MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) unveils its new website on Tuesday at one of the many century-old buildings in Escolta, Manila – the HUB: Make Lab. This is part of DOT’s efforts to showcase and conserve the country’s natural heritage.
The new DOT website (philippines.travel) makes the 7,641 islands of the Philippines more accessible to both foreign and local travelers.
“Our new tourism website, philippines.travel, is a one-stop shop for all your travel needs which includes information on our beautiful destinations to help you plan and book your next trip,” said DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
“We have made the website very inclusive as we recognize the value of our private sector’s involvement and support in this. This is one of many efforts we are doing to encourage tourist establishments to go through our accreditation process in order to provide better service to our tourists,” emphasized Sec. Puyat.
The inclusion of an actual travel booking system on the site is in partnership with Guide to the Philippines (www.guidetothephilippines.ph). Aside from more than 500 best value travel products and counting, Guide to the Philippines also has an online library of in-depth destination travel guides to help travelers discover new places and experiences for their trips in the Philippines.
This partnership intends to link tourists to DOT-accredited tour operators and tourism establishments. As a long-term goal, the DOT aims to embed the booking system’s functions to its new website. “What’s really exciting is that our country now has an online platform to showcase to the world, not only the popular Philippine destinations but even the lesser-known ones. It’s a true collaboration of local tourism stakeholders, one that’s sure to make traveling to our country a lot easier,” said Rabbi Vincent Ang, Guide to the Philippines’ General Manager.
According to President of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, Jose Clemente III, “The new website does not only provide accessibility for tourists with its travel guide, but it symbolizes how the government and the business sector can help one another to provide better services for our people.”
For its new look, the re-designed website has three main tabs: See & Do; Where to Go; and Events & Festival, which are based on unique travel behaviors.
The “See & Do” tab features six tourism products of the country, such as Dive, Nature, Sun and Beach, Adventure, Food and Hospitality, and Events and Culture. These products are also highlighted in ten large image-centric carousel banners.
Clicking on each product will lead the user to tourist destinations and activities that are readily available.
Under the “Where to Go” tab, tourists can explore the country through a virtual map, and get basic information on the 16 regions and provinces, including routes going there, nearby places to explore, and even where to stay.
For the “Events & Festival,” tourists are guided with dates, location and routes, and fundamental information about the occasion. It also informs tourists to wear cultural appropriate clothing.
The DOT also stressed that the philippines.travel website is a timeless domain name that is not dependent on any government’s tourism campaign or slogan.
