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

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 recently 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.