Philippines eyes on outbound Indian tourists

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) Even as arrival of inbound tourists to India has been growing every year, foreign countries have started eyeing the country's outbound tourists.

Philippines is the last in the series of such countries wanting to attract Indian tourists.

As many as 18,000 Indian tourists had visited Philippines till September this year . This was 8.7 per cent more than the figures for the corresponding period last year.

''Our target is to double this during 2007," Philippines Tourism Secretary Joseph H Durano said here today, while announcing the new campaign strategy of the department to attract Indian tourists to the Philippines.

Mr Durano is here heading the first-ever Philippines Tourism Sales Mission which is touring different parts of India during November 21-24.

He said the promotion strategy of the Philippine tourism was so designed to realise the goal of racking up a sizeable chunk of India's seven million outbound tourists to the Philippines.

''Unike our traditional tourists who go for beaches and sightseeing, Indian travellers love the many facets of the metropolis and have a strong preference for shopping, entertainment and gaming," Mr Durano said, adding that "they spend an average of 1,200 US dollars per visit, which makes them highly appreciated tourists.'' He said Metro Manila and Cebu City presents an "ideal match" for Indian tourists with the presence of large, high-end shopping malls, entertainment centres and gaming facilities.

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