The Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, the marketing and promotions arm of the Department of Tourism, is right on its track to boosting tourism in the Philippines as it simultaneously mounted the Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) and MICE Buyers Invitational 2019 last Oct. 20-27.
Now in its 18th year, PHITEX is considered the biggest travel trade event in the country, with close to 200 sellers and 200 buyers participating. The main highlight of the event is the one and a half day business-to-business session between foreign buyers and local sellers to encourage tourism-related discourse among the participants, and open doors for business opportunities.
“PHITEX is mounted annually as a support for stakeholders in the travel trade industry,” says TPB chief operating officer Marie Venus Tan.
“Instead of working as individual operators and sellers, we provide a platform for them to connect to hundreds of buyers from all over the world in one venue, which saves them precious time and money. The event also gives buyers a more comprehensive view of the different destinations and packages that they can sell to consumers, either as individual or bundled tours.”
Participants also took part in the PHITEX educational seminar where industry leaders discussed new trends in tourism marketing as well as marketing strategies in mature and emerging markets.
Meanwhile, MICECONnect 2019 aims to accelerate the Philippine MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibits/events) industry by gathering MICE suppliers to showcase the country as a premium destination for international events and conferences.
This year’s focus was conducting business networking opportunities to further develop the country’s MICE industry.
MICECONnect 2019 likewise featured B2B sessions for Philippine and foreign MICE buyers, and included a hotel and MICE venue inspection. Moreover, MICECONnect delegates were treated to post-event tours to highlight some of the country’s premier MICE destinations including Iloilo City, Bacolod, Davao, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Tagaytay, Manila, and Batangas.
