Cebu Pacific passengers from Hong Kong race to get discounts and other promos at the DOT’s Pinoy Homecoming Booth at the Clark Airport on Tuesday.
Photo by Ric Gonzales
Welcoming heroes. DOT officials led by Domingo Enerio III and Ronnie Tiotuico pose with tourism stakeholders at the “Pinoy Homecoming” booths on Tuesday. Story on page 2.
Photo by Ric Gonzales
CLARK FREEPORT – The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday opened its “Pinoy Homecoming Hospitality Center” here, attracting the return of Filipino “balikbayans” to the country.
Domingo Enerio III, DOT assistant secretary for marketing and promotions, DOT-Central Luzon Ronnie Tiotuico and tourism stakeholders, including Cebu Pacific Air, led the unveiling of the two welcoming booths at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).
Globe Telecom and the Philippine Tourism and Promotions Board are the partners of the DOT in the putting up of the booths tasked to give discounts, relevant information and other tourism and travel details to returning Filipinos from abroad.
Enerio said they had earlier launched the same booths at the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Davao International Airport. They will later launch the same project at the international airport in Cebu after the launching in Clark.
Blessie Cruz, Cebu Pacific’s manager for marketing promotions, said “we are honored” that the booth was launched at their Honk Kong-Clark flight just before lunchtime. They fly daily to Hong Kong via the DMIA.
“Our passengers from Hong Kong and Singapore will greatly benefit from this,” she added.
She said most of them are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) based in the two countries.
“Pinoy Homecoming is an official program of the Philippine Tourism and Promotions Board. It is our way of welcoming balikbayans and their families to the Philippines. We believe that no matter how long you have been away from home your return is always a cause for celebration,” said the DOT in a statement.
”This is why we’ve created a resource to help you plan your trip home as well as to enjoy the best of what our country has to offer. All of the promotions that can be found on Pinoy Homecoming are available exclusively for you and your family to enjoy,” it added.
Gilda Padua, president of the Alliance of Travel and Tour Agencies of Pampanga, said “it’s a welcome development, especially because we want to increase in-bound passengers at Clark to boost tourism in Central Luzon.”
This program is under Presidential Proclamation No. 181 by President Benigno S. Aquino III declaring the years 2011 to 2016 as the “Pinoys’ Homecoming Years.”
The DOT said Proclamation No. 181 and Republic Act No. 6768, as amended by R.A. 9174 or the Balikbayan Program, gives overseas Filipinos (OFs) special privileges and benefits in recognition of their contributions to the growth of the Philippine economy in terms of foreign exchange inflow and remittances.
“Aside from boosting tourism, the campaigns aim to encourage expansion in business investments and create job opportunities for locals and to some extent, foreign job forays,” said the DOT in a statement.
