A SUCCESSFUL year-long campaign in 2015 has inspired the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT) to extend another year of welcome to overseas travellers.

The Visit the Philippines Again (VPA) 2016 campaign will focus on travellers, especially those who have had a great time in the destination before, with lures being exclusive travel deals, discounted air fares and hotel stays.

Explaining the campaign’s extension, Gerard Panga, tourism attache, Market Development Group of the DoT, said: “It is to continue the momentum that we are having, despite challenges in the region. We are still seeing a good increase of eight per cent in arrivals, so we are on target to hit 5.2 million footfalls for 2015.”

Tourism data shows 2.6 million tourist arrivals in 1H2015, with most coming from North Asia such as South Korea and Japan.

China, in particular, registered strong growth of 59 per cent month-on-month in July after the Chinese government did away with its travel ban on the Philippines.

“Tour groups have started to pour in. At the moment, we have 14 direct flights to destinations such as Boracay and Cebu from all over China,” Panga said.

DoT’s decision to boost tourism through repeat travellers is based on findings that 60 per cent of visitors to the Philippines have toured the country before.

The tourism board also intends to drum up interest among specific groups of travellers with its array of events next year. Such events include the ASEAN Tourism Forum and Routes Asia 2016 for business people; Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 for foodies; and 2016 Ironman 70 for music and concert lovers.

Supporting the DoT’s tourism goals, the government will address a route development programme to encourage more flights into the country and lower the barrier of entry for foreign visitors.

Panga said: “Last year we came up with a policy allowing Indian passport holders with (visas from) the US, Japan, Australia, Schengen states and the UK to visit the Philippines and stay for seven days, extendible to 21 days, without a visa.”

This has resulted in a 27 per cent increase in Indian arrivals so far, he said.

Read more in TTG-PATA Travel Mart 2015 Show Daily.

INDIAN consumers are increasingly going online to research and book travel itineraries, and even more are expected to do so according to a study by consultancy firm Phocuswright.

The research, which was published earlier this year, involved 2,500 travellers from higher income groups across 25 cities in India. They were required to have taken at least one overnight holiday.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the PATA Technology Forum on September 6, Phocuswright’s research analyst, Asia-Pacific, Chetan Kapoor, said: “40 per cent of travel bookings in India are now made online. Consumers have become confident and are embracing the Internet as a means to discover prices and information. We expect the share to reach 50 per cent in the next four years.”

Sharing more details on the study, Kapoor said OTAs are top choices for travel information and two out of three travellers are buying pre-packaged tours online.

Offline travel consultants in India are, however, not perturbed by the shift in buying behaviour and growing share of the online travel segment, believing that the market is big enough for everyone.

Deepak Narula, managing director of Aman Travel Group, said: “Indian travel business is growing so there is room for both online and offline agencies. Indian travellers want excellent services and competitive prices. An offline consultant who can provide these will survive.”

Recognising that “online business is a reality that offline consultants cannot ignore”, Ranjan Kumar Mishra, managing director of Odisha-based Eastern Voyage, advised small-sized tour operators to “focus on alternative revenue streams such as travel insurance to survive”.

Some hoteliers have also said that offline agencies remain a key channel for their business and will continue to be so in the coming years.

“We have tie-ups with many OTAs and generate good business through them. However, offline agencies are giving us healthy MICE business. Furthermore, hotels must depend on different (channels),” said Debashis Dutta, associate director, sales and marketing with The Golden Palms Hotel & Spa, Bangalore.

Read more in TTG-PATA Travel Mart 2015 Show Daily

SRI Lanka’s successful bid to host the PATA World Congress in 2017 will propel the country into international spotlight, boosting tourism awareness for the destination.

Ruan Samarasinghe, chairman of the PATA Sri Lanka Chapter, said: “Sri Lanka has developed a lot (since the end of) the civil war in 2009 and we are now on a level playing field (in terms of tourism) with other developed countries.

“Even better, (Sri Lanka is) a unique destination that can offer sea, mountains, wildlife parks and cultural draws all at once. Not many other (countries) can do that,” he added.

According to Samarasinghe, the congress will welcome over 600 global industry leaders to Negombo, and will help to showcase to the world that the country is ready for business and leisure travel.

The association’s Annual General Meeting, PATA Youth Symposium, PATA Market Place, PATA Chapter Colloquium, PATA Foundation Gala Dinner, committee meetings, workshops and complimentary tours will also be held there.

Negombo, north of Sri Lanka’s largest city Colombo and a 15-minute drive from the international airport, is ready for world events. It has more than 2,000 hotel rooms today, making up 10 per cent of the country’s total 22,800 keys.

While the current top source markets for the country are China, the UK and India, Samarasinghe said there is a lot of untapped potential from South-east Asia.

Bhagaban Shrestha, managing director of Himalayan Holidays in Bangkok, who has up to 400 pax travelling to Sri Lanka on five- to seven-day packages every year, commented: “Sri Lanka appeals to the religious in Thailand because of its temples and pagodas. We also have direct air connections so it is convenient.”

Earlier in May, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau announced that it had secured a Rs3.4 billion (US$51 million) promotions budget for 2015 to fund trade fairs, roadshows, advertising and fam trips for 280 travel consultants and 280 journalists this year.

These efforts are expected to help Sri Lanka hit 2.5 million arrivals in 2016.

Read more in TTG-PATA Travel Mart 2015 Show Daily.