The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) recently laid out the red carpet for the arrival of executives from the Mumbai cinema industry. The group visited some of the country’s top destinations that may become the backdrop for future productions.

Their itinerary included Manila, Subik, Clark, Cebu, Boracay, Palawan, and Bohol. The DOT has further lined up ocular inspections of film studios and other technical resources in Manila and Cebu. Business talks with the FDCP and local counterparts have also been set.

The welcoming of these top-level decision makers is part of the DOT’s Film Tourism program, which presents the country’s wealth of visually-captivating beaches, natural landscapes and historical sites as locations for feature movies, short films, TV programs and music videos.

The Mumbai film trade, more popularly known as Bollywood, churns out an estimated 1,000 movies annually and is one of biggest motion picture industries in the world. The colorful song and dance extravaganzas are viewed by over 23 million Indians everyday.

Given such wide reach, the DOT is keen on tapping this market. It has been observed that Bollywood locations soon become trendy and popular destinations among Indian travelers. In the Asian region, both Malaysia and Singapore have used these films to advertise their countries and have since become top holiday choices among Indian nationals.