Philippine Tourism Department Secretary Christina Frasco, together with Philippine Ambassador to the UK Teodoro Locsin Jr, launched the Bisita, Be My Guest (BBMG) travel incentive programme at the Millenium Gloucester Hotel in London on November 6.
The programme invites Filipinos working and living overseas to register as sponsors and invite their foreign friends, colleagues and family to visit the Philippines between January 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024. Registered sponsors and their invitees have the chance to be part of a raffle and win holiday packages as well as house and lot.
In a brief interview given to Tinig UK, Ms Frasco extended her “heartfelt gratitude” to Filipinos in Britain, especially those working in the National Health Service (NHS).
“Thank you for your service that make us all very proud back to our home country,” she said.
The tourism chief invited all Filipinos in the UK, as well as their friends, to visit the Philippines “and discover the many reasons to love our country.”
“Tonight, we launch here in London the Bisita, Be My Guest programme, which is our President’s way of giving thanks to our overseas Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers who have given their love, their sacrifice and their service to our country being so far away from home,” she said to a hall filled with representatives of Filipino community groups, Philippine government officials and business owners.
The DOT chief bared the good news that under the Marcos administration, the Philippines is experiencing a robust tourism recovery, receiving nearly 4.5 million international visitors as of November 6, which is over 93% of the 4.8 million target for the year.
UK tourists – the biggest source in Europe
In his message, Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr said that the UK remains the Philippines’ largest source market for European travellers.
“If every Filipino in the UK brings one foreign visitor to the Philippines, that measures up to 200,000 more tourists and that is a conservative estimate. The result will be the best time of their lives and their undying gratitude to Filipinos who convinced them to visit our country,” he said.
British nationals do not need a visa to travel to the Philippines if they are staying in the country for 30 days or less.
The Bisita, Be My Guest is an innovative online referral program aimed at boosting the Philippine economy by inviting overseas Filipinos to become “sponsors” to their foreign friends and guests to visit the country and incentivising both sponsors and invitees with chances to earn raffle tickets to win special prizes.
The DOT has successfully launched the Bisita, Be My Guest in other key cities abroad including Tokyo in Japan, Berlin in Germany, and Los Angeles and San Francisco, USA this year.
Who can join the Bisita, Be My Guest programme?
The following can join as sponsors:
- Overseas Filipino Workers
- Filipinos with dual citizenship living in the Philippines or abroad as residents, of legal age.
- Filipinos of legal age.
The following can join as invitees:
- Anyone holding a foreign (non-Filipino) passport of legal age, and has traveled to the Philippines during the period January 01, 2023 – April 30, 2024.
- Any Filipino holding dual citizenship living abroad for a minimum of six (6) months prior to the campaign, of legal age, and has traveled to the Philippines during the specified period of time.
To read more about the BBMG programme, click here.
Photo credits: Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
