To improve the confidence of visitors from South-east Asia amid security concerns about travel in Europe, the Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) is deepening its collaboration with tour operators through regular visits and promotion of new products in this source market.
While PCVB has no fixed targets for Asian arrivals this year, the South-east Asian markets are seeing “very good” performance with an annual growth of 15 to 20 per cent, PCVB leisure marketing manager Patricia Barthelemy told TTG Asia during the bureau’s South-east Asia roadshow in Manila last week, which also included stops in Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta.
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“We want to regularly visit South-east Asia, not only PCVB but also our partners and suppliers,” said Barthelemy.
The bureau is already in regular contact with 50 major tour operators in South-east Asia. In the Philippines, “90 per cent of our operators are those who send clients to Europe”, she added.
Raymond Reedijk, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines country manager for the Philippines said that despite challenges in Europe, the airline has recorded encouraging signs since 2015. “Our forward bookings for summer look extremely positive. Europe is picking up (for the Philippines),” he commented.
Portia Taguinod-Santiago, operations manager, Alisto Travel and Tours, added that PCVB’s efforts to reach out to tour operators are helping to increase visitor traffic to France and Europe as airfares and tour packages become more affordable.
Furthermore, Filipinos tend to forget about threats after a few weeks and are even forming their own groups to Europe, said Rowena Maglinao, owner, Aerial Travel and Tours.
