The Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) 2021 is now in full swing as a hybrid event for the second straight year amidst the pandemic. Spearheaded by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, the marketing and promotions arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), PHITEX goes online and onsite at the ACEA Subic Beach Resort in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone from September 20-23 with the theme “Beyond Business: Co-creating Safe, Smart, and Sustainable Tourism”.
The opening ceremony, led by DOT Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, TPB Chief Operating Officer Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones, and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Atty. Wilma T. Eisma, welcomed 156 Philippine sellers and 122 buyers from 33 countries who will engage in a 2-day online business-to-business (B2B) session and networking.
Apart from the travel trade activities, PHITEX 2021 offers curated post-tours in bubble arrangements to onsite participants showcasing the best of Region III’s tourism destinations such as the Batalan River, Grande Island, Pamulaklakin, El Kabayo, and Apaliin, among others.
Prior to the main event, an educational webinar “PHITEX Educational Program (PEP) Talk” was also held featuring industry experts and topics ranging from digital media to tourism in the new normal to capacitate PHITEX delegates, tourism students, and TPB members.
Secretary Puyat, in her opening remarks, underscored PHITEX 2021’s theme when marketing and promoting the Philippines, “our considerations have been altered by the adverse impact of the pandemic to our industry. Safety has become the number one concern of today’s travelers, and it’s something that the DOT, our partners in government, and all Philippine tourism stakeholders, have carefully taken into consideration when we began the difficult task of plotting the recovery of the industry”.
The Secretary noted DOT’s goals to vaccinate all tourism workers by 2022, leverage technology to market and promote tourism products, and pursue community-based tourism programs.
Subic Bay Freeport Zone became this year’s choice for PHITEX 2021 as it met the DOT requirements for holding MICE events in wide-open spaces. Coordination was made possible with the help of the SBMA as the Government Owned & Controlled Corporation (GOCC) managing the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
PHITEX 2021 is being held in strict compliance with new normal safety and health protocols and in adherence to the guidelines set by COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
