DOT, Emirates join hands to boost Philippines tourism
The Department of Tourism (DOT) and Emirates Airline have inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that aims to assert the Philippines’ presence in the European, Middle East and other international markets being serviced by the Dubai-based airline.
The agreement was formalized by Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr. and Satish Sethi, Country Manager of Emirates-Philippines, after successfully concluding discussions that explored possible avenues to increase air connectivity between various parts of Europe and the Philippines via Dubai.
“The lifeblood of Philippine tourism is connectivity. We are an archipelago and most of the tourists can reach us only by air. That is why I consider initiatives like this as critical to the continuing development of our tourism market. We are opening more gateways and with it, wider access for visitors,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a statement.
Under the new partnership, the DOT and Emirates will jointly explore and implement various activities to promote tourism in the Philippines with the goal of boosting inbound arrivals in the country.
“Since launching our inaugural flight from Manila almost 30 years ago, we have been utilizing our broad network of global destinations to not only connect Filipinos to the world, but to also bring in more tourists to the Philippines so they can experience what this beautiful country has to offer. We are very honored to be working with the Department of Tourism in achieving its goal of 8.2 million tourist arrivals in 2019, and we remain as committed to contributing to the growth of the local tourism industry as we have been when we started operations here in 1990,” said Sethi.
Bengzon Jr. said that this agreement is a welcome development as the DOT works to improve air connectivity from long-haul countries in Europe and the Middle East, considering Emirates flies to more than 40 destinations in Europe and operates more than 250 flights per day globally. “It is widely known that long-haul source markets provide more benefits not only for tourism but also to hotel and resort operators, travel facilitators and other stakeholders as studies show that travelers from these markets stay longer and spend more,” he further explained the yields from this partnership.
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