Group eyes PHL as premium travel destination

Coron, Palawan (Saiko3p / Shutterstock)

MANILA  — S8 Exhibition Inc., a business group of some of the biggest travel agencies in the Philippines, eyes the country to be a high end travel destination.

“The country’s tourism industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the last five years. The Philippines now has the capacity to serve the high end market that is looking to go beyond the standard hotel accommodations and tour packages,” S8 Exhibition president Fe Abling Yu.

Yu noted that there is a growing market of big spenders in the tourism sector after the upswing in per capita spending of tourists since 2013.

To prepare the country for the high end travellers, the group is setting up a high end business-to-business (B2B) tourism exhibition from May 26 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

“Dubbed as the “1st Asia Premium Travel Mart”, the event will bring the country’s leading hotels, resorts, and travel destinations together with 100 international buyers from Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East in one venue,” the group said.

S8 Exhibition said the B2B event will be exclusive for luxury travel retail counselors, incentive travel managers, bespoke travel planners, corporate travel professionals, and wholesalers specializing in luxury and experiential tours.

“Since we are offering luxury Philippine brands, we only want them to be partnered internationally to those that service clients that are after luxury or premium services,” Yu stated.

“We want local tourism companies to be introduced to potential international partners through exchange of ideas, experiences, and then eventually establishing between themselves a strong level of cooperation,” she added.