By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
WITH their penchant for outdoor activities and new cultures, French citizens are fast becoming a high-growth market for visitors in the Philippines.
In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported that France is now one of top 20 emerging tourist markets of the Philippines, with 35,378 visitor arrivals in the seven months to July, up almost 22 percent from the same period last year.
In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said the DOT will be tapping social media and partnering with key travel influencers to market the Philippines to French citizens.
“We should capitalize on the power of social media to reach millions of users all over the world who are potential travelers. The 21st-century travelers are highly reliant on their smartphones for information. But, ultimately, their perennial objective is to stay connected. And this gift of social media that almost everyone has warmly embraced can be a game changer for tourism,” she added.
The DOT said French tourists spent an aggregate $34 million (P1.64 billion) in the country in 2015, or an average of $1,011 (P48,780) per person. They are also one of the longer-staying visitors in the country, spending an average of 16 hotel nights per person. Their current favorite destinations are Camiguin, an island off the coast of Northern Mindanao, Boracay Island in Aklan and Siargao in Surigao del Norte.
While there are no direct flights between France and the Philippines, French citizens have the option of traveling to Manila via Hong Kong, Bangkok and Bahrain, or via Singapore to Kalibo, or to Cebu if going to Siargao and Camiguin.
The DOT also conducted familiarization tours in 2015 for French tourists to the Banaue Rice Terraces, going via land transport from Manila.
Teo attended the IFTM Top Resa in Paris, France, from September 20 to 23, which featured the Philippines to leisure, business travel and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) market. It is France’s largest business-to-business tourism exhibition attended by over 31,000 trade professionals.
Teo gave interviews to All About Travel and L’Echo Touristique, two of the biggest French travel publications, selling the unique features of the Philippines that make it an attractive destination.
“The French travel market is prominently figuring on our radar, as more and more tourists from that side of the world consider the Philippines as their choice destination. And it is our goal to double these numbers in the next four years,” she added. She also met with Philippine private-sector representatives and several French tour operators selling Philippine destinations at Top Resa.
During her visit to Paris, Teo had a meeting with France’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the promotion of Tourism and French Nationals Abroad Matthias Fekl, where shehighlighted that country’s long history of friendship with the Philippines.
“The strong diplomatic relations between the Philippines and France should encourage for a more eloquent tourism related activities and exchanges between our people, and consequently bring our two distant nations much closer together,” she said.
She also discussed with Philippine Ambassador to France Ma. Theresa Lazaro plans to pursue a tourism cooperation agreement with the French Embassy in Manila.