DOT spearheads month-long mall sale nationwide

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is spearheading a month-long nationwide mall sale in March, dubbed as the first Philippine Shopping Festival, aimed at encouraging tourists to spend more.

On Wednesday, the DOT along with partner malls and associations announced that the 2020 Philippine Shopping Festival will run from March 1 to 31 in Metro Manila, Agusan del Norte, Antique, Bacolod, Baguio, Bataan, Bicol Region, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Butuan City, Cagayan de Oro, Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Cebu, Davao, Ilocos Norte, Iloilo, Lanao del Norte, Legazpi City in Albay, Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Nueva Ecija, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, South Cotabato (General Santos City), and Zambales (Olongapo City).

The DOT said the program aims to position the country as a destination where shopping is fun, unique and affordable.  

Based on DOT’s Visitor Sample Survey in 2018, shopping is the most common tourist activity in the country with 38 percent of respondents indulging in such activity.

‘It’s not hard to see that elevating the shopping experience will go a long way to enhance the attractiveness of our tourist destinations all over the Philippines, whether it is our big cities or in our beautiful provinces. We’ve recognized this in the National Tourism Development Plan of 2016-2022, where leisure, entertainment and shopping tourism is one of the 10 products we want to further develop in the next few years,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

She said the sale would also feature a variety of Philippine-made items.

“Buying local helps support our craftsmen and artisans as well as their communities; more importantly, it helps preserve our culture, traditions, and Filipino way of life,” Puyat said.

The DOT said the shopping festival would offer discounts from 15 to 70 percent on Philippine-made products including food and dining, jewelry and fashion, crafts, furniture and décor, and beauty and wellness products.

“We invite all tourists to ‘Be Part of the Fun’ by supporting the 2020 Philippine Shopping Sale this March. We also look forward to it becoming a yearly and anticipated feature on the nation’s event calendar,” Puyat said.

Participating malls owner include the Araneta Group, Ayala Land Malls Inc., Duty Free Philippine Corp., Filinvest Land Inc., Greenfield Development Corp., Vista Malls, Megaworld Corp., Ortigas Land, Power Plant Mall, Robinsons Land Corp., Rustan Commercial Corp., Shangri-La Plaza Corp., SM Supermalls and Stores Specialists Inc.

Puyat first announced plans of a nationwide shopping festival in December, as part of efforts to encourage tourists to spend more. She said the event would push through despite the coronavirus disease – 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

“Again, we have to stress that as long as we have proven that all the malls have precautionary measures. You cannot enter the mall without them scanning you, Puyat said.

“Of course we are also telling people that if you don’t feel well, don’t go out first,” she added.

Apart from the mall sale, Puyat said travelers can look forward to affordable airfares and cheaper hotel accommodations for the promotion period.

The DOT and other tourism stakeholders earlier announced the rollout of more value-added packages, discounted accommodation and marked-down prices on domestic flights, as part of its efforts to boost the domestic tourism sector as foreign arrivals is expected to be affected by the temporary travel ban to and from China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau due to the COVID-19.

“This ambitious project, designed to increase tourism expenditure in the country, would not have been possible without the full support and cooperation of the nation’s mall operators, retailers, franchise holders, hotel and tour operators, and travel agencies,” Puyat said.

Groups supporting the event include the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, Philippine Franchise Association, Philippine Hotel Owners Association Inc., Philippine Retailers Association, Philippine Tour Operators Association, Philippine Travel Agencies Association, and Tourism Congress of the Philippines.

On Wednesday, Cebu Pacific announced it is reducing its year-round low fares across over 70 domestic destinations in support of government initiatives to spur domestic tourism to alleviate the impact of travel restrictions caused by the spread of the COVID-19.

“Starting Feb. 19, year-round low fares of Cebu Pacific will sell for as low as P88 (base fare)—even for travel within the next few days. Routes with reduced fares include those originating from Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan), Davao, Iloilo and Zamboanga,” Cebu Pacific said.

Cebu Pacific said the reduced airfare is on top of promotional seat sales for key destinations the carrier has been running since late last month.

Apart from the discounted airfare, Cebu Pacific said it has also ramped up capacity across key domestic routes by an average of 44 percent.

“Seats were increased across flights between Manila, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Cebu, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo and Bacolod; as well as between Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Iloilo,” the air carrier said.

It added that these will be implemented either by an upgrade to larger-capacity aircraft or additional flights.

“We are one with the government and fellow tourism stakeholders during this challenging time. Through this increase in the supply of seats and fare reductions across our domestic route network, we hope to encourage Philippine residents to travel and explore the country,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and customer experience of Cebu Pacific.

Moreover, the DOT continues to remind tourists that traveling around the country remains safe amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

She added that President Duterte will be going around the major islands in the country including, but not limited to Boracay, Bohol, and Cebu to show tourists and locals alike that it is safe to travel around the Philippines.