The Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) opened the 37th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) on Friday, bringing together tourism stakeholders from across the country for a three-day showcase of destinations, travel experiences and industry partnerships.
Running at the SMX Convention Center Manila from Sept. 4 to 6, this year’s PTM brings together destinations, tour operators, hotels, resorts, airlines, tourism organizations and travel partners under the theme “Nurturing the Next Gen Tourism, Discover Your Philippines.”
For 37 years, PTM has served as a meeting point for the country’s tourism industry. But this year, PHILTOA is using the annual gathering to look beyond what Philippine tourism offers today and move towards the people and communities that will shape its future.
PHILTOA President Maria Lourdes Japson said the participation of regional tourism offices, including those from Mindanao, reflects the nationwide character of the event.
“In Mindanao, our regional tourism offices continue to bring their destinations, communities, products, experiences, and stories to Philippine Travel Mart. This is what makes PTM truly national,” Ms. Japson said.
“It is where our regions meet our markets, where our destinations meet our buyers, where our communities meet opportunities,” she added.
Ms. Japson described PTM as a gathering where the entire Philippine tourism industry comes together, calling it a “mini fiesta” and an “appetizer” of the country’s tourism offerings.
Yet the event is also a reflection of how the industry itself has changed.
“The faces have changed, the leaders have changed, the technology has changed, the travelers have changed, but the mission has remained,” Ms. Japson said.
The organization began its Next Gen Tourism series in 2024 with “Love the Next Gen Tourism,” followed by “Boosting Next Gen Tourism” in 2025. This year’s theme, “Nurturing Next Gen Tourism,” represents the latest chapter in the series.
Ms. Japson said nurturing the next generation means developing young tourism entrepreneurs and innovators, strengthening communities, protecting destinations and embracing digital transformation while preserving Filipino identity.
The agenda is anchored on four pillars: digitalization, sustainability, inclusivity, and health and wellness.
Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the industry’s goal should not simply be growth in size, but improvement in the quality and depth of tourism experiences.
“The tourism industry we build for the next generation must not only be bigger, it must be better,” Ms. Angara-Mathay said.
Travelers, she noted, are increasingly looking beyond traditional attractions. They want to taste local food, meet local people, learn traditions and experience destinations in a more personal way.
The Department of Tourism’s Philippine Experience Program is responding to this shift by developing experiences around gastronomy, wellness and pilgrimage, arts and creativity, and living cultures.
In Samar, the Secret Kitchens of Samar program allows visitors to discover heirloom recipes, traditional cooking methods and the stories of families that have preserved these traditions.
In Negros, the Slow Food Movement brings visitors closer to farmers, producers and cooks, making food itself part of the travel experience.
Other experiences allow tourists to engage directly with local traditions, such as learning the centuries-old craft of making asin tibuok in Bohol or visiting weaving communities in Kalinga, Lake Sebu and Zamboanga.
For Ms. Angara-Mathay, these experiences show how tourism can move beyond simply bringing people to destinations and instead connect them with the communities, culture and livelihoods that make those destinations distinct.
For PHILTOA, that shift is also part of the responsibility of carrying PTM into its next chapter.
Generations of tourism leaders have taken turns carrying the platform forward, Ms. Japson said, with each generation tasked with building on what came before and preparing the next to take the industry further.
“Every generation has a responsibility to build on what previous generations started, to prepare the next generation to take it even further,” she said. — Kaizzer Angela Marie V. Manuba