Go back to your roots, Teo urges Fil-Ams

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo has wrapped up a business trip to the United States West Coast, where she called on Filipino-Americans, particularly millennials, to come to the Philippines, trace their roots and visit famous and little-known tourist destinations.

“Go back to your roots, learn the traits of the Filipinos. Change has come to our country, to our people, and you will be proud of yourselves to be Filipinos,” the Department of Tourism (DOT) quoted Teo as saying during a media briefing in San Francisco, California, last Friday.

Teo said the DOT would continue to lure new tourists, particularly Filipinos abroad who are in their 30s and 40s and now part of the working-class and urge them to travel and rediscover their Filipino roots.

Teo said being balikbayans (expatriates), visiting Filipino-American millennials would also be able to avail of special rates in airfares, accommodations, ground handling and tours.

“We will offer them little-known tourist destinations and sites, which are now among our priority growth areas for tourism development. We will twin them with other preferred Asian destinations like Philippines-Singapore, Philippines-Bangkok, Philippines-Hong Kong and Philippines-Kuala Lumpur, just to mention a few,” Teo said.

Teo spoke with San Francisco-based media and representatives from the Philippine consulate led by deputy consul general Jaime Ramon Ascalon and tourism attache Purificacion Molintas.

She also met with potential investors and leaders of the community before travelling to Los Angeles, the last leg of her two-city business mission.

The Secretary reiterated that despite travel advisories issued by foreign countries, the Philippines is generally safe for tourists, who continue to flock to the country.

The Secretary said Fil-Ams can now come to the country by air or by sea, pointing out improvement in the Philippines’ connectivity that has seen 423,540 new international air seats and 117 ports of calls from international cruise vessels in the first five months of 2017.