STARTING off as a vacation package for Middle Eastern travellers over the Eid holidays, the Department of Tourism’s (DoT) family packages are now expanding in scope to include more markets, travel trade participation and customised dates and itineraries.
In its current form, the Kids Go Free packages bundle accommodation, transfers, and basic tours with two children travelling free of charge.
Stalin Samson, DoT’s desk officer for the Middle East, told TTG Asia e-Daily the packages will be extended “immediately” to Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and India and later European countries including Russia, France and Spain.
The trade is continuing to show support, with Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air amenable to offering special fares, said Samson.
He added that over 10 local travel agencies have signed up to offer the family packages and the number is set to grow as the DoT continues to receive enquiries, while talks with travel consultants and India and Russia have also yielded expressions of interest.
Travel consultants that TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to are reporting good demand for the packages.
Angel Ramos Bognot, president and managing director, Afro Asian Travel and Tours, began selling it in 2013 and said two families from the Middle East have just confirmed joining the programme in July.
To make travel to the Philippines a more hassle-free experience, Bognot suggested fast-tracking immigration procedures at the airport for the convenience of longhaul travellers.
Anne Elizabeth Angeles, sales manager for inbound at Marsman Drysdale Travel, said there is potential in the family and Muslim travel market for the Philippines, and she will continue to court these markets by email promotions, participation in tradeshows and liaising with her counterparts abroad.
