Tourism
Signing the Agreement – DOT’s Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon, Jr. (left center) and SIA’s Senior
Vice President Cambelle Wilson (right center), witnessing the signing – DOT’s Chief Tourism Operation
Officer-Market Development, Glen Augustin (extreme left) and SIA’s General Manager Philippines, Guam
and USTT, Balagopal Kunduvara
Indian tourist
potentials to
be enhanced
with DOT-SIA
partnership
by Philip Ortaleza & Nil Garces Belar
38
I
ndia is one of the world’s fast-growing markets for outbound travel
after China, and its potentials of travelers for touristic purposes
will also strike a gold mine for inbound Philippine tourism. This
also creates that perfect frame of mind for the Department of
Tourism (DOT) for recently inking a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with one of Asia’s leading carriers, Singapore Airlines (SIA),
to bring Indian tourists to the Philippines and to help promote the
Philippines to the Indian market.
DoT figures reveal that India is one of the fastest-growing markets for
outbound travel globally, with 27.12 million Indians who have traveled
DoT figures reveal that India is one of the fastest-
growing markets for outbound travel globally,
with 27.12 million Indians who have traveled
overseas in 2017, a number which is expected to
rise to 50 million by 2020. The number of Indian
visitors to the Philippines rose 23 percent this year,
and is expected to hit 100,000 by year’s end. The
total number of inbound tourists is expected to hit
6.5-6.6 million.