28 March 2005 – For the first time in nearly ten years, the Philippine Department of Tourism, in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm, participated in the Sweden International Travel and Tourism Trade Fair (TUR 2005) in Goteborg on 17-20 March 2005.  TUR 2005 is the largest tourism fair in the Scandinavian region with representatives from 92 countries and 2,000 companies plus a visitor tally of 47,700.

The Philippine pavilion was strategically located at the entrance to the fair.  Ambassador Victoria S. Bataclan presided over the opening of the Philippine pavilion, which was highlighted by a presentation of Philippine folk songs and dances by members of the Filipino community led by Mrs. Claudia Redondo and her family. Mr. Ricky Ocampo, President of Philippine Travel and Trade Promotions in Gothenburg, handled preparatory and logistical arrangements for Philippine participation.

Ambassador Bataclan reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that “the results of the Philippine participation in TUR 2005 are encouraging, with over 4,500 visitors depleting the stock of promotional materials available at the Philippine booth.”   Among the many Swedes who flocked to the Philippine pavilion were Member of Parliament Erling Bager (People’s Party, Goteborg) and Mrs. Bager who are both traveling to the Philippines next month for the 112th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Manila; Mr. Anders Hedberg, Deputy Editor of the travel section of Aftonbladet; Sweden’s leading daily newspaper.

A significant number of media representatives expressed keen interest in traveling to the Philippines in order to promote the country as a tourist destination. Also, Internet TV, which covered the fair, interviewed Ambassador Bataclan. The live interview can be seen at www.internet-tv.se.

In the course of the 4-day fair, Ambassador Bataclan reported that the DOT-Embassy tandem discussed joint promotion projects with Malaysian Airlines and Cathay Pacific as well as with some 20 tour operators interested in marketing the Philippines as a tourist destination such as ABC Tours, Tur Och Retur, Blue Wings, Mind Travel, Best Travel, Overseas Travel AB, Pura Vida, Golf World Travel and Event AB and event organizer Idea Novum Conference.  DOT also availed itself of the opportunity to reestablish links with the Swedish and Norwegian chapters of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

It has been observed that Swedes are searching for alternative holiday spots in Southeast Asia. Eco-tourism, weddings and honeymoons, adventure, diving, snorkeling, golf and culture are among the packages popular to Swedish tourists. Those that have been to the Philippines were so enthused by their trip that they came to the Philippine pavilion to recount their experiences. In one instance, Ambassador Bataclan said Marcus Kaideback, who had just come back from the Philippines, gamely gave on-the-spot testimonials on the Philippines, which he insists is incomparable to other destinations in Asia.

Philippine tourism promotion efforts in the Nordic countries are gradually yielding favorable results as shown by 2004 annual statistics with recorded growth rates of 23.8% in visitor arrivals from Denmark, 22.9% from Finland, 27.9% from Norway and 23.0% from Sweden.

While in Goteborg, Ambassador Bataclan also paid a courtesy call on the Honorable Lord Mayor Jorgen Linder to explore possibilities for sister city relations and meet with Mr. Bengt Toll, Chairman of the Goteborg Film Festival, to discuss funding and technical support for Filipino film makers and archives. END
 

/jay