The figures will speak for themselves. The recently-concluded 17th Travel Tour Expo which was a three-day frenzy of buying, booking and selling, was a huge success.

The Travel Tour Expo is the country’s premier annual travel and tourism event where you will find marked down prices on airline tickets and tour packages of up to 70 percent. Among the top selling local destinations were Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. For international destinations, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore were the top three.

The Expo saw the coming together of various industry stakeholders comprising of airlines, cruise operators, tourism agencies, hotels and resorts, and tour operators.

“We were definitely amazed by the impressive numbers that we got this year. The numbers show that Filipinos will continue to travel no matter what and that traveling continues to be one of their passions,” said Paz Alberto of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association.

The 17th Travel Tour Expo was organized by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DoT).

“But more than the positive numbers, the Travel Tour Expo is more of a service to fellow Filipinos and the travel industry. We understand that traveling plays an important role in the family as it has become an activity where members of the family bond and enjoy doing things together. Through the event, we hope to enhance not only domestic traveling but also provide affordable travel packages for everyone as well,” Alberto added.

The outstanding number of attendees this year contributed to a 20 percent increase in total sales compared to last year’s PhP216 million.

“Through the Travel Tour Expo, PTAA played a vital role in ushering the vibrant travel activities within and into the country. The DoT truly credits them for the united effort they have shown in boosting domestic tourism,” expressed Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.

Durano also added that the success of the Travel Tour Expo is a strong indication of the good prospects that the Philippine tourism industry faces this year.