LONDON, November 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The STA Travel Group has signed a global marketing agreement with the Philippines Department of Tourism.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141103/713811 )
The new partnership will see the STA Travel Group promoting travel to the Philippines in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Australia.

The campaign, "It's More Fun in the Philippines," will see four independent filmmakers travel to the Philippines to make one short film each, to encapsulate one of the four key elements of the region: Volcanoes and National Parks, Beaches, Island Hopping and Social Tourism.

STA Travel's Chief Executive Office John Constable said: "At STA Travel we are always focused on discovering new and exciting destinations for our travellers and this year we sent a team of product developers out to the Philippines to find out what it had to offer. As a consequence, we are now delighted to be working so closely with the Philippine Tourism Board to promote such an exciting destination with our brand new ideas and tours. For example, we are supporting an initiative called 'Gawad Kalinga' which invests in the regeneration of local resource to build Philippine communities. The Philippines is one of our must-visit destinations for 2015."

The Philippines' Department of Tourism Chief Operating Officer, Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III says: "STA Travel is the top international youth tourism operator in our market and this is why we have chosen to work with them on this campaign. We have known the potential of the Philippines as a youth tourism destination, especially in the last few years with the improvement in infrastructure and travel between islands. The Philippines has numerous value-for-money options that compete with other popular destinations in the region. In addition, we have a number of off-the-beaten-track and non-traditional offerings across the islands that are certainly of interest to this market.

"With 2015 named as the banner "Year of the Philippines", this is a timely partnership due to numerous new developments and an extraordinary calendar of events!  We are excited to work with STA Travel in promoting our destination to the active and youth travellers of the world." 

Lonely Planet recently named the the Philippines as one of its Top Countries to Visit in 2015. It says: "7100+ islands have dive-tastic coral reefs, sunbathe-ready white sands, swaying palm trees and nipa-palm thatched huts. Plus in 2015 the government is laying on all sorts of special events to raise the profile of the archipelago. And if there's one thing Filipinos know how to do, it's party -expect street parades, food festivals, sports tournaments and live music. Now that Philippine Airlines has gained approval for direct flights to Europe, America and Australia, why wait?"

For more information on Philippines visit http://www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com.

Notes to editors: 

STA Travel 

- STA Travel is the world's largest youth travel company. It employs more than 2,000 people in 11 countries, and works with franchisees, joint ventures and licensed partners in a further 52 countries.

- STA Travel's global annual turnover is US $1.4 billion and it carries more than 2.5 million passengers annually.

- STA Travel's retail divisions have more than 230 branches. There is a core retail network in 11 countries including Australia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States.

- STA Travel is privately owned by Diethelm Keller Group in Switzerland.

SOURCE STA Travel