Travel agents in India recently got to know some of the Philippines’ leading destinations during an itinerary training session in Delhi on 15th October.
Spearheaded by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), this initiative is part of the country’s drive to attract more tourists from South Asia.
In a statement released on Thursday, 23rd October, DFA officials remarked on the heightened interest that Indian travel agents and tourism professionals expressed during the invitational event.
They said: “The Delhi session was just the opening salvo in a sustained drive of similar itinerary training sessions. Buzz Travel is taking the series across India, including in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata, for which the Embassy and its network of Honorary Consulates General will again lend support.”
Weaving a path through India
Led by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the Department of Tourism (DOT) through its India representative Buzz Travel, the initial session drew in around 60 Indian travel stakeholders seeking to strengthen their ability to effectively promote the country’s destinations.
Participants were introduced to curated three- to seven-day travel itineraries, highlighting Manila as the main gateway and extending to island destinations such as Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, and Siargao.
The workshop also covered other topics crucial to Indian travel partners, such as travel logistics, inter-island connectivity, and market segmentation.
Indian agencies also expressed enthusiasm for the Philippines’ diverse offerings, adventures to budget, all the way to the ultra-high experiences afforded by exclusive hotels and even private island escapes.
Attracting more diverse markets
The increased engagement comes as the Philippines seeks to diversify its market and attract the massive Indian outbound tourist population.
As of end-2024, over 30.89 million Indians traveled abroad, 78,000 of whom made their way to the Philippines, marking a 10.79 percent increase from the previous year.
The Philippines recently introduced a visa-free scheme for Indian tourists, coupled with Air India’s five weekly direct flights between Manila and New Delhi.
As Philippine ambassador to India Josel Ignacio put it: “With the fundamental Indian travel decision drivers met, namely ease of visa processing, direct connections, and stupendous destinations, we foresee Indian tourism rising to new heights in the coming months and years.”
Ignacio added that Philippines-India tourism has already entered the Goldilocks Zone thanks to the confluence of facilitative developments in both countries.
Beyond the visa-free scheme and new direct flights, appetite for travel, and desire to move beyond overexplored Asian destinations have increased among Indian nationals.
