20 February 2015 - The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT), in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, launched on February 03 the Visit the Philippines Year 2015 campaign at Hotel Borobudur Intercontinental, Jakarta.

The event was attended by more than 120 travel tour operators, businessmen, media and airline executives.

In his remarks, Philippine Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Roberto G. Manalo, shared that the country’s natural beauty and its people make it “more fun in the Philippines”.  He also challenged travel tour operators and airlines executives to campaign for more tourists to the Philippines stressing the big disparity between the number of Filipino tourists to Indonesia, which is about 240,000, and the number of Indonesian tourists to the Philippines, which is only about 30,000.

DOT Director for Market Development Group Corazon Apo-Jorda gave updates on the development of Philippine tourism. She cited the awards and recognitions the Philippines received in the past two years, including the Top 20 Destinations in 2014, Destination of the Year in 2014, Hottest Travel Destination in 2013, and 10 Most Googled Destination. The Visit the Philippines 2015 campaign complements the tourism branding “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”.

Director Apo-Jorda discussed the Five Themes of Visit the Philippines Year 2015: Music, Arts and Entertainment; Lifestyle; Sports, Adventure and Ecotourism;  Business; and History and Culture.  Details can be found at:  http://phl2015.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/

The audience was entertained by various local performers and fabulous prizes consisting of hotel accommodations and plane tickets to the Philippines. The event was successfully organized by the DOT Marketing Representative office in Indonesia, headed by Mr. David Harsamto. END