PH Travel Mart 2014 to feature Region IV

FROM left: Philtoa president Cesar Cruz, Region IV DOT Director Rebecca Labit and Puerto Galera Mayor Hubbert Dolor KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ

In preparation for this year’s Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) slated on Sept. 5 to 7, the Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) organized a familiarization tour in parts of Southern Tagalog and Mindoro to highlight the region for the upcoming expo.

The tour, which is the second part of the fam trip series, explores historical sites and tourist destinations of Laguna, Quezon, Batangas, and Mindoro. The program aims to discover the rich cultural heritage, arts and crafts, natural and manmade attractions, activities and festivals of Region IV.

“The improvement and almost-completed road networks forming the tourism convergence highways is also one of the key factors we decided to embark in this fam trip,” Philtoa president Cesar Cruz says.

Cruz adds that with the emergence of the expressways, the interior towns of the provinces near Manila are now bypassed.

“By developing how to go to these places, people can appreciate what tourism is all about,” he says. The third leg of the fam tour will be a Northern Palawan Eco Adventure Discovery Tour.

Rebecca Labit, Region IV DOT regional director, says the Philippine tourism, specifically in Calabarzon, has already set higher standards for a better service to tourists and visitors. However, she says that this should be a collaborative work between all the people involved.

“This is the reason why they agreed to the fam tour because the tour operators can set the destinations, they also contact the services of the locally accredited tour guides and

ESTRELLAS de Mendoza Playa Resort in Laiya, Batangas Kimberly dela Cruz

transportations,” she says.

For the last 24 years, the PTM has been offering Philippine tour products and destinations exclusively. However, on its 25th year, it will now present outbound destinations in view of the forthcoming implementation of the Asean Integration in 2015. The tourism offerings will be under the “Sale ng Bayan,” which will sell travel packages of twinned Philippine destinations and Asean cities such as Boracay-Bali, Puerto Princesa-Kota Kinabali, Kuala Lumpur-Cebu, Laoag-Cambodia, Manila-Ho Chi Minh, among others.

This year’s PTM will also showcase cultural competitive events like choral, cultural dance, “Patimpalak ng Kasuotang Filipino,” “Himig Kundiman,” and tourism quiz bee.

Aside from PTM, the Philtoa will be staging the second Philippine Tourism Forum, under the theme, “The Business Tourism, Going Big Time” to be held also on  September.