The Global Tourism Business Association (GTBA) has arranged meetings with top Brunei diplomats for travel exchanges as an offshoot of the recent visit of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos to this country.

GTBA president Michelle Taylan flew to Brunei to meet Philippine ambassador Marian Jocelyn-Tirol Ignacio, Brunei acting director for tourism development Yang Mulia Dayang Salinah Binthi Haji Mohd Salleh, ATAB deputy president Haji Zainal Harun and other tourism sector representatives.

The GTBA will be holding its second general membership assembly in Brunei, as part of its sixth founding anniversary.

GTBA will also have its B2B Global Travel Exchange and Roadshow in Brunei from 22 to 23 July in collaboration with the Boracay LGU and tourism stakeholders, One Klik Events, and the Association of Travel Agents Brunei.

“This is a mega celebration of our sixth year in business, and we’re doing it in partnership with Brunei. We want to facilitate increased tourism exchange between the two countries and allow our members to tap into more networks in ASEAN,” Taylan said.

Cooperation

MoU signed

The GTBA events come on the heels of President Marcos’ state visit to Brunei, wherein a memorandum of understanding for tourism cooperation was signed. President Marcos said he wants to entice more Bruneian tourists to come to the Philippines, and improve people-to-people exchange between the two countries.

“We welcome having more travelers from Brunei to come visit the Philippines. There are a lot of opportunities for the Philippines when it comes to offering halal tourism, and we can certainly try to tap on Brunei as a testbed for improving our Muslim-friendly offers,” Taylan said.