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Tourism Secretary Roberto M. Pagdanganan yesterday stressed a three-point tourism marketing strategy which the DoT has adopted to attain the department’s immediate and long-range objectives of enhancing tourism arrivals in the country.

Sec. Pagdanganan made the statement during the opening of the two-day International Marketing Convention at the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel, sponsored by the Philippine Marketing Association, in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

The DoT chief said that his three-point marketing strategy is composed of:

1. Strong partnership with the private sector, including media, local government units, and other national government agencies;

2. Balanced and focused marketing and product development program. The key is to develop new product packages to meet demands of specific market segments. Existing and planned insfrastructure development should be marketdriven, and

3. Instilling a culture of tourism among our people. Tourism creates jobs; tourism means business; therefore it should be everybody’s business.

Sec. Pagdanganan predicted, based from an increasing number of tourist arrivals, that the country will be receiving about 2.4 million tourists before the end of the year, the figure more than the 2.2 million in 1997.

The 2.4 million tourist arrivals will also generate about US$2 billion in tourism receipts, creating no less than half a million jobs for Filipinos, Pagdanganan stressed.

Sec. Pagdanganan was three-term governor of Bulacan, and during his four-month stay in the DoT, he has sustained the gains of the highly successful "WOW Philippines!" campaign with his complementary "Ganda ng Pilipinas, Galing ng Pilipino" or GP2 campaign.

With the campaign, Pagdanganan has strengthened the promotion of the natural and man-made attractions of the country, the DoTEA manifesto added.

The DoT Employees Association (DoTEA) added the Pagdanganan "is a staunch advocate of equitable and sustainable national progress through good governance, quality of education, genuine local autonomy as well as the development of cooperatives, small and medium enterprise and big business.

International Marketing Convention over-all chairperson said that the convention is aimed at updating marketing practitioners on the latest global trends as well as in the successes of so-called "renaissance companies."

The convention is an aggruption of marketing leaders representing various countries.

Pagdanganan also stressed that tourism has an indispensable role in alleviation of poverty.

"Tourism is an effective catalyst and a powerful tool for winning the war against poverty. The challenge to all of us is to maximize its benefits to improve the quality to life."

Citing worldwide figures, Pagdanganan said that in 2002, about 7,003 million tourists generated receipts of about US$700 billion.

Pagdanganan added that Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration has identified tourism development as a major component in the over-all strategy to alleviate poverty.

The Department of Tourism has underataken several tourism projects that are oriented toward the alleviation of poverty.

Leonardo Q. Belen, July 08, 2004, Manila Bulletin