{"id":123920,"date":"2017-10-15T02:52:52","date_gmt":"2017-10-15T06:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=123920"},"modified":"2017-10-15T02:52:52","modified_gmt":"2017-10-15T06:52:52","slug":"dot-bring-home-a-friend-to-the-ph-now-accepting-entries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/10\/15\/dot-bring-home-a-friend-to-the-ph-now-accepting-entries\/","title":{"rendered":"DOT \u2018Bring Home a Friend to the PH\u2019 now accepting entries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FILE:<\/a>
FILE: \u201cWe have this reunion of sorts to redefine Philippine tourism,\u201d Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in her speech during the launch of BHAF in Resort\u2019s World Manila on Saturday night. (Photo: Philippine News Agency)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u00a0— Entries are now being accepted for the Department of Tourism\u2019s (DOT) Bring Home a Friend to the Philippines (BHAF), an incentive program that encourages Filipinos to help promote tourism by inviting foreign friends for \u201ca reunion of sorts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contest, which runs from October 15, 2017 to April 15, 2018, allows Filipinos residing here and abroad as well as expatriates based in the Philippines to win prizes in the electronic raffle draw for simply inviting their foreign friends to come visit the Philippines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this reunion of sorts to redefine Philippine tourism,\u201d Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in her speech during the launch of BHAF in Resort\u2019s World Manila on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Teo said the success of the program would not be measured in terms of the number of foreign invitees entering the country but on its ability to \u201cempower\u201d Filipinos to actively take part in tourism promotion.<\/p>\n

“The success we are hoping for is our ability to empower our people and give them the opportunity to contribute to our people\u2019s growth. They are after all the core strength of our tourism campaign. It\u2019s more than bringing friends and family back home\u2026It\u2019s our shout out to the world to come and see the Philippines,\u201d Teo added.<\/p>\n

Prizes to be won for \u201csponsors\u201d (Filipinos inviting foreign friends) include an Eastwood Le Grand Tower studio condo unit (first prize), an orange metallic Toyota Vios 2017 Model (second prize), or PHP 200,000 worth of gift certificates from Duty Free (third prize).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, prizes for \u201cinvitees\u201d (foreign friends visiting the Philippines) include two roundtrip international business class tickets plus two roundtrip domestic tickets to Palawan (first prize), two roundtrip international premium economy tickets plus two roundtrip domestic tickets to Cebu (second prize), and two roundtrip international economy tickets plus two roundtrip domestic tickets to Davao (third prize).<\/p>\n

To join, the sponsor and invitee must duly accomplish the registration via the BHAF microsite accessible via the DOT website\u00a0tourism.gov.ph<\/em>\u00a0or through the booths located at specific airports. Full instructions can also be found in the website.<\/p>\n

BHAF\u2019s upgrade
\nBHAF was first introduced by former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor in 1994 when a \u201ctambiolo\u201d or raffle system was then used.<\/p>\n

In an interview with reporters, Tourism Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Frederick Alegre said he hopes that being digital this time, the contest will get online traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very confident with the type of social media presence Filipino have it will pick up and catch fire. It\u2019s something that triggers more attention and people themselves will make it happen,\u201d Alegre said.<\/p>\n

During the BHAF launch, the DOT also introduced actor-singer Piolo Pascual as BHAF Tourism Ambassador who was also taken to sing the program\u2019s jingle.<\/p>\n

Gabor, who was present during the event, meanwhile lauded Teo\u2019s efforts to revive a program first launched some 23 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to an official of the administration to do a program that has been done by predecessor. But she was determined and showed that she was brave to go through with the project,\u201d Gabor said in a short speech.<\/p>\n

Gabor said Teo broke the barrier of government officials by continuing a good project.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe (Teo) really deserves a big hand. A program like this should not die. It\u2019s a classic program it should continue,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

According to the DOT, word-of-mouth plays a big role in motivating tourists to visit the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Data from the DOT 2016 Visitors Sample Survey showed that 51.80 percent of tourists came to the Philippines upon friend\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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