DOT: Portuguese tourists in Philippines on the rise

MANILA, Philippines — Portuguese tourist arrivals in the Philippines increased by 14 percent in 2014, data from the Department of Tourism show.

Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier said in a tourism seminar earlier this month that the the development is due to the increased tourism promotion activities in Portugal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said, meanwhile, that the seminar conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon follows the success of the first edition of its tourism seminar last year.

This year's seminar aimed at reaching out to travel agencies in the northern region of Portugal. 

Its objective was to present and promote the Philippines as a travel destination for the Portuguese market and to facilitate the development of linkages between Portuguese travel agencies and Philippine tour operators and tourist establishments.

Tour packages for the Portuguese market can also be developed and promoted by the participating Portuguese travel agencies to their Portuguese clients.

Alongside the general sales agents of Air France/KLM and journalists, the event was attended by around 50 travel agents representing 33 different travel agencies and tour operators in northern Portugal.

The seminar began with opening remarks from Lhuillier.

"When I assumed my post as Philippine ambassador to Portugal in early 2013, one of my key activities for the embassy is to aggressively promote Philippine tourism," he said.

While the Philippines offers a lot as a tourist destination and tourism is a vital sector for our country’s economic growth, a challenge specific to the Portugal market is the lack of awareness about the Philippines, he added.

There is also a "lack of tour packages on offer for the Portuguese market," Lhuillier said.

It was shortly followed by  a multi-media presentation by Quadrante and Air France/KLM to convince the travel agents why they should market the Philippines as a travel destination.

The presentation also provided useful information for the travel agents such as how to get there and sample packages for specific tourist destinations in Luzon, the Visayas and Palawan.

The "It's More Fun in the Philippines" video of DOT was shown in the seminar.