The 2006 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) will turn Davao City into a…
The 2006 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) will turn Davao City into a tourism hub as some 3,000 delegates from six continents around the world are coming over to participate in this huge international event from January 16 to 21.
This was announced by Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace H. Durano, citing the ATF as an excellent start for another phenomenal year for Philippine tourism, which just surpassed its target of 2.6 million in foreign arrivals for 2005 after posting a record-breaking 2.29 million in 2004.
Durano said the holding of the ATF’s silver anniversary in Davao City would duplicate the tourism phenomenon in Cebu since it hosted this event in 1997. “Davao has all the infrastructure – a world-class international airport, good roads, hotels and resorts, natural attractions, great food, effective local government, the best security system, peace-loving and law-abiding people, and everything else to make a fine menu for tourism,” Durano said. “So now is the time to present Davao to the world, with the ATF serving as its grand entrance.”
The benefits of ATF are also expected to spill over to the rest of Mindanao and across the archipelago as big foreign buyers and media have signed up for the post-event tours. These include 10 for Subic, 14 for Pagsanjan, six for Corregidor, 34 for Cebu, 10 for Bohol, 31 for Palawan, 30 for Banaue, 40 for Boracay, 12 for Bicol, and 12 for Cagayan de Oro/Camiguin.
“No other event can give as much premium promotional value to Philippine tourism. And no amount of promotion can erase the stigma of Mindanao if we don’t bring them here to experience its beauty and peace,” Durano said, referring to the contingent of 500 international media and foreign wholesale buyers of travel packages.
The immediate income to be generated from the ATF’s 3,000 delegates, according to Durano, is only P45 million (Philippine Pesos), but the long-term benefits to Philippine tourism can yield billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
For last year alone, Durano projected the total 2.6 million foreign arrivals to generate over $2 billion worth of economic activity, computed at the average $90 per tourist per day. This increase over 2004’s 2.29 million can create more than 916,000 jobs, or three percent of total national employment.
For this year, Durano is targeting at least three million foreign tourists as he sees the ATF to set the pace of the country’s tourism performance. Many of the ATF delegates are coming from the Philippines’ major markets such as Japan, China, Korea and North America, where Durano has introduced a localized or market-specific, instead of umbrella marketing strategy.
The delegates include officials of ASEAN governments, and officers and members of national tourism organizations, ASEAN Airlines Association (AAA), ASEAN Hotel & Restaurant Association (AHRA), Federation of ASEAN Travel Association (FATA), and various other sectors of the regional and global tourism industry.
ATF Secretary General Daniel Corpuz said the event would give the world a new image of Mindanao as a premier destination in Southeast Asia.
Mindanao has been designated as the country’s lead tourism package in the ATF, with Davao City serving as its gateway and show-window, according to Tourism Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab.
The Philippine Department of Tourism is one of the Executive Departments of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. It is responsible for the promotion of tourist arrivals, tourism investments, and enhancement and preservation of tourism products in the country.
The following services are free of charge on a selective basis: dissemination of tourism information, maps, brochures, posters; lending out of videos, CDs and other tourism-related materials; recommendation for places to visit; endorsement to relevant entities; assistance to those traveling to the Philippines.
The Philippine Department of Tourism also engages in a number of promotional activities: travel trade shows, fora, media inserts and joint marketing arrangements.
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