THE Manila Economic and Cultural Office is aggressively promoting local beach destinations to Taiwanese couples, in a bid to loosen Hawaii?s hold on the Taiwanese market.

Meco director for tourism Ireneo Reyes said the campaign, being undertaken in partnership with the Department of Tourism, focused on the promotion of Boracay, Palawan, Cebu and Davao, as well as other island and coastal areas that could compete with Hawaii in terms of beauty and cost.

?The beauty of our beaches remains one of our major draws for Taiwanese. Many couples looking to get married abroad do so in Hawaii, but Philippine beaches can more than hold their own, especially when cost is factored in,? Reyes said in a statement.

These beach destinations were being promoted not only to Taiwanese couples who wanted beach weddings, but also to tourists seeking to take advantage of the long Chinese New Year break next year, he added.

Among Philippine destinations, he said that Boracay topped the list of Taiwanese favorites, followed by Cebu, Bohol, Palawan and the capital of Metro Manila.

He said many Taiwanese were also keen on visiting the country?s dive sites, as well as various golf courses and schools that offered English language programs.

Citing data from Taiwan?s Ministry of Transportation, Meco resident representative and managing director Antonio Basilio earlier said total outbound travel from Taiwan dropped 5 percent to 625,834 people in September from 657,988 in the same period last year.

In the first nine months, the decline was even steeper at 8 percent, from last year?s close to 6.6 million travelers to this year?s more than 5.4 million.

Among those affected by Taiwan?s lack of appetite for travel was the Philippines, which suffered a 14-percent drop in the number of Taiwanese visitors, to 77,126 in September from 90,104 a year ago.

Basilio said Meco wanted these figures to improve by next year.

To do that, the group joins various travel and tourism fairs, as well as roadshows to promote the country to Taiwan nationals.

Meco and the DOT joined the recent Taipei International Travel Fair at the Taipei World Trade Center, to better show the Taiwan market what the Philippines had to offer, particularly the country?s beaches.

The 63-square-meter Philippine booth showcased a beach wedding theme, with a giant video wall featuring local landmarks.

Around 4,500 industry stakeholders and visitors dropped by the booth to get information materials, as well as to meet with their Filipino counterparts.

Meco and the DOT likewise went on a three-city tour?which included Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei ?from Oct. 26-29, to conduct presentations about the Philippines and its tourist attractions.