JOINING FORCES In this year’s edition, the Travel Exchange saw HSMA’s over 80 properties engaging in tabletop business with over 100 of PHILTOA’s mebers and allied member
As part of its recovery efforts for the travel and tourism industry, the Hotel Sales and Marketing (HSMA) of the Philippines partnered with the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) on Travel Exchange 2023, held in late March at the MGBx of the Manila Marriott Hotel as an inaugural B2B, this year’s largest platform for hotels, resorts, theme parks, tour operators, and agencies to create innovative travel experiences for both Filipinos and visitors from other countries.
In this year’s edition, the Travel Exchange saw HSMA’s over 80 properties engaging in tabletop business with over 100 of PHILTOA’s members and allied members, discovering and forming synergies to boost domestic travel through their destinations and services. The two-day event was expected to “jumpstart tourism.” “Our membership is basically nationwide. Be it a business hotel or a leisure resort, we have that in our portfolio. In PHILTOA, they have all sorts of travel agents that cater to different markets, and I think it’s such an opportune time for this partnership because the global market is starting to breathe again,” said Loleth So, HSMA president and area director of sales and marketing, Belmont & Savoy Hotel Manila (Megaworld Hotels & Resorts). The partnership was a first for both HSMA and PHILTOA, which saw fit to merge their organizations together to also further help industry players affected by the pandemic recover and restart their businesses. “Tour operators and hotels are a perfect click,” said So. “As far as the hotels are concerned, we encourage them [to offer special packages] because this is the market that we want to talk to. We won’t have to go out anymore on sales calls!” So added that the event also helped the parties come up with offers that should truly give their guests the local flavor they want during their stay since many of PHILTOA’s members are small tour operators who are experts at creating these kinds of experiences. “As an association, we really want to help our tour operators, especially those who are just starting and don’t know whom to talk to in the hotel side of things,” said Fe Abling-Yu, PHILTOA president. “During the pandemic, these operators really grew the local market. Everybody learned to sell domestically.” The PHILTOA partnership and the Travel Exchange are new additions to HSMA’s annual roster of exciting activities, the most famous of which is the group’s flagship September Online Sale (S-O-S), also established as a response to the impact of the pandemic on travel and tourism. Also coming up this year is the 9th HSMA Virtus Awards, the most prestigious recognition given to outstanding sales and marketers of the group’s member hotels and resorts.