Delhi: The Philippine government is ramping up efforts to attract more Indian tourists by familiarizing travel agencies across India with the country’s top destinations and tourism offerings.
According to Philippines News Agency, at an invitation-only ‘itinerary training’ held in Delhi last Oct. 15, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said ‘heightened interest in the Philippines’ was evident among the Indian travel agents and industry professionals present. ‘The Delhi session was just the opening salvo in a sustained drive of similar ‘Itinerary Trainings.’ Buzz Travel is taking the series across India, including in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata, for which the Embassy and its network of Honorary Consulates General will again lend support,’ DFA said in a statement on Thursday.
The training, led by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) through its India representative Buzz Travel, gathered about 60 Indian travel stakeholders to strengthen their ability to effectively promote the country’s destinations. Participants were introduced to curated three- to seven-day travel itineraries, highlighting Manila as the main gateway and extending to island destinations such as Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, and Siargao. The workshop also covered other topics crucial to Indian travel partners, such as travel logistics, inter-island connectivity, and market segmentation.
According to the DFA, Indian agencies expressed enthusiasm for the Philippines’ diverse offerings, adventures to budget, all the way to the ultra-high experiences afforded by exclusive hotels and even private island escapes. The increased engagement comes as the Philippines seeks to diversify its market and attract the massive Indian outbound tourist population.
The Philippines has recently introduced a visa-free scheme for Indian tourists, coupled with Air India’s five weekly direct flights between Manila and New Delhi. ‘With the fundamental Indian travel decision drivers met -ease of visa, direct connections, stupendous destinations- we foresee Indian tourism rising to new heights in the coming months and years,’ Philippine Ambassador to India Josel Ignacio said in a statement. The envoy said the Philippines-India tourism has already entered the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ with the ‘confluence of facilitative developments’ in both countries.
Beyond the visa-free scheme and new direct flights, the DFA said incomes, appetite for travel, and desire to move beyond overexplored Asian destinations have increased among Indian nationals. In 2024, over 30.89 million Indians traveled abroad, marking a 10.79 percent increase from the previous year. Of these, about 78,000 visited the Philippines.