AS part of its recovery efforts for the travel and tourism industry, the Hotel Sales and Marketing (HSMA) of the Philippines sealed its partnership with the Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) to hold the Travel Exchange 2023, this year's largest platform for hotels, resorts, theme parks, tour operators, and agencies to create innovative travel experiences for both Filipinos and visitors from other countries. The inaugural B2B fair was held on March 28-29, 2023 at the MGBx of the Manila Marriott Hotel.

In this year's edition, the Travel Exchange witnessed HSMA's over 80 properties engaging in tabletop business with over 100 of Philtoa's members and allied members, as they discover and form synergies to boost domestic travel through their destinations and services.

'Our membership is basically nationwide; be it a business hotel or a leisure resort, we have that in our portfolio. In Philtoa, they have all sorts of travel agents that cater to different markets, and I think it's such an opportune time for this partnership because the global market is starting to breathe again,' said Loleth So, HSMA president and area director of Sales and Marketing, Belmont & Savoy Hotel Manila (Megaworld Hotels & Resorts).

The partnership is a first for both HSMA and Philtoa, which saw fit to merge their organizations together to also further help industry players affected by the pandemic recover and restart their businesses.

'As an association, we really want to help our tour operators, especially those who are just starting and don't know whom to talk to in the hotel side of things,' said Fe Abling-Yu, Philtoa president.

Also coming up this year is the 9th HSMA Virtus Awards, the most prestigious recognition given to outstanding sales and marketers of the group's member hotels and resorts.