“Shopping Is More Fun In the Philippines!” | Leony Garcia (2024)

The Philippines is a relatively small country yet it is known to have many shopping malls. To many the mall serves as a social outlet away from the heat of the tropics.

As the countrytends to become hot and humid especially during the summer months, Filipinosflock to shopping malls to cool themselves down. A lot of people meet up to dosome business and networking or spend their hours chatting to while away theirtime.

In recent years,shopping malls have become more than just places to shop, eat, and watchmovies. Filipinos also flock to them to pay utility bills and deal withgovernment bureaucracy. Mall operators have also find new ways to attract morevisitors by building call center offices and condominiums beside their malls tomake it easy for the employees and tenants to pop in and spend. And then wealso have the lifestyle and mixed-use communities where the star of suchestablishments are – you guess it right—the mall. That’s because everything isprovided for within the four corners of the mall—for from market to groceries,from wellness spa to health clinic and sports center, from toys, shoes toapparel, clothes and everything in between. Practically, everything one needscan be found in the mall nowadays.

Major Philippinemall chains are located around the country, such as SM Supermalls, which has 70malls around the country. Another major mall chain is Ayala Malls, which has 14shopping malls serving nationwide. The Philippines has also other major mallchains such as Robinsons Malls, which has 50 shopping malls, MegaworldLifestyle Malls, Vista Malls, Walter Mart, Gaisano Malls, Ever Gotesco Malls,Isetann and many more.

The retail industry in the Philippines is animportant contributor to the national economy as it accounts for approximately 15 percent of thePhilippines’ total Gross National Product (GNP) and 33 percent of the entireservices sector. It employs some 5.25 million people, representing 18 percent of the Philippines’workforce.

Retail tourism isone of the industries severely hit by the Covid-19 outbreak as consumers opt toshop online rather than in malls in the last two months. Filipino consumershave lessened their trips to malls and other areas with high foot traffic dueto concerns over the spread of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Malls in MetroManila alone have already recorded a 20 to 30 percent drop in sales as peoplerefrain from going out. This is according to Alegria Limjoco, chaiperson of thePhilippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Thus it is just timelythat the Department of Tourism (DOT) has spearheaded “The 2020 PhilippineShopping Festival” for the month of March. Limjoco said participating in themonth-long shopping festival will allow retailers to recover losses incurred inJanuary and February of this year.

“If we will not dothis, people will just stay at home. So we are giving up our margins for them,”said Limjoco, who is also the vice chairperson of the Philippine FranchiseAssociation.

The first ever shopping festival in thePhilippines, the 2020 Philippine Shopping Festival, will run from March 01 to31, 2020, in Metro Manila, Agusan Del Norte, Antique, Bacolod, Baguio, Bataan,Bicol Region, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Butuan City, Cagayan De Oro, Cagayan Valley,CALABARZON, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Cebu, Davao, Ilocos Norte, Iloilo, Lanao DelNorte, Legazpi City in Albay, Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental,Negros Oriental, Nueva Ecija, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, South Cotabato(General Santos City), and Zambales (Olongapo City).

The DOT said itaims to position the country as adestination where shopping is fun, unique, and affordable. Based on DOT’sVisitor Sample Survey in 2018 shopping is the most common tourist activity inthe country at 38 percent.

“It’s not hard tosee that elevating the shopping experience will go a long way to enhance theattractiveness of our tourist destinations all over the Philippines, whether itis our big cities or in our beautiful provinces. We’ve recognized this in theNational Tourism Development Plan of 2016-2022, where leisure, entertainmentand shopping tourism is one of the 10 products we want to further develop inthe next few years,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

Puyat also assuredthat ‘There’s Fun in Every Find’ for the duration of the shopping fest as thesale features a variety of Philippine-made items/#FunFinds2020 is the officialhashtag.

“We invite all tourists to ‘Be Part of the Fun’by supporting the 2020 PhilippineShopping Sale this March. Buying local helps support our craftsmen andartisans, as well as their communities; more importantly, it helps preserve ourculture, traditions, and Filipino way of life,” she added.

During the shopping fest, foreign and local touristsalike can expect 15 percent up to 70 percent discounts on many excitingPhilippine-made products, including food and dining, jewelry and fashion,crafts, furniture, and decor, and beauty and wellness products, enablingshopping an integral part of visitors’itineraries.

Travelers can alsolook for affordable airfares and cheaperhotel accommodations for the promotion period as airlines including PhilippineAirlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Air Asia, Air Carriers Association of thePhilippines will be slashing off airfare tickets to spur domestictourism.

Interestedconsumers can revel on the shopping sale through participating malls such asAraneta Group, Ayala Land Malls, Inc., Duty Free Philippine Corporation,Filinvest Land Inc., Greenfield Development Corporation, Vista Malls, MegaworldCorporation, Oritgas Land, Power Plant Mall, Robinsons Land Corporation, RustanCommercial Corporation, Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, SM Supermalls, and StoresSpecialists, Inc.

Associationssupporting the event are the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, PhilippineFranchise Association, Philippine Owners Association Inc., Philippine RetailersAssociation, Philippine Tour Operators Association, Philippine Travel AgenciesAssociation, and Tourism Congress of the Philippines.

“This ambitiousproject, designed to increase tourism expenditure in the country, would not havebeen possible without the full support and cooperation of the nation’s malloperators, retailers, franchise holders, hotel and tour operators, andtravel agencies,” added Puyat.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Roa Dutertereiterated the government’s support in Philippine tourism. Tourism SecretaryPuyat confirmed that the president will be going around the major islands inthe country including, but not limited to Boracay, Bohol, and Cebu to showtourists and locals alike that it is safe to travel around the Philippines.

Secretary Puyatalso said that the 2020 Philippine Shopping Sale may become a yearly andanticipated feature on the nation’s event calendar.

In 2019, aninvestment forum affirmed that “Shopping Is More Fun In the Philippines” andattracts more retailers and tourists.

The Philippines,which broke tourist arrival records with 8.26 million in 2019, has moved tospur more domestic tourism.

Three of the Philippine ShoppingFestival venues, Baguio, Iloilo, and Negros, were awarded the ASEAN CleanTourist City badge in 2020.

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