𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲: 𝗗𝗢𝗧 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗜𝗕𝗔 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘈𝘛𝘐 𝘊𝘐𝘛𝘠 — In support of the country’s hosting of the highly anticipated FIBA International Basketball Federation World Cup 2023, the Department of Tourism (DOT) launched Philippine tour packages for international fans and Filipinos on Tuesday (July 25) at the DOT Office in Makati City. 

"𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘐𝘉𝘈 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮,"   DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco announced at the FIBA Philippine tour launch. 

The Philippines will co-host the FIBA Basketball World Cup group phase with Japan and Indonesia from August 25-30. The Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City; Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City; and the 50,000-capacity Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan will house 52 out of the 92 games. The final phase of the World Cup scheduled for September 5-10 will be played as well at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

Among the potential NBA stars to play in Manila are Nikola Jokic of Serbia, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Dominican Republic. Top-tier national teams such as the USA, New Zealand, Jordan, Greece, Mexico, Montenegro, Lithuania, Egypt, China, Serbia, Puerto Rico, and South Sudan are set to compete in the Philippines, accompanied by their thousands of fans and supporters. 

To complement the FIBA World Cup experience, the DOT teamed up with a tourism consortium of national tourism associations to meticulously craft tour packages that showcase marquee destinations such as those in Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, La Union and Pampanga, Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo and Bacolod, Boracay, Palawan, and Davao. 

Secretary Frasco rallied together the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), the HSMA (Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International), the Pacific Asia Travel Association Philippines Chapter (PATA), and the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) to form the tourism consortium and curate the said tour packages for the organizers, officials, players, and fans of the game. 

"𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘐𝘉𝘈 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 4.8 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳...𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦, 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦-𝘰𝘧-𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩. 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵," the tourism chief enthused. 

Visitors can book and avail of the FIBA-exclusive tour packages with options of 3 days and 2 nights or 4 days and 3 nights’ arrangements at four- or five-star hotels through the DOT website - www.discoverphilippines.travel starting August 1 up to September 30. 

Included in the FIBA tour packages are the Philippines Hop On, Hop Off bus tours, accredited hotel and accommodation options, and travel packages with and without airfare. 

No less than President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. fully supports the country’s hosting endeavor through Administrative Order No. 5 issued last March forming the Inter-Agency Task Force directing all government agencies to aid the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), the national basketball association, in the conduct of the FIBA flagship event in the country. 

"𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴," the DOT Secretary added. 

Secretary Frasco also extended her appreciation to the DOT’s infrastructure arm, TIEZA - Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority for the airport enhancements and the construction of Tourist Rest Areas (TRA) with seven, located in FIBA tour destinations, to be inaugurated this August. 

Other efforts of the Department in support of the FIBA hosting include assistance in airport reception during the airport reception services during the FIBA World Cup Draw and other FIBA activities, domestic and international promotion of the event, safety, and security with the Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) program and the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) Training, as well as strategic FIBA branding site enhancements. 

During the launch, Ms. Claudia Perrine from the FIBA Basketball World Cup Local Organizing Committee provided insights into the country's preparations for hosting the tournament, unveiled the lineup of FIBA World Cup events, and highlighted the goal of breaking the World Cup attendance record. 

Additionally, representatives from the DOT FIBA Tour Packages tourism consortium elaborated on the crafted tour packages. 

Bob Zozobrado, President of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), shared the collaborative efforts behind the creation of the consortium and the thought process that led to the development of the FIBA Philippine tour packages. Margie Munsayac, representing the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association (HSMA) International Inc., discussed the range of accommodation options and competitive rates available for visitors. Maria Paz Alberto, President of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Philippines, presented the selected tour packages, while Marlene Insigne also from PATA and Carlota Casas from the Philippine Tour Operators Association, Inc. (PHILTOA) shared on the inclusion of ten cluster destinations in the tour packages. Wendel Santos, President of Atlantis, elaborated on the online booking platform specifically designed for FIBA tours. 

Previously, Tourism Secretary Frasco pledged the Department’s utmost support to the SBP, PLDT, and Smart group during the FIBA luncheon which gathered the diplomatic community with some 20 ambassadors and consuls last July 12.