora Tadeo (Baron Travel), Patrick Blum (Blue Horizons), Sonia Lazo (Intas Destinations), Pedro Young (Marsman Travel), and Cesar Cruz (TRIPS Travel).
The DOT delegation received support from Philippine Ambassador to Russia Ernesto Llamas and his wife Macaria Llamas and Vice Consul Roderico Atienza. They graced the book launching of the first guidebook on the Philippines published in Russian, entitled Glazami Ochevidtsa: Filippiny (Eyewitness Guide to the Philippines) written by Ekaterina Pugachova and Sergey Serebryakov.
Published by the Argento Group with the support of the Philippine DOT and the Embassy of the Philippines, the 208-page book with l60 photos covers Manila, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan."The Philippines is on the verge of taking off as a destination for Russian tourists," say the authors. "We hope there will be more routes between Moscow and Manila. Then were sure the number of tourists will skyrocket." At the moment, Qatar Airways provides the fastest flights between Russia and the Philippines, with just one stop-over in Doha.
From the Congressional Committee on Tourism, chairman Edgardo Chatto led a delegation of seven Representatives: Roberto Cajes, Eladio Jala, Consuelo Dy, Cesar Jalosjos, Catalino Figueroa and Abdullah Dimaporo, all keen on supporting measures to promote tourism.
Rep. Chatto explains: "We have a major bill now under deliberation which will strengthen Philippine tourism. The bill defines the linkages of the national department that is promoting tourism with the local governments and the private sector. We are defining the kind of tourism that we really want in our country, highlighting the strengths of the Philippines. Of course, this anchors on environmental preservation, heritage preservation, capturing the new trends of medical and health tourism, together with ecotourism which is really a fad now worldwide."
Translating all these efforts into numbers, Rep. Chatto says the Philippines got 2.3 million tourists in 2004 and will get 2.5 million arrivals by end of 2005. Our modest target is 5 million visitors in 20l0."
Surely a big part of this will come as a result of an energetic Department of Tourism and its team of dedicated ace salesmen .
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