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‘Bisita, Be My Guest’ Makes Filipinos Its Tourism Ambassadors

MANILA – A new promotional campaign which makes Filipinos its travel ambassadors has been launched by the Department of Tourism (DOT) at the SM MOA Music Hall on Dec. 15.

The DOT, in cooperation with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), and private sector partners including SM Supermalls, unveiled the “Bisita, Be My Guest (BBMG)” program, which seeks to incentivize Filipinos, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and overseas Filipinos (OFs) who invite foreign tourists to visit the Philippines with raffle tickets and chances to win vacation tour packages from select local destinations.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said that through this project, the DOT seeks to inspire all Filipinos by making them ambassadors of Philippine tourism, and, for OFWs and OFs, offer them a platform where they can reconnect with their families, at the same time, help the country earn economic gains through increased tourist arrivals.

“We envision the Bisita, Be My Guest program as the Filipinos’ way of showing their love for the country as we invite visitors to our homes, show them the beauty of our landscapes and beaches, our culture and heritage, and let them experience world-class Filipino hospitality,” she said in her address during the campaign launch.

Also present at the event was DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, who emphasized the BBMG’s significance in empowering OFWs to help the country, particularly, its tourism industry.

“All of them [OFWs] are so eager to help our country and to help our President succeed. I mean that’s the common denominator. Saan man kami pumunta, our OFWs are saying, 'Ano maitutulong namin?' 'Paano kami makakatulong?' And so this [Bisita, Be My Guest] program gives them a vehicle to do just that,” said Ople.

Through a pre-recorded message, First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta Marcos lauded the BBMG program.

“We all know that the Filipinos are the most hospitable people in the world, and I’m sure this will be a great factor in the success of this program. We really need to bring in more tourists to the Philippines because we want to show how hospitable we are, how kind we are, and how good we are at letting them feel at home. So thank you, DOT Officials. Thank you everyone for launching this project, which I’m sure will benefit the country,” she said.

Vice President Sara Duterte, in a pre-recorded message, expressed her confidence in the project.

“I trust that this program will create a wide avenue for the development of our tourism industries, while it seeks to provide excellent travel packages to foreign and domestic visitors. May your concerted efforts in this regard promote the beauty of our country’s destinations and sustain the progress of our local communities in various regions,” she enthused.

The BBMG has three components: a raffle promo, BBMG passport, and a BBMG privilege card (BBMG PC), which participants can use to avail of discounts, special rates, and packages.

All Filipinos of legal age and the foreign visitors they invite are qualified to join the program. Participants could either be a sponsor or an invitee. A sponsor is an individual who shall be inviting a non-Filipino guest/visitor to travel to the Philippines, while an invitee is an individual invited by a sponsor who traveled in the country.

Invitees must be a foreign passport holder (non-Filipino), or any Filipino holding dual citizenship living abroad for a minimum of six (6) months prior to the campaign period (Jan. 1, 2023 - Apr. 30, 2024).

The complete promo mechanics as well as registration information for sponsors and invitees can be found on the official BBMG website: http://bbmg.philippines.travel. - FJJ, DOT