The Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) officially opened the 37th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) on Friday, gathering tourism stakeholders from across the country for a three-day showcase of destinations, travel experiences, and industry partnerships.

Held 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 functioned as a meeting point for the Philippine tourism industry, making it one of the country's longest-running travel trade fairs and an annual barometer of where the sector is headed. This year, however, PHILTOA is using the annual gathering to look beyond what Philippine tourism currently offers and turn its attention toward the people and communities that will shape the industry's future.

PHILTOA President Maria Lourdes Japson noted that the participation of regional tourism offices, including those from Mindanao, underscores 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 characterized PTM as a gathering of the entire Philippine tourism industry, describing it as a "mini fiesta" and an "appetizer" of the country's tourism offerings. At the same time, the event reflects how the industry itself has evolved.

"The faces have changed, the leaders have changed, the technology has changed, the travelers have changed, but the mission has remained," Ms. Japson said.

PHILTOA launched 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," marks the latest chapter of the series.

According to Ms. Japson, 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 rests on four pillars: digitalization, sustainability, inclusivity, and health and wellness.

Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the industry's objective should not be growth in size alone, 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 observed, are increasingly looking past 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 centered on gastronomy, wellness and pilgrimage, arts and creativity, and living cultures.

In Samar, the Secret Kitchens of Samar program lets visitors discover heirloom recipes, traditional cooking methods, and the stories of the families that have preserved these traditions.

In Negros, the Slow Food Movement connects visitors with farmers, producers, and cooks, making food itself part of the travel experience.

Other experiences enable 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 demonstrate 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. The emphasis on community-based experiences also aligns with broader efforts in Philippine tourism to spread visitor spending beyond established gateways and into provinces where tourism can support local livelihoods.

For PHILTOA, that shift is also part of the responsibility of carrying PTM into its next chapter. Generations of tourism leaders have taken turns advancing the platform, 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