PHILIPPINE sellers are broadening their buffet of tourist options in an effort to spread visitors beyond the usual Manila, Cebu and Boracay.

Asian travellers who are not into sun and sea, as well as Europeans whose travel insurance do not cover flying with domestic carriers due to the ongoing European Union ban, have the welcome mat rolled out for them in emerging destinations such as Banaue and Baler on the island of Luzon, which are accessible overland from Manila.

Jeepney Tours is set to launch experiential packages in the international market for Batad town in the highlands of Banaue, which will include living with locals, imbibing their culture and taking part in activities such as farming in the province renowned for its 2,000-year-old rice terraces.

Jeepney Tours managing director, Clang Garcia, said the tours would showcase the Philippines as an agricultural country, and appeal to Europeans and students who were not used to rural life. Programmes can also be tailored for incentive trips.

Ine Faustino, general manager of CCT 168 Tours, also attests to the growing popularity of countryside tours, especially those along the way to Banaue, passing by Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya. “Europeans and balikbayans (returning Filipinos) are not familiar with the local colours like rice planting, harvesting and separating the chaff from the grain, so they like countryside stops very much,” said Faustino.

Other destinations in Luzon in the early stage of emergence are Baler in Quezon province, north-east of Manila, for surfing, as well as Laoag in Ilocos Norte, north of Luzon, for its sand dunes, casino, museums and age-old churches that can be packaged together with the heritage destination of Vigan in Ilocos Sur.

The world’s eyes have also recently fallen on the Caramoan Islands in Camarines Sur, or Camsur province, featured location of Survivor US’ 25th season, which premiered a week ago and runs until the end of the year.

While Camsur is still a destination with few international-level resorts, its relatively undiscovered beaches and limestone cliffs are making sellers sit up. It is most commonly accessed from Naga City, and transfers can be arranged to Gota Resort in the heart of the Caramoan. Tourists can also stay in Legaspi, which has stunning resorts like Misibis Bay and the newly-opened Oriental Hotel.

Pat Alberto, president and general manager at Ark Travel Express, said while Caramoan would always be compared to Phuket, it was an entirely different destination. “We need to learn to manage expectations,” he explained.

Additional reporting by: Marianne Carandang

MALAYSIA’S leading inbound tour operator Asian Overland Services (AOS) Tours & Travel has unveiled plans to expand regionally to provide customer support for its online B2B portal, aosclick.com, which has been recording double-digit growth since its 2009 launch.

Two overseas offices will be established in Cambodia and Singapore, and will be known as Asian Overland Travel Cambodia and Asian Overland Travel Singapore respectively. Reporting to the main office in Kuala Lumpur, both offices will continue to work with existing local partners to provide ground handling services.

Said managing director, Yap Sook Ling: “The office in Cambodia will be set up in end-October to provide inbound and outbound tours. Both leisure and MICE traffic from China and India will be targeted as both countries are new markets for Cambodia, and by going in early, we hope to get first-mover advantage. The Singapore office will be operational in December.”

Explaining the reasons for setting up shop in Singapore, Yap said: “Singapore has easy flight access and is a sought-after destination among Asian and European travellers. It is also an attractive destination for MICE. With this office we hope to promote dual-destination incentives, combining Malaysia and Singapore.”

She added: “This is just the beginning of our expansion plans. By 2015, we plan to have an operations office in every major Asian destination.”

THE city of Sendai, Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organization, Japan Railways and inbound travel experts in the Tohoku region are coming together to roll out a rejuvenated Welcome to Sendai campaign from April to June 2013, in the hope of regaining tourism numbers.

Campaign details were still being worked out at press time but are expected to be ready by year-end. Unlike the first Welcome to Sendai campaign held in 2008, which was only targeted at the local market, the second edition will have more international appeal as the global audience comes into the cross hairs this time, with Asia as its core focus, said Sendai City’s economic affairs bureau senior officer, Osamu Arakida.

The campaign aims to show that Sendai City, the largest city in Tohoku, is safe from harmful radiation and that business is as usual after last year’s earthquake and tsunami, said Arakida, who revealed that foreign arrivals to Sendai dipped from 90,000 in 2010 to 24,000 last year.

He said: “Sendai and Tohoku are recovering, but arrivals are not yet back to normal. We’ve had charter flights from Thailand and Hong Kong last year, and this is proof that confidence levels have somewhat recovered among the Thais and Chinese.”

However, outbound experts selling Japan remarked that the campaign duration should be extended and details given well in advance for easier promotion.

Desmond Lee, group managing director of Malaysia-based Apple Vacations & Conventions, said: “The campaign should be at least a year long – three months is too short. By the time the details of this campaign are made known and we advertise in the local media, the campaign will already be over. The campaign should also include media and (trade) fam trips so people can see the situation in Sendai and Tohoku for themselves.”

Said Tai Poh Kim, managing director of Hello Holidays, another outbound expert from Malaysia: “Japan is not a cheap destination for Malaysians. It attracts the affluent (travellers) as a five-night programme in Tohoku would cost about RM8,000 (US$2,600).”

“The campaign should have something really special to attract Malaysians to Sendai and Tohoku as both are not as well-known as other popular destinations such as Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido. Sendai should also (spend) money on international advertising and promotions to make this campaign a success.”

BUYERS at PATA Travel Mart told TTG Asia e-daily that China has been winning more hearts as a destination, with many clients asking for more complex and off-the-beaten-path itineraries.

Cindy Yam, vice president, Essential Travel & Tours Los Angeles, has seen a spike in demand for both group and FIT traffic to unfrequented locations in China.

“China is our hottest destination right now – we send more than 20 groups per year. Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai…lots of Americans have already been to these places. Instead, they are starting to head to places in the far west such as Xinjiang, Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Gansu and Urumqi,” she said, adding that travel to western China tends to be seasonal.

“We only organise trips to western China in May or September because the weather tends to be better during this period,” Yam explained.

To reach China from the US, her customers usually fly with Cathay Pacific and transit via Hong Kong, or with Korean Air via Seoul. They spend about US$5,000 per pax including flights and stay at least two weeks in the country.

M Zaki, travel consultant with California-based RZ Travels, has also received hundreds of enquiries badgering him to provide information on more remote areas on the mainland.

“My clients are keen on exploring the ‘real’ side of China,” he said. “They want to explore the rural areas, see how people are living…and how it is like in the countryside. We’ve also received quite a number of enquiries for land itineraries packaged with cruises on the Yangtze River.”

Buyers in the region also noticed a similar trend of China climbing the popularity stakes.

Rosemariecel C Sanchez, manager-outbound leisure, Executive Resources Manila, has experienced a surge in the number of golfing groups her company has been packing off to China this year. These visitors spend an average of five days enjoying the pristine golfing facilities in places such as Mission Hills in Dongguan or Spring City Golf & Lake Resort in Kunming.

“This segment to China has really picked up. It used to be about 50 pax per year, but this year it’s already been about 100 pax so far,” she said.

Adi Haryanto, tour manager of Esa Tour Jakarta, which handles three to four 100-500 pax incentive groups to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou every year, said requests for more exotic destinations such as Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi had been on the uptrend over the last couple of years.

“China is a never-ending story. Most of our clients have already been to the main cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and there are now quite a number who are keen on travelling to Chengdu, Kunming, Guilin and Huangshan,” he said.

However, while interest in China’s exotic side seems to be at an all-time high, several buyers expressed reservations about whether these far-flung destinations were ready to handle the hike in traffic.

Melba D Lobina, general manager of The Far East Travel Company Hong Kong, who has seen a peak in interest in less well-known cities such as Tianjin, said: “We hesitate to offer these destinations due to the language barrier and because we are not aware of what the facilities in these places are like.”

“Communication is a huge problem, even with the suppliers and local tour operators. In order for us to really go out and sell these areas, destination marketing and knowledge need to improve first.”

Esa Tour’s Adi agrees. “Marketing and promotion definitely need to be better, not to mention that sending big groups to smaller places always tends to be more difficult in terms of logistics,” he said.