Eugene the endorser of philippines torism

November 11, 2006

Tourism Secretary Durano appoints Korean actress Eugene as Philippine publicity ambassadress.

 

A high-powered travel trade mission from the Philippines arrived in Seoul on June 6 in a bid to sustain the massive influx of Korean tourists to this archipelago in the Pacific region.

At the head of the mission is Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace H. Durano, who will be on the center stage of the Korea World Travel Fair (KOTFA) slated at the Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul on June 7-11.

Durano has been invited as a special guest of honor to the KOTFA event for the second year in a row.

Secretary Durano is scheduled to meet with his Korean counterpart Kim Myong-kon, minister of culture and tourism, on June 9 to exchange views on ways of promoting two-way tourist traffic between Korea and the Philippines.

A spectacular exhibition and performances for the launch of its marketing campaign in Korea is in store for the Seoul event.

"Our presence in KOTFA 2006 will significantly boost our marketing efforts in Korea to help achieve our total target foreign arrivals of three million this year." With a growth rate of 27.6 percent in the first quarter (of the year) posting 144,768 arrivals, Korea is now the top tourist generating country for the Philippines," said DoT Secretary Joseph Ace H. Durano.

To be launched at the June 7 activity at the Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel is the DoT's new marketing campaign "7,107 Philippines: More Than You Can Imagine" and the conferment of the Tourism Ambassador title on Korean celebrity Eugene Kim as new Philippine brand endorser.

 

Top-caliber delegation representing the Philippines travel trade industry to KOTFA are executives and officers of Philippine Airlines, Southeast Asian Airlines, Philippine Tour Operators Association, Century Park Hotel, Grand Regal Hotel Davao, Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila, Hyatt Regency Manila, Island Cove Resort and Leisure Park, Waterfront Hotels and Casinos, Worldwide Resort Philippines, Regent Travel, Mt. Apo Travel and Tours, Travel Village and Tours, DoT, Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation, Philippine Retirement Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, provincial government of Bohol, and the city government of Bacolod.

On the eve of the KOTFA Travel Fair due next week, Secretary Durano has given an exclusive written interview with The Seoul Times. The following is gist of questions and answers.

Q1: The Philippines got a 94 percent satisfaction rating in a recent survey conducted among Korean tourists.

This indicates that RP's promotional campaign in Korea is so far so good. The public sentiments are always so changeable. Does DoT have any other strategies to keep Korean tourists from other competitors namely Thailand and Malaysia?

 

A1: While we are enjoying 94% satisfaction rating, we are now faced with a "price-war" meaning our competitors are dumping their prices in order to attract the market. They can afford to do this because they have more rooms to fill up, thus, accommodation is almost a give-away. There is a very high demand for accommodation facilities in our various island destinations. Markets other than Korea like Japan have posted positive growth. We will continue to create the awareness of the Philippines in the market through publicity and advertising highlighting our proximity and the variety of attractions that the Philippines can offer to the Korean traveler.

Q2: According to news reports, DoT is reportedly looking with interest at three kinds of Korean tourists to be invited to visit the Philippines to meet the 600,000 Korean arrivals target by the end of the year. What are these all about?

A2: We will continue to attract the general leisure market (families), honeymooners, SIT's (Special Interest Tours i.e. golfers, divers, sport enthusiasts) and the growing student market. We will also attempt to attract the incentive market and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Convention Exhibition). Slowly and together with the Philippine Retirement Authority, we will attract more retirees to the Philippines in order to meet our target arrivals this year.

 

Q3: I understand that Medical Tourism Philippines (MTP) welcomes tourists from all over the world to visit the Philippines for their medical and leisure needs. What are strong points of the Philippines medical tourism as compared to other Southeast Asian countries, which are also joining this lucrative market segment?

A3: While the Philippines is a newcomer in the field of Medical Tourism, our strength and edge over our competitor neighbors is the availability of medical practitioners who are experts in their own field. Filipino doctors are highly respected all over the world and care giving from highly trained medical assistants is readily available. In fact, Filipino nurses are welcomed in all continents. Our hospitals are equipped with the latest medical and surgical equipments, which will ensure the safety of every medical tourist.

Q4: Korean travel agents and tourism investors are eyeing Davao City as the site of a high-end Korean residential vacation complex. Please tell us more about Davao's attractive points.

A4: Davao's attraction as a tourist destination is a well-kept secret. It boasts of a variety of natural attractions. Contrary to popular beliefs Davao is probably the safest, cleanest and most pristine travel destination in the Philippines. There is an abundance of fresh fruits, fish and poultry in the area and has the most number of available flora and fauna in the country. It is a perfect choice for retirees who for the rest of their lives just want to enjoy the natural and unpolluted atmosphere of Davao. Apart from being endowed with a natural environment conducive to retirement, Davao is also a more affordable city, giving the retiree more value for her/his money.

It offers the retiree the complexities of a city lifestyle and the simplicities of country life, which we believe, are what high-end retirees seek.

Q5: President has recently inaugurated the Can-Asujan Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP). Does this project have anything to do with tourism of Cebu on a medium or long-term basis? If not, what kind of new tourism attractions Cebu can offer to Korean tourists?

A5: With the Philippine government support, the PDOT has continued to prioritize infrastructure development and considers it as the key to developing tourism. A number of tourism projects worth P3.89 billion were endorsed to various government agencies for grant of incentives. May 25, 2006.

But above all the H.E. Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo emphasizes the need for prosperity in all strata of our society, particularly the agriculture sector. The SRIP project in the short term will assist in the development of the agriculture sector and in the long run contribute to the welfare of the community which ultimately contributes to a tourism that embraces agriculture as the centerpiece of attraction. The success of UBUD of Thailand, the rice paddies of Bali among others show how agricultural communities are an integral part of a destination offer. The growth of experiential tourism further attests to the value of such focus.

It may be noted that the tourism highway, a showcase of infrastructure development, is geared to linking the major cities with outlying cities, which offer alternative attractions.

Cebu has been sold as a beach destination with emphasis on the Mactan Island and the Lapu Lapu City. Cebu mainland and outlying islands accessed by these new links has yet to be explored by the Korean travelers. Cebu's latest attractions include: the North Country Side Tour, South Country Side Tour, Diving in Malapascua, Tour of Camote's Island, Beaches in Bantayan Island, the sunbasking in privacy in the Sumilon Island, Eco-tour & Birdwatching in Olango Island

The Philippines has registered the highest growth rate over competitors for the Korean market in the year 2005 becoming an all time Southeast Asian favorite destination.

Korea is now the largest Asian market for the Philippines posting a double-digit percentage increase every month averaging over 29 %.

The remarkable 30% growth rate for the first three months of this year is an indication of a productive year with over 480,000 arrivals in the year 2005.

"We are optimistic that we can reach our target of 600,000 at the end of this year with the support of Korean travel trade industries," Tourism Secretary Jospeh Durano observed.

Tourism Secretary Durano appoints Korean actress Eugene as Philippine publicity ambassadress.

Meeting with a group of Korean news media shortly after official launching of Philippine Media Campaign on July 7 at Millennium Seoul Hilton in downtown Seoul, Durano thanked the Korean media for their conscientious and balanced coverage of the Philippines which he said has continued to grace numerous travel stories and headlines, thus propelling interest in key tourism destinations of the Philippines among holiday seekers as well as new market segments such as silver, the incentive travel, the special interest and retirees market.

"The number 7,107 is our new brand message and Ms.Eugene is our messenger," declared Secretary Joseph Ace H. Durano in his opening remarks of the spectacular function attended by hundreds of Korean and Filipino media representatives as well as members of Korean travel trade business community including US Chung, chairman of the Korean Tourism Association.

The campaign appeals to family vacationers, newlyweds and leisure seekers, like golf aficionados.

 

Secretary Durano flew into Seoul on June 6 leading a high-powered travel trade mission from the Philippines in a bid to sustain the massive influx of Korean tourists to this archipelago in the Pacific region on the occasion of the KOTFA which opened on June 8 for a four-day run at COEX in downtown Seoul.

DoT launched 30-second commercials at a gathering of travel agents in the Millennium Hilton Hotel here before airing on Korean television.

Durano said the aim was to let Koreans know that there is more to the Philippines than beaches.

Durano said the department did extensive study of Asian markets, using surveys and focus group discussions to come up with a new tack.

For South Korea, Durano announced, singer-actress Eugene Kim, who has a strong following in both her country and the Philippines, had been tapped to serve as tourism envoy.

Secretary Durano(second from left) poses for camera with Eugene and Maricon Basco-Ebron (right), regional manager, Asia Pacific Travel Trade Sales & Promotions and head of Team Korea.

"Kim was picked because she fits the demographics of our target market: the honeymooners and young single people or those with families who are all looking for holiday destinations," he said.

The Philippines has set up far reaching economic and political reforms to sustain macroeconomic stability to match the influx of foreign tourists, . Durano said.

Pointing out that economic reforms are being concentrated on improving fiscal position apart from the implementation of the expanded VAT law, focus will be on strengthening tax collection that will ultimately allow the government to implement noteworthy projects not only for the traveling public but also for the Philippine populace, he explained.

"Peace, social justice and prosperity in all strata of the Philippine society is President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's resolution for the remaining years of her terms despite the continued disputes of different political factions. Durano said.

Secretary Durano then noted that President Arroyo remains steadfast in steering the country to its right direction for the progress all the Filipinos hope to achieve.

The gross national product (GNP) of the Philippines rose by 5.7 % in 2005 and is forecast to grow to 6.3 % this year whereas personal consumption expenditure averaged 4.9 % for the whole year of 2005 propelling manufacturing sector to accelerate by 5.6 %, the highest growth since 2001.

Touching on Korean investment projects in the Philippines, Secretary Durano said that the most recent being Hanjin, Korea's shipping giant, which has invested $1 billion in a shipyard facility at the Subic Freeport Zone.

"There are benefits which the Korean businessmen could gain for putting their capital in the Philippines. Among them are the free and unrestricted repatriation of capital, a fully liberalized foreign exchange system and a range of financial and administrative incentives, just to name a few," he said.

DoT launches 30-second commercials at a gathering of travel agents and media representatives.

With the growing honeymooners vacationing, Korean business business could also gain from putting capital in resort business such as the Seraph Hotel that has become a popular haven for Korean Boracay beach lovers, Durano maintained.

According to Secretary Durano, a total of 22 tourism projects worth 3.89 billion pesos was endorsed by Department of Tourism to various government agencies for grant of incentives and clearances in 2005.

"DoT will continue to prioritize infrastructure support to tourism development. Cebu South Road support project is an example of how travel time can be cut between Cebu city and the southern cities which offer alternative attractions," he said.

Durano then pointed out that airport upgrading, tourism highways to facilitate tourist's mobility and airline refleeting programs are but other few key strategic measures which his ministry will continue to expand.

Korean actress Eugene

 

her picture for endorsing  the philipinne