A record number of Norwegians flocked the Philippine booth at the Reiseliv 2009 (Travel Fair) held in Lillestrom, Norway... from 8 to 11 January 2009.

During the four-day event, the Philippine booth entertained an estimated 1,000 interested and would-be tourists ranging from families, honeymooning couples, businessmen, sailors, and travel enthusiasts and members of the media. Favorite destinations were Boracay, Palawan, Cebu and Bohol; although a number of visitors looking for great backpacking destinations also expressed interest in the Cordillera and the Ilocos regions.

Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, together with DOT Tourism Attaché Domingo Ramon Enerio, led the Philippine participation at the Fair. Oslo PE and DOT-London staff, together with some Filipino Community members, manned the booth and entertained tour operators and interested tourists.

The Reiseliv is the biggest annual tourism fair in Norway where over 700 exhibitors representing various countries and agencies show off the best of the world’s top tourist destinations.

According to recent data from DOT, the number of Norwegian tourists going to the country has gone up steadily. And as of Oc-tober 2008, among the Nordic countries, Norway recorded the highest number of visitors coming to the Philippines at 11,978, twenty-one percent higher than the 9,865 recorded in 2007.

Sweden and Denmark are the other two Nordic countries.

This has inspired the Embassy and DOT London to plan a number of projects to attract more Norwegian tourists to visit the Philippines in 2009, including a visit to the Philippines by media groups as well as the enhancement of the DOT website to include translations into Norske language.

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