Tour Operators and Hotels Group Collaborate to Boost Inbound Travel in the Philippines

The Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) and the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) have teamed up to host the 2023 Travel Exchange in Pasay City on March 28-29, which aims to promote domestic and inbound tourism in the country. The two-day business-to-business fair will have 87 sellers and 105 buyers that include member hotels, resorts, theme parks, tour operators, and travel agencies from both associations.

The event will provide a platform for PHILTOA and HSMA members to create travel packages that cater to Filipino and international travelers. Loleth So, HSMA president, said that the collaboration is timely since the global market is starting to recover. She added that the event would benefit the hotels group, which focuses on the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) market, as several PHILTOA members offer corporate travel packages.

Margie Munsayac, HSMA chair and vice president for sales and marketing of Bluewater Resorts, shared that the hotel's participation in the first Travel Exchange, organized by PHILTOA last year, generated around PHP10 million in bookings. She added that their linkages with tour operators that have government agencies in their account helped sustain them up to the present.

PHILTOA president Fe Abling-Yu said the event would also benefit tour operators, especially those who have no access or linkages yet with hotels and resorts to put up travel packages that promote local destinations. She shared that they closed many bookings last year and expects the same this year.

The partnership between PHILTOA and HSMA is a first for the two associations and an addition to HSMA's annual activities towards tourism recovery. With around 130 members nationwide, HSMA is known for its flagship September Online Sale (SOS).