Month-long nationwide mall sale in March aimed at boosting tourism

MANILA, Philippines — The month-long nationwide mall sale and shopping festival will push through in March to boost tourism expenditure as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) scare and travel restrictions are expected to adversely affect the local tourism industry.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced that the first “Philippine Shopping Festival” will take place from March 1 to 31, 2020 to attract more foreign and local tourists to the country’s retail centers.

“It’s not hard to see that elevating the shopping experience will go a long way to enhance the attractiveness of our tourist destinations all over the Philippines, whether it is our big cities or in our beautiful provinces,” DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a statement Wednesday.

Puyat noted that shopping tourism is among the most common activities tourists do when visiting the country.

Local and foreign tourists can expect up to 70 percent discount on Philippine-made products, including food and dining, jewelry and fashion, crafts, furniture, beauty and wellness products, among others.

Apart from these, travellers can also score affordable airfares and cheaper hotel accommodations during the month-long sale.

“This ambitious project, designed to increase tourism expenditure in the country, would not have been possible without the full support and cooperation of the nation’s mall operators, retailers, franchise holders, hotel and tour operators, and travel agencies,” Puyat said.

The upcoming nationwide sale was hatched after the DOT reported a projected tourism revenue loss of P42.9 billion due to the COVID-19 scare and travel restrictions to China, Hong Kong and Macau.

DOT earlier said China is the country’s second top tourist market after South Korea with over 1.74 million visitors in 2019.

In an effort to spur local tourism, President Rodrigo Duterte encouraged Filipinos to visit popular tourist destinations with him across the country.

GSG