In a bid to capture its share of 20 million outbound tourists, the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) formally opened its doors to tourists from the Chinese mainland with the inauguration of the tourism office at the Philippine Embassy on Wednesday in Beijing.

This was announced by Philippine Tourism Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan at the inauguration ceremony.

He said that the move was made in preparation to serve the needs of a market that stands to become the largest source of outbound tourists in the world by 2020.

The tourism chief revealed that studies made by the World Tourism Organization showed that Chinese mainland outbound tourists could skyrocket to 130 million in the next 16 years.

"China's fast-growing outbound tourist market presents a great opportunity," he said. "It is therefore of utmost importance that we maintain a strong market presence there if we want to lure a portion of those tourists here."

He explained that the DOT and its partners are specifically targeting three of the Chinese mainland's major business centers - Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.

To penetrate the market, Pagdanganan said they have outlined co-operative measures to strengthen the country's position as a "preferred destination" for the outbound Chinese market.

These measures include tour packages, brochures and DOT websites with Chinese translations, Mandarin-speaking professional tour guides and airport receptionists, and improved visa procedures for Chinese mainland tourists.

He added that the DOT, Philippine national government agencies, local government units and the private sector are also looking into conducting sales missions in Beijing and Shanghai, participating in Chinese travel fairs and sponsoring familiarization trips to the Philippines for Chinese mainland outbound tour operators and travel agents, media representatives and key officials.

He revealed that since 1992, the Philippines has been one of the few destinations that the Chinese Government has accorded Approved Destination Status.

"It is then only logical that we formally open our doors to the Chinese mainland if we are to become truly competitive in the highly contested market," he said.

Last year only 32,039 Chinese mainland tourists went to the Philippines.

(China Daily July 24, 2004)