RP seeks share of Russian travel market

The Department of Tourism (DoT) has sought to break into the burgeoning outbound Far Eastern Russian traveler market when it recently concluded its first selling mission to this region.

The department’s 30-member delegation comprising of tourism officials, travel wholesalers, hotel and resort managers, airline representatives, and members of the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company met with more than 80 tour operators from Khabarovsk, and 70 more based in Vladivostok.

"We are very pleased with the turn-out of our initial salvo into this section of the Russian outbound travel market. At the end of the three-day marketing activity, we were able to meet with more travel agencies than what was first expected," said DoT Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions Eduardo Jarque Jr.

In a statement, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said: "The Russian economy is growing, creating a population eager to travel. They are highly enthusiastic and adventurous. 2007 promises to be another banner year for this market as visitor arrivals in the first quarter are already up by 41.1 percent, which is beyond the 30 percent growth target we set."

The secretary added that location plays a major role in attracting this particular group. Just four to five hours away by plane, the Philippines is perhaps the closest tropical destination for the Russian Far East.

Simultaneous table top meetings were arranged for possible tour packages and marketing agreements. Travel agents Annset Holidays, Baron Travel, Blue Horizons Travel and Tours, and T.R.I.P.S. Travel highlighted the diving and water sports areas, beach resorts as well as health and wellness facilities in Bohol, Cebu, Palawan and other top destinations.

Badian Island Resort & Spa, Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel, Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort and Sumilion Bluewater Island showcased their services and facilities.

Also present were representatives from Southeast Asian Airlines and Aeroflot Philippines.

The Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company gave the audience a glimpse of the country’s rich and diverse culture.

ALIGNING STRATEGIES

DoT Team Europe marketing head Verna Covar-Buensuceso said that Vladavia Air Company has recently opened regular weekly charter flights on board a 150-seater TU-154 aircraft to Manila from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the major gateway in this area. The airline is one of Russia’s largest carriers and transports about 700,000 passengers annually in its international and domestic flights.

‘’We are making the newly opened schedules a strategic element in marketing the islands," Buensuceso pointed out, noting that Russian tourists are practically shopaholics. They are the second biggest spenders out of Europe in terms of expenditure in the Philippines. These travelers stay in the country at an average of 21 days.

"In addition to being shoppers, Russians are attracted to nature and particularly drawn to the sun, sand and sea. These tourists also enjoy fine dining, high quality accommodations and friendly service," said DoT marketing representative in Russia Edward Gregoriev,

Prior to this landmark promotional outreach, DoT Team Europe’s marketing activities centered on attracting the Moscow outbound travel segment. The team has already established linkages with Russia’s diving community to help sell the country’s water sports and marine adventure destinations.

The Philippine Diving program was recently presented to 50 representatives from the Moscow and Central Region dive clubs. Familiarization tours for these groups and select Russian media were recently conducted to further encourage them to recommend the Philippines to their audiences.

The World Travel and Tourism Council reports that Russia is one of the leading growth markets within the next decade. Visitor arrivals from Russia in 2006 posted a 22.6 percent increase over the 2005 figures.

This country, together with the Commonwealth of Independent States, currently ranks as the Philippines’ sixth biggest source of tourists from the European region.