British envoy calls on RP to push tourism marketing

The Philippines is bound to hit different market segments, from retirees to backpackers, if it aggressively promotes itself to the European Union market.

British ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham reiterated his call for the Philippines to take extra efforts in promoting the Philippines to the growing EU market, as it is twice the size of the United States market with 450 million consumers.

"The Philippines has some way to go [in terms of tourism]," Beckingham said however, he stressed that strong advertising campaign is needed especially in London.

The Philippines, he said has the best, fantastic scenery for travel, this has to be capitalized to attract a sizable number of European tourists.

"The Philippines is a great place for the European back-pack market, like young students from colleges and universities," he said.

Although, the Philippines' Department of Tourism (DOT) is focusing its marketing efforts to draw more tourists from the neighboring Asian countries, like Korea, Japan, and China, Beckingham expressed optimism that the Philippines can be a preferred vacation haven for Europeans if enough promotions will be done.

Thailand is getting an average of 750,000 British tourists annually, the Philippines on the other hand, has managed to attract an average of 70,000 British tourists a year.

"Thailand attracts 10 times the number of British tourists, so there must be scope for stronger links, especially in the back-packer market," he said.

The ambassador expressed his readiness to help any initiative of the Philippines to promote the country's attraction in London.

DOT chief Joseph Ace Durano, on the other hand, recently announced that visitor arrivals from the United Kingdom are growing with numbers going up 6.4 percent for the year up to April 2006. For April alone, arrivals from United Kingdom climbed by 43.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the ambassador expressed the Philippines strength in attracting investments, these are in Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO), energy, and private-public finance initiatives, including tourism.

"Business process outsourcing and more private sector participation in government initiatives are areas where European companies can help strengthen the Philippines economy," he said.

Beckingham said Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have transformed developments like schools, hospitals, and military establishments in the United Kingdom, and could do much the same in the Philippines.

"British companies are ready to bring their expertise to the Philippines, following a business delegation led by the Lord Mayor of London in May. The delegation was left in no doubt of the opportunities for collaboration," he said.

The growing number of Filipino Overseas Workers (OFWs) in Europe would also help strengthen the links between EU and the Philippines.

As there is a growing half-a-million OFWs now based in Europe, there is a potential for Philippine banks, telecommunications companies, television stations to grow their European businesses, the Ambassador said.