The Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines have launched Virtual Destination Videos and 360° VR Experiential Tours, as part of their SmarTourism initiative.
TPB’s chief operating officer Maria Anthonette C Velasco-Allones said the digitalisation push is a product of their drive “to do better amid the trying times”.
“It’s not only a teaser for our foreign guests so they can get a good glimpse of our country in the new normal; it’s also a gift to our kababayans and OFWs who have been wanting to come home. And it’s a way to experience the Philippines vicariously and a guide to making every minute of your travel experience count,” she said.
The Virtual Destination Videos series is spearheaded by the DoT and supports TPB’s It’s More Fun With You campaign, which welcomes both domestic and international travellers back to Philippines. Content invites the audience to look forward to travelling safely in the country after the long hiatus.
The virtual videos showcase the best-of-the-best in Boracay, Palawan, Baguio/Cordillera, Manila, Pampanga/Zambales, Pangasinan/La Union, Ilocos Norte/Ilocos Sur, Bohol, Cebu, Bukidnon/Camiguin/Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo/Guimaras, Davao, Batangas, Tarlac/ Bataan, and various UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Besides allowing viewers to travel vicariously to the country’s tourist spots and activities, the web-based 360° virtual reality tour serves as a marketing tool for travel agents, helping them to promote Philippines digitally, as well as improve their destination knowledge.
The virtual reality tour is accessible via www.tpb.pcitech.com.ph/map, where the regions of Ilocos and Calabarzon can be viewed currently.
“Technology plays an essential role in promoting destinations, attractions, and activities here in our country. By leveraging on it, we have found new opportunities amid the crisis and new ways to tell the world that, hey, the Philippines is alive and well, worthy to see and explore, and remains as beautiful and fun as ever,” said DoT secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat during the launch event.
Titled River of Life, this light installation will run nightly from now until February 14, and can be seen from the river from 20.00 to 06.00. Led by local artist Lee Wei Lieh, this is Very Small Exhibition’s first such installation created in collaboration with a hotel.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s reiteration of the region’s adherence to a “dynamic zero” regime on February 8 has intensified worries for local tourism players, who have had their business disrupted once more by Omicron infections since January 7.
All local tourism activities, such as Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Spend-to-Redeem Local Tours programme as well as cruises to nowhere, have been suspended.
Holiday World Tours, managing director, Paul Leung, told TTG Asia that business had started to pick up in late-2021, thanks to the return of cruises. “Now, everything is halted. We are not sure what the future holds. Perhaps nothing will materialise before June,” Leung lamented.
While there is the Come2HK travel scheme that allows quarantine-free entry for non-Hong Kong residents coming from China’s Guangdong province or Macao, Leung said Hong Kong travel agents have benefited very little from it.
The situation would continue to be tough for tourism and MICE players well into 2023, even if all barriers were lifted tomorrow, opined Destination China, general manager and owner, Gunther Homerlein.
He said: “It is the perfect storm of all bad press Hong Kong received prior to Covid – during the political strife – and during the pandemic. Hong Kong has not yet had a chance to reposition herself.”
Arrivals to Hong Kong went from 55,912,609 in 2019, when the destination experienced social unrest, to 3.57 million and 91,000 in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Homerlein said local tour operators might have made some money, “but most of us who specialise in international business had little or nothing”.
“There is noting that has been done by the government or Hong Kong Tourism Board to help, support or give the industry hope,” he remarked.
Referencing the SingapoRediscovers voucher programme by the Singapore government and the Singapore Tourism Board, Homerlein said: “It was a well directed and managed programme that allowed the industry not only to thrive, but survive. It also encouraged the development of a lot of very good new products.”
Among hotels, Hong Kong’s stance on Omicron has resulted in banquet business losses. Dine-in services after 18.00 have been banned since mid-January.
A spokesperson with Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong said the property has responded with a relaunch of its Dinner Box Buffet and In-room Safe Buffet, both of which have been popular with guests. These will remain available until March 4.
For now, Hong Kong’s SME agencies will continue to receive financial aid from the government. The fifth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, announced on January 14, commits about HK$3.6 billion (US$470.9 million) to supporting initiatives such as the Green Lifestyle Local Tour Incentive Scheme and payouts to eligible tour service coach drivers, travel agency staff and licensed agents.
The sixth round of subsidy, confirmed by chief executive Lam on February 8, will amount to HK$26 billion.