‘Travel is back’ PTAA’s 30th Travel Tour Expo draws mammoth crowd after pandemic years

Bargain hunters filled the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City last February  3-5, 2023, bringing home with them the best travel deals and discounts, marking another successful trade run for the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA).

The annual Travel Tour Expo (TTE) drew in more than 91,000 visitors in its three-day run, matching pre-pandemic numbers. TTE Chairman Michelle G. Taylan said that they wanted the pearl anniversary of the expo to serve as a “huge economic boost” and to encourage more Filipinos to travel in the post-pandemic world. 

No less than President Bongbong Marcos congratulated the association for mounting yet another successful travel trade event, despite the challenges to the sector. 

“[The tourism industry] is poised to recover its vibrancy prior to the pandemic,” President Marcos said. 

After mounting relatively scaled down expos in the past years due to COVID-19, the organizers were able to deliver on their promise to go bigger than ever, with as much as 70 percent off on airfares and travel packages. More than 300 exhibitors occupied around a thousand booths participated in this year’s expo, which include airlines, travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, cruise liners, and more. 

“We in the PTAA are very thankful and very proud of what we have accomplished. We managed to pull together and stand as one through ups and downs. Lahat ng pinaghirapan namin in the past years, we see it bear fruit now and we’re so happy ,” Taylan said. 

The event featured new additions to the program, including the first-ever conference with tourism speakers and a cultural dance competition – which was participated by different schools and regions. Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila was hailed champion in the cultural dance competition. 

The 30TH Travel Tour Expo has gathered a number of sponsors and partners to make all the activities possible, including: DOT-TPB, UNIONBANK, Philippine Airlines, UNITED AIRLINES, AIRSWIFT, PLDT, ISRAEL MINISTRY OF TOURISM, HOTEL 101, TIEZA, GUAM VISITORS BUREAU, CNN Philippines, Inquirer, PHIL Star, The Manila Times, Business Mirror, TRAVEL UPDATE, TTG, The Foreign Post, and Exhibit Today. High-profile tourism officials and stakeholders also graced the event, including: DOT Usec. Myra Paz Abubacar; DOT Usec. Ferdinand Jumapao, DOT  Asec. Christopher Morales; the Tourism Promotions Board; DCOO Atty. Charles Aames Bautista; the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) President TanKok Liang; PAL President Mr. Stanley Ng; Hotel 101 General Manager Gel Lopez, and representatives from different national tourism organizations. Ambassadors from different foreign embassies also made presence in the event such as: Israel Ambassador H.E. Ilan Fluss; Taiwan Ambassador H.E. Michael Pei Yung Hsu, Egypt Ambassador H.E. Ahmed Shehabeldin; Malaysia Ambassador H.E. Moht Fareet Zakaria, Czech Republic Ambassador H.E. Jana Šedivá and Thailand Ambassador H.E Tull Traisorat.

ADVT.

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