MANILA, Philippines?Despite the heavy drubbing that the Philippines took as a result of the bloody hostage crisis last week, representatives of nearly 100 travel agencies and tour operators from around the world still came to do business at a major tourism convention here on Friday.

Ninety-six foreign delegates?including two from Hong Kong and eight from mainland China?attended the Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex) 2010 at Manila Hotel, where they concluded business deals with representatives of 112 Philippine resorts, hotels and other local tourist establishments.

The delegates who participated were from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan, the United States and Vietnam.

?I am truly grateful that despite the challenges that we faced the past week and a half, we were still able to attract 96 foreign delegates from around the world and 191 Filipino sellers representing 112 companies,? Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim told the gathering.

?I believe this is a clear statement of your confidence in Philippine tourism. Moreover, it recognizes the importance of maintaining strong partnerships between foreign and Philippine stakeholders, especially in difficult times. For this, I am extremely thankful,? he said.

According to Lim, the tourism industry continued to grow with 1,436,735 foreign tourists arriving in the country during the first five months of 2010, ?an increase of 11.19 percent over the same period last year.?

?If we are able to sustain this growth rate through your unwavering commitment to support our promotion efforts, we have no doubt we will hit our target of 3.3 million arrivals by yearend,? he said.

Market dropped 80%-90%

But the gathering was not completely unaffected by the botched hostage rescue that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. About 30 delegates canceled their reservations, including eight from mainland China and three from Hong Kong.

?(The hostage crisis) has had a big effect in Hong Kong. The market dropped 80 to 90 percent, especially after the Hong Kong government issued the travel alert,? said Percy Kwan, one of the two delegates from Hong Kong and the sales and marketing manager of Wah Yan Tat Travel Intl.

Kwan said that while there are some Hong Kong residents still coming to the Philippines, the canceled bookings had reached ?80 to 90 percent.?

So why did he still attend the convention?

?I understand what happened. It was a special case. That accident can happen anywhere. That?s why it?s called an accident,? Kwan said.

?Actually, I can?t see any problem. I didn?t feel threatened here,? he added.

Local partner agencies of Kwan?s tours include One Crescent Place, the Blue Lagoon Villa and the Alta Vista hotels in Boracay, and the Badian Island Resort and Spa in Cebu.

No time to lure back HK

Kwan advised Philippine authorities to wait until the crisis and its fallout have subsided before attempting to lure back Hong Kong tourists.

He said the Philippines will need to do more to cushion the market, like working to have the travel alert by the Hong Kong government lifted and pushing hard at advertising the country?s special attractions.

?But this should not be done at this time. Later,? Kwan said.

He said that before the hostage-taking, the popular destinations in the Philippines for Hong Kong residents were Cebu, Boracay and Bohol.

?We?re also pushing for Palawan, all areas like El Nido, Amanpulo and Coron,? he said.

Before the crisis, around 125,000 tourists from Hong Kong arrived in the country each year, according to tourism officials.

Wang Lin Jie, of China International Service Shanghai, said the hostage drama was a ?real pity? because the popularity of the country among Shanghai residents was growing quite fast.

She said that her firm had even noted that, during a certain period, more of their clients preferred going to the Philippines than Thailand.

?Actually this year, the Philippines was really popular in Shanghai. It was really going up, fast and sharply,? Wang said through an interpreter.

Afraid to come to RP

But what happened on Aug. 23 will have a huge effect on the travel market, up to the first half of 2011, she said.

?In the short term, people are still afraid to come to the Philippines,? Wang said.

?But if the government puts up more effective solutions, a good investigation and gives us answers, after a while, we are sure people will come back to the Philippines for travel,? Wang said.

Wang said her clients were mostly corporate types who attend conventions, conferences, incentive tours and exhibitions.

She said that for Shanghai tourists, the most appealing destinations are Boracay, Cebu and Bohol. Her agency operates its own chartered flights to these places.

?Palawan is also a very nice place. There might be more but Chinese people are not yet familiar with them,? Wang said.

Wang said she personally liked the ?beautiful scenery? and the ?very friendly Filipinos? she has met.

?For (my clients), what they need is not just the beautiful scenery but also the people, and Filipinos are very friendly,? she said.

Wang also advised tourism officials not to launch an advertising blitz now among the Chinese because it is still a ?very sensitive period?.

?Once we start over, we can focus on the high-end market. For the Shanghai cluster, one of the suggestions is visa-free (visits to the Philippines). That?s one of the best solutions to promote [travel] here,? she said.

Europe unaffected

The hostage crisis was also a ?big story? in Europe but Europeans were still interested in visiting the Philippines, said Betina Vogeli, of Tui Swiss and Spinout Sports Tours.

?It?s a big story but we told our clients that it does not happen two times at the same place,? said Vogeli.

?So, yeah, they are afraid but I think (the media reports) are bigger than the actual dangers,? she added.

Vogeli said there have been no cancellations as yet, noting that most of their clients go to tourist destinations in the Visayas and not Manila.

?We (do) sport tours and so we are offering diving and surfing. Usually, they don?t stay in Manila. Maybe for an overnight [stay], but most of our clients go directly to the south,? she said.

Vogeli said the top destinations were Bohol, Cebu and the south of Palawan because ?there we have a lot of divers. It?s really famous.?

Encouraging sign

Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said the government would refrain from making any promotions blitz in Hong Kong and mainland China for now.

?We have to be very sensitive about the situation. What is important now, and this came out of our meeting with the private sector last week, is to continue to express sympathy to the families of the victims, to the residents of Hong Kong,? Bengzon said.

?At the appropriate time, we will do our road show,? he said.

Bengzon said the Phitex was a ?very encouraging sign? that the tourism industry will recover from the aftermath of the hostage drama.

?For us, it is a very encouraging sign that despite all the negative news, despite all the goings-on, these people flew?some of them flew half way across the globe?to be here,? he said.

He said the 11-percent growth in tourist arrivals during the first five months of the year may just ?cushion? the blow from the hostage-taking crisis.

?The trend shows an upswing so I think we?ll have a cushion. We are still confident that we will reach the 3.3 million target. What it means is that we will have to work harder,? Bengzon said.