By Lilian C. Mellejor
DAVAO CITY, Oct. 9 (PNA) -– The Department of Tourism (DoT) is pushing for the opening of international airports in other regions as points of entry from abroad to further boost the tourism industry and decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Domingo Ramon Enerio III, chief operations officer of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the DOT, said opening other points of entry will offer choices for tourists where to enter and not just go to Manila. He mentioned as an example Shanghai to Kalibo (Aklan), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) to Zamboanga.
Enerio was in the city to unveil the latest DoT campaign dubbed: Visit Philippines Year (VPY) 2015 – Davao Roadshow. However, he said they are still looking at the available facilities of each international airport. There is also a need to assess whether other international airports could accommodate bigger aircrafts.
Opening other international airports is fitting when DoT ushers in more tourists under the VPY program aimed to sustain the “it’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign.
Enerio also said DoT is coordinating closely with the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) in improving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which recently got bad ratings and named one of the world’s worst airports. “We work together as a team,” Enerio told reporters.
They target that by December or before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting the facilities at NAIA are improved.
Meanwhile, at the launching of Visit Philippines Year, DOT XI presented three banner events as Davao’s entry to VPY Calendar of events.
Assistant Secretary Arturo Boncato said the three events will be part of the Visit Davao Campaign. The three events are “Visit Davao Fun Sale” which will run from April 3-May 15, 2015; the 7th International Boulder Face Challenge on April 25-26, 2015 and the Visit Samal Islands 2015 from March to May, which will propel Davao as the summer destination in the south especially that the region’s tagline is “From Islands to Highlands.” This will support the image of sun and beach, culture, adventure and nature of the region.
Visit Davao Fun Sale is a marketing campaign hinged on the sale of tours in tourist attractions of the region especially in Davao. The Visit Samal Islands is program about big discounts, special promos and packages in the beach resorts and inland attractions; while, the Boulder Face Challenge is an extreme race involving four disciplines in the race to reach the peak of Mt. Apo within 24 hours. (PNA)