Text, Photo and Video by Monsi A. Serrano
Globe Telecom is all set to work closely with the Department of Tourism (DOT) in promoting sustainable Philippine tourism by providing the necessary digital technology infrastructure, tools and solutions that would empower businesses from various sectors such as hotels, food, and restaurant, airlines, retail, among others.
The day-long conference gathered more than 200 tourism industry leaders, business owners and other stakeholders to inspire participants to create the future of travel through experts presenting various tourism trends that will shape their businesses in the years to come.
“Tourism is a multi-faceted industry. The only way to enhance it is through the holistic development of the sector. We will be advocates of responsible tourist destinations and we will be champions of sustainable tourism to create a dependable source of income for Filipinos. With all the positive changes that we aim to bring forward in the next four years, we invite the private sector to be our partners in responsibly developing tourism products, infrastructure, and services,” Puyat said.
Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu said: “We support this (tourism) industry because it needs a lot of updating in terms of the digital world. Digital is changing how things are done. There’s (ICT) infrastructure that we need to bring.”
He cited his personal involvement in helping a resort owner in Busuanga, Coron, Palawan bring cell sites for more coverage to allow customers to share their experiences in the resort via social media. “We worked together with the owner to create a business case that would facilitate the building of facilities that will bring 5-10 Mbps of the internet to his own resort. He said his guests would rather have free wi-fi than free breakfast. By working with us, it is possible to make that happen.”
Cu added that Globe is particularly interested in supporting SMEs that makeup over 99% of businesses in the country. “We want to enable you through our digital resources like the cloud, social media, and digital advertising. Let’s help build the industry together,” he told tourism stakeholders.
Globe also actively leads awareness campaigns on biodiversity conservation in the country’s top destinations. Just recently, the company held workshops for entrepreneurs and key stakeholders in Boracay and Siargao to discuss best practices on sustainability and biodiversity.
Breakthroughs: Tourism gathered a stellar panel of speakers who discussed various trends in the tourism industry. These include “Regional and Local Trends” by Raoul Villegas, Executive Director, Pricewaterhouse Coopers; “Customer Insights” by Gino Borromeo, Chief Strategy Officer, McCann Worldwide Philippines; “Emerging Tech and Tourism” by Alexander de Leon, Head of Product Marketing, Instagram APAC; “Destination Marketing” by Gary Cheng, Destination Marketing Manager, TripAdvisor; “Business Trends” by Desiree Bandal, Head of Government Policy and Government Affairs, AirAsia; and “Sustainability” by Hanniel Almasco, MPM, Environmental Officer, El Nido Resorts and AA Yaptinchay, DVM, Executive Director and Founder, Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines.
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