11 March 2015 - The Philippines once again made a splash at Portugal´s biggest tourism fair, Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa (BTL 2015) which was held from February 25 to March 01 at the Feira Industrial de Lisboa located in Parque das Naçoes in Lisbon.
The annual tourism fair, now on its 27th year, was participated in by Portugal´s national and regional tourism boards, airline companies, hotels and resorts, tour operators, travel agencies and other members of the tourism industry. This year’s edition saw more than 60,000 visitors and 400 foreign tour operators from 36 countries participating in this prestigious international tourism fair.
This is the second time the Philippines participated in this event. The Philippines is slowly being noticed by the Portuguese market as a holiday destination. Following efforts made by the Philippine Embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Philippe J. Lhuillier to intensify its tourism promotion campaign, tourist arrivals from Portugal have increased by 6.82% in 2013 and by 14.88% in 2014.
Ambassador Lhuillier said, “The Philippines is slowly being recognized as travel destination by the Portuguese. While there has been around a 14% increase in tourist arrivals from Portugal, the numbers are still modest. There is much more room to grow these numbers over the years, all we need to do is to continue to raise awareness of the Philippines to the Portuguese people and build linkages between the travel industries of both countries so that a variety of products can be developed for the local market.”
Ambassador Lhuillier believes that the tourist attractions of the Philippines, its rich Catholic tradition, shared Latin socio-cultural heritage and warm hospitality make the country an attractive destination for the Portuguese market. END