MANILA, Philippines -Thousands of tourists from India are expected to visit the country with the availability of more flights in the coming year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
Tourism Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon said they expect the local tourism industry to capture a bigger share of the projected 15 million outbound tourists from India in 2011.
Bengzon said a DOT delegation recently attended a successful five-day sales mission to India where some 400 Indian tour operators and travel agencies gathered for the country’s travel trade fair.
According to Bengzon, the sales mission has proven to be an excellent platform to develop business ties with Indian tour agents.
“We are happy that the business-to-business meetings were able to raise interest in the development of their own tour packages for the April-June Indian travel season,” he said.
With more than 50 percent increase on target arrivals for India, Bengzon said the DOT hopes to see the inclusion of the Philippines in the 2011 tour offerings by the outbound Indian tours wholesalers and travel agencies.
He said the Philippines is vying for the market’s interest for shopping and entertainment in Manila, considerably known to Indians for its large, high-end shopping malls, entertainment centers and gaming facilities.
During the travel trade fair, Bengzon said Philippine Airlines announced the Manila-New Delhi direct links in March 2011 to address the major connectivity concern.
“Existing indirect connections with long stopovers result in trips of between 14 and 30 hours. With the direct service, travel time will be shortened to just six and a half hours,” he said.
Bengzon said the Philippine government also hopes to implement a program that would make it easier for tourists from India to secure travel visa from the Philippines.
Based on DOT data, tourist arrivals from India recorded a 30 percent drop in 2010 apparently due to visa and flight concerns.