Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Abstract

A Tourism Destination Marketing Model for the Philippines

Azucena Pallugna*

Internet and digital media have significantly shaped consumer landscape affecting individuals and social groups due to increased connectivity and transparency; while travel perceptions and sentiments changed due to the unprecedented Coronavirus crisis. With these intervening factors in the tourism industry, the researcher crafted a destination marketing model for the Philippines in this study to better match market demands and leverages the power of Filipino-American travelers as a target market and brand ambassadors to increase visitation to the country. The study was similar to previous reviews, but it looked at new distribution channels for the Filipino-American travel market and discovered a way to increase market visibility while decreasing costs and increasing destination appeal. Using qualitative and quantitative method, the researcher surveyed 420 Filipino-American travelers mainly from California, New York, Illinois, and Texas the home states of about 2.1 million Filipino Americans. The researcher discovered that in making plans and decisions for travels, Filipino Americans rely on the four F-factors coined by American marketing guru Philip Kotler: friends, family, fans, and followers; plus two new “F” factors as added by the researcher: Facebook and Filipino community. She pointed out that Filipino Americans post their travels on Facebook and other social media and generate inspirations from Filipino community sites, celebrity posts, and events. Hence, the new FDA-Pallugna Model (2021) focuses on Filipino Americans not just destination brand consumers, but they are the best brand ambassadors for the Philippines as a global destination.

Published Date: 2022-04-14; Received Date: 2022-03-14