Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala (L) and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (R) on March 15, 2024. | PHOTO: Offciial Facebook page of Bongbong Marcos
Prague — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday night appealed to the Filipino community here to help promote the country as a tourism destination among their Czech friends, neighbors and colleagues by inviting them whenever they go home.
“I am proud of the Philippines as a prime tourism destination. We want more tourists from the Czech Republic to visit the Philippines so that they can see our beautiful islands and experience our warm welcome for our guests,” he said before a crowd at the Clarion Congress Hotel here.
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The President said he wanted the country’s tourism sector to be more active by tapping the close ties between the Philippines and the Czech Republic, a land-locked nation in Central Europe.
“I hope you will entice your Czech friends to visit the Philippine. We are starting a program. If you will come home and visit for the holidays, for weddings or graduations, any event. Bring a Czech friend so they can see that the Philippines is a happy place and they will also tell their friends,” he said.
The Chief Executive stressed that the country is beautiful with tourist spots across the islands, and that Filipinos are famous for being hospitable to guests.
“So bring them home with you, so that we can increase our number of tourists and our tourism sector will be more vibrant,” he added to the applause of the Filipino community gathered in Prague.
Marcos made the call as a way to cap his three-day state visit to the Czech Republic on Friday. Earlier this week, he also made a three-day working visit to Germany.
The President also made a similar appeal to Czech prime minister Fiala during their bilateral meeting on Thursday afternoon.
Marcos told Fiala that tourism is a possible area of cooperation between the two nations, adding that the Philippines’ regional airports are being upgraded into international airports to increase its accessibility to tourism destinations.
He added that the Czech Republic, in turn, has become a significant tourism destination for Filipinos too.