TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco congratulated two Philippine hotels, the only accommodation establishments from the Asia Pacific region to win at the prestigious Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence 2024 held at the Fitzroy Kimpton in London.
Crimson Resort & Spa, Boracay won the Best for Families award, while Crimson Resort & Spa, Mactan was recognized as the Best for Value Experience Spa award.
In another development, Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin Jr. is optimistic on the resurgence of tourism in the Philippines noting the programs and initiatives of the Department of Tourism (DOT) under the leadership of Frasco.
During his opening remarks at the launch of the DOT’s Bisita Be my Guest Program and after his visit to the Philippine Booth at the World Travel Market at the ExCel London, Locsin commended the DOT’s unwavering commitment and dedication to promoting the Philippines on the global stage.
“This morning, I was honored and delighted to be at the Philippine booth. I observed firsthand the interest that people have in our beautiful country. Having met and talked with the Secretary and her people, I can confidently say that we are ready to claim our spot as the new tourism powerhouse of Asia,” Locsin said.
He added “I wish to congratulate the Department of Tourism, headed by Secretary Frasco, for your hardwork and perseverance in continuing to promote the Philippines on the world stage. It is true that we have been behind our neighbors in tourism but we will catch up. Fresh with new programs and systems of the DOT, with you at the helm, Madam Secretary, our country will be putting its best foot forward.”
The DOT launched the Bisita, Be My Guest program on Nov. 6 at the sidelines of the World Travel Market (WTM) London 2023 in the United Kingdom.
In a hall filled with the warmth of the Filipino community from London and the United Kingdom, Frasco extended her heartfelt gratitude to the hundreds of overseas Filipinos and Filipino workers, officials, and private sector stakeholders in attendance at the special event to celebrate the Philippines.
”I am most grateful for your presence here tonight to celebrate the beauty of our country. Tonight, we launch here, in London, the Bisista, Be My Guest program, which is our President’s way of giving thanks to our overseas Filipinos and Overseas Filipino Workers who have given their love, their sacrifice, and their service to our country being so far away from home,” Frasco said.
The DOT chief bared the good news that under the Marcos administration, the Philippines is experiencing a robust tourism recovery, receiving nearly 4.5 million international visitors as of November 6, which is over 93% of the 4.8 million target for the year.
Recognizing the vital role of the vast diaspora of overseas Filipinos and overseas Filipino Workers hold in bannering the distinct Filipino warmth and hospitality all over the world, Frasco expressed optimism in bringing post-pandemic tourism recovery as she extended an invitation for the attendees to help boost the country’s tourist arrivals by way of becoming “tourism ambassadors” under the Bisita, Be My Guest Program.
“Here in the United Kingdom, they are blessed with the presence of over 200,000 hardworking, world-class Filipinos that give us pride over there,
All the way home. Through the Bisita, Be My Guest program, we hope to be able to channel our overseas Filipinos here in the UK to become tourism ambassadors for our country, to invite your friends, your family, your spouse, or anyone you know residing here in the UK or in Europe, to visit our country and to discover the many reasons to Love the Philippines,” she said.
On Nov. 6, Frasco joined global tourism leaders for the highly regarded World Travel Market (WTM) Ministers’ Summit in London, United Kingdom to tackle the role of education in transforming the world’s tourism industry.
Speaking before a high-level panel of tourism ministers and leaders present, the Secretary emphasized how the Department is making sure that education is being prioritized in the country’s local tourism blueprint, not only to reap successes from the industry but ultimately, prioritize delivering “quality tourism education” to the Philippines’ greatest tourism asset which is the Filipino people.
“Our Philippine government has applied a trifocal approach towards tourism education from basic education to technical vocational to higher education, as the Marcos administration envisions the Philippines to be the center for excellence in terms of tourism training [programs],” the tourism chief said.
“We also apply a convergenece approach towards tourism education, wherein we are in constant coordination with the private sector by way of our Tourism Industry Board Foundation, a composite of organizations from the entire tourism value chain that continues to collaborate with government in order to ensure that the needs of the industry are matched with the curriculum that’s provided by the schools,’ she explained.
Frasco cited that even as early as basic education level up to postgraduate studies, the DOT is working alongside with the country’s education institutions to make sure that students will land employment opportunities in tourism suited for their courses.
Joining the panel at this year’s WTM Ministers Summit were Natalia Bayona, UNWTO Executive Director; Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO; H.E. Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Hon. Sir John Whittingdale, Minister for Media, Tourism, and Creative Industries of the United Kingdom; Mr. Eijiro Yamakita, President and CEO of JTB Corp.; H.E. Mr. Arturo Bravo, Viceministro de Turismo of Colombia; H.E. Mr. Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia; H.E. Mr. Makram Mustafa A. Queisi, Minister of Tourism of Jordan; H.E. Mrs. Patricia de Lille, Minister of South Africa; H.E. Mr. Clayton Bartolo, Minister of Malta; and Mr. Tony Douglass, CEO of Riyadh Air.
The DOT, together with its tourism promotions arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, in partnership with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), introduced last year the Bisita, Be My Guest, an innovative online referral program aimed at boosting the Philippine economy by enjoining overseas Filipinos to become “sponsors” to their foreign friends and guests to visit the country, and incentivizing both sponsors and invitees with chances to earn raffle tickets to win special prizes.
The DOT has successfully launched the Bisita, Be My Guest in other key cities abroad including Tokyo, Japan; Berlin, Germany, and Los Angeles and San Francisco, USA this year.
