The Philippine government is rolling out a new campaign to boost the number of Hong Kong visitors to levels last seen before Manila hostage crisis.
A black travel alert has been in place warning people not to visit the Philippines since seven Hong Kong tourists and their tour guide were killed when a disgruntled policeman, Rolando Mendoza, hijacked a tour bus in Manila in August 2010 and later turned his gun on the bus passengers.
The Security Bureau said it was reviewing the country's situation. A black travel alert means all travel to the country should be avoided.
Some 112,106 visitors from the city visited the Philippines last year, a drop of 16 per cent from 2010, when the figure stood at 133,746, according to the country's department of tourism.
The new global branding campaign, under the slogan 'It's more fun in the Philippines', promotes the country as a destination for diving, honeymoons, and cultural and natural tourism.
Maria Jorda-apo, director for North America and Asia Pacific of the department, travelled to Hong Kong yesterday to introduce the campaign to the tourism sector. She estimates there will be 13 per cent more Hong Kong visitors by the end of this year.
'We keep on promoting because we believe this is a very important market despite all the challenges that we went through,' she said.