Philippine Tourism Business Mission Sucessfully Conducted in Chongqing 

16 September 2019, Chongqing. The Philippine Department of Tourism-Shanghai, led by Tourism Attaché Ireneo Reyes, successfully held its Philippine Tourism Business Mission in Chongqing on 16 September 2019 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel-Jiefangbei.

The whole program consisted of two parts: the first part was the tabletop business-to-business meeting where Philippine companies (hotels, resorts) were able to present their proposals to local tour operators in Chongqing and establish contact for possible partnership; the second part was the dinner reception, which was attended by the Deputy Director General of the Chongqing Culture and Tourism Development Committee Deputy Director General, Mr. Qin Dingbo, and the undersigned.

During the dinner, the undersigned delivered his message and congratulated the Philippine Department of Tourism-Shanghai on successfully holding the Philippine Tourism Business Mission in Chongqing. The undersigned also emphasized the steadily increasing number of visa applications being received by Post, mostly from Chinese tourists who wish to visit Philippines for leisure. For this year, Post had already issued a total of 83,165 visas as of 31 August 2019 compared to 73,817 visas for the whole year of 2018 and 77,974 visas for the whole year of 2017. Finally, the undersigned mentioned that tourism is one of the avenues to promote people-to-people exchanges and encouraged the Filipinos present in the event to also explore Chongqing to appreciate its natural beauty and historical role and significance on the global stage.

This was then followed by a message from Mr. Qin Dingbo in which he stated that the business mission will enhance the interaction between the Philippines and Chongqing, as well as promote frequent tourism exchanges and the flourishing of the tourism industry of the two sides. He added that the Philippines, particularly Cebu and Boracay, is a popular tourist destination for the people of Chongqing. Finally, he expressed his desire to have more exchanges and cooperation with the Philippines in the areas of tourist exchange, market development, and management of the tourism market, and in this regard, he informed the undersigned of his plan to visit the Philippines for market survey of bringing Filipino tourists to Chongqing.

Tourism Attaché Ireneo Reyes gave updates on the Philippine Tourism Industry. He highlighted the trend in the recent years showing the increasing number of Chinese tourists into the Philippines. He noted that the Chinese tourists comprise the second biggest number of tourist arrivals in the past year. The goal, he added, is for the number of Chinese tourists to reach the 2-million mark by 2021. In his presentation, Mr. Reyes played videos of famous tourist destinations in the Philippines and tourism products that tourists, groups, and companies may avail themselves of.

In addition to the above officials, the event was attended by Deputy Tourism Attaché Warren Palacio, OIC of the North Asia Division-Tourism Promotions Board, Ms. Maria Dolores R. Aparejado, and International Promotions Department-TPB Officer, Ms. Gemma Aileen S. Isic.

The participating Philippine companies that sent their representatives and agents included resorts and hotels, such as Altabriza Resort Boracay, Artstream Hospitality Management Group, Inc., the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu and Davao, Fridays Boracay, Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, and The Bellevue Hotels and Resorts, among others. On the other hand, the local tour operators included ADJ Happy Travel, Asia Landmark Travel and Tours, New Goldmines Travel and Tours, and so on.

Philippine talent and music were showcased in the event through the performances by the Lira Filipina. Prizes were also awarded through raffle draws with a round-trip airfare to the Philippines and accommodation given away as part of the generous prizes.

Post considers the event highly successful and can result in an increase in the number of visa applications at Post in the future. The visas issued by Post for the first eight months of this year had already surpassed the whole-year figures of the previous years since Post’s establishment in 2008. If the business-to-business activity brings about new partnerships between companies, Post will certainly be expecting more frequent tours to the Philippines, hence more visa applications. END