Philippines records 20% rise in tourist inflow from India

A 20 per cent increase in tourist inflow from India has been registered in Philippines which is pushing to promote its tourist spots in India.
A senior official said the tourism department of Philippines was expecting 100,000 Indian tourists by the end of this calendar year.
"The number of tourists from India is increasing. We have registered a growth of close to 20 per cent from the Indian market," Daks Gonzales, Head of the Office of Product and Marketing Development, Government of Philippines, told PTI here.
"This year, we are targeting seven million international tourists in Philippines by the end of this year," he said, adding that among them, one lakh are likely to be Indian tourists.

Gonzales was in the city to promote the Philippines tourism at a road show, Philindex 2017, which is covering the four cities of Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Lucknow besides Jaipur.
"We are now focusing on tier-two cities for tourism promotion. We covered Mumbai and Delhi a couple of months back and now are focusing on the northern region," he said.

He said tourists from Indian cities, which are directly connected, are visiting Philippines and the tourism department of Philippines is now looking forward to tap the potential of other cities like Jaipur.
Another official said over the last couple of years, the tourism department had been actively promoting Philippines for luxury, MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), weddings and small group travel destinations besides a holiday destination.

Destinations such as Manila, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, and Davao have been aggressively promoted in recent years, he said.