Bangon Tours takes centerstage at Travel Tour Expo on 14-16 February

This is a press release from Tourism Promotions Board

Travel Tour Expo (TTE) 2014 of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) will have the Bangon Tours program as the focus of participation by the local tourism industry’s government sector led by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), as the lead coordinating agency.

The DOT Pavilion will have one of the biggest, if not the biggest, booths participating in this year’s TTE, which will be held on 14-16 February at Halls 1 to 4 and Function Room 5 of the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

Amid the country’s most-awaited tourism and travel event, the DOT and TPB will involve its regional tourism offices nationwide and the other seven attached agencies in promoting more participation to Bangon Tours among industry practitioners and domestic travellers.

The other attached agencies involved are the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Duty-Free Philippines (DFP), Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), Intramuros Administration (IA), National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), and Nayong Pilipino (NP).

The Bangon booth will host cultural shows from the different regions, install interactive kiosks, information counters for brochures and give-aways, among other activities.

With President Benigno S. Aquino III expected to keynote TTE’s opening program, the government sector’s focus on Bangon Tours dovetails with the 21st TTE’s 2014 theme: “Love Life, Love Travel.”

As its tagline “Bakasyon Mo, May Meaning” conveys, the program is a direct contribution to the government’s recovery and rebuilding efforts. It also communicates its advocacy on social responsibility for the benefit and welfare of the local people in the destination areas, particularly in the Eastern Visayas region which was hardest hit by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in November 2013.

Last year, TTE had approximately 76,000 visitors — or more than 25,000 visitors daily who jam-packed the three-day event. These visitors went to more than 500 booths that were used by 235 exhibitors who showcased their tourism products and services such as discounted international and domestic plane fares, tour packages and others that cannot be found online.

With its aim to foster unity and professionalism among more than 600 PTAA members, the 21st Travel Tour Expo 2014 Organizing Committee is headed by newly-appointed executive director Marciano “Nit” Ragaza, Jojo Clemente as project director, and PTAA president and TTE 2014 organizing chairman John Paul Cabalza.
Travel Tour Expo organizers have agreed with TPB to donate a substantial amount of the event’s proceeds to Bangon Tours. This amount will be in addition to the donations of individual PTAA members who have signed up with TPB.

“Domestic tourism is big. Special events like the annual TTE make it even bigger. When people take holidays, short breaks, and day trips in their own country, they make tremendous socio-cultural, economic and environmental impacts,” says Domingo Ramon Enerio III, TPB’s Chief Operating Officer.

“When properly implemented, domestic tourism in the Philippines achieves the goal and impact of our National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), which is to have an environmentally and socially responsible tourism that delivers more widely distributed income and employment for Filipinos, especially the local people of the host communities in the tourist destination areas,” COO Enerio adds.

Data from the Department of Tourism indicate that international tourism had 4.27 million visitor arrivals in 2012, length of stay for 8.2 nights, P3,874 average expenditure per day, and total receipts of P129.7 million. On the other hand, domestic tourism had 37.5 million local trips for the same period, 4.7-night length of stay, and P995.7 million in tourism earnings, which does not include the backyard economy. For 2016, the target is 10 million foreign visitor arrivals and 56.1 million in domestic trips with 18.7% in employment contribution to the Philippine economy.