The Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) is the biggest government-organized travel trade event in the country.
Established in 1996, the event hosts qualified international buyers to participate in tabletop business appointments with Philippine sellers and experience first-hand the beauty of the Philippines and warmth of its people through pre-/post-event tours with an end-goal of expanding networks, creating partnerships and increasing tourist arrivals in the country.
PHITEX has become a major annual marketing event that further strengthens the country’s brand image and encourages participants to promote affordable and competitive tourism packages.
For the first time, despite the pandemic, TPB hosted the PHITEX 2020 Hybrid Edition in September 2020 in Panglao, Bohol. This online travel trade show allowed tourism stakeholders from all over the world to explore new opportunities and markets as well as update global buyers with the latest Philippine tourism offerings in one hybrid e-conference environment.
For the following year, the 2021 PHITEX were conducted outside of Manila, Subic played host to Philippine sellers. While, PHITEX 2022 was held in Manila. It was the first time since the pandemic that international buyers were able to physically join the event.
This year, coming out of pandemic, the first purely physical PHITEX will be held in Cebu, after its first hosting 16 years ago. Scheduled on 19-26 September 2023 in Cebu targeting 100 buyers and 100 seller companies, the event will have a two-day face-to-face Travel Exchange (TRAVEX), PHITEX Educational Program (PEP) Talk and Pre and Post-Event Tours for Buyers.
The Philippines
The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelago consisting of some 7,641 islands and islets lying about 800 km off the southeast coast of Asia and stretching 1,850 km from north to south. It is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, and the West Philippine Sea to the west and north. The Philippines takes its name from King Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century. Manila is the biggest city and the national capital. It is located in Luzon, the largest island. Only about two-fifths of the islands and islets have names, and only 350 are larger than one square mile.
The Philippines is home to about 112 million people. Filipinos comprise of 111 cultural and linguistic groups of Malay-Polynesian origin, with varying degrees of Chinese, Spanish and American influences. About 90 percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholic, with smaller numbers of Protestants and Moslems. The national language is Filipino, although English is the language of commerce and politics.
