LISBON 09 November 2018 — To present and promote the Philippines as a travel destination for the Portuguese market and facilitate the development of linkages between Portuguese travel agencies and Philippine tour operators and tourist establishments, the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon Portugal and the London Office of the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT London) organized a seminar workshop for Portuguese travel agencies and tour operators in Porto and Lisbon, Portugal on 08 October 2018.
In addition to Mr. Gerry Panga of DOT London, representatives from leading Philippine Destination Management Companies (DMCs) were also part of the Philippine delegation and conducted business-to-business meetings with their Portuguese counterparts during the 2 seminar workshops. The participating Philippine DMCs were Intas Destinations, Annset Holidays Inc., Baron Travel Corp., Travelexperts Inc., and Rajah Tours.
Ambassador to Portugal Celia Anna Feria, in her welcome remarks, encouraged the participants to look at the Philippines as a new and exciting destination to offer to their clients. She also stated that she looked forward to the establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships between the Philippine DMCs and Portuguese travel agencies.
Based on statistics from the Philippine Department of Tourism, there has been significant growth in the arrival of Portuguese tourists in the Philippines. From 2011 to 2017, tourist arrivals from Portugal increased by 29.36%. Despite the significant increase of tourist arrivals from Portugal, Ambassador Feria noted that the Portuguese market still holds considerable potential for growth as the number of Portuguese tourists in 2017 represents only around 20% of the number of Portuguese who annually travel to Southeast Asia.
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For more information, visit www.lisbonpe.dfa.gov.ph.
