MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Tourism (DOT) is finally realizing the power of the Internet in attracting more tourists to visit the country.

In an interview with Inquirer.net, DOT secretary Joseph Ace Durano said it has been actively using the Internet as a marketing medium to reach the North American market.

?I would say 90 percent of our marketing resources there are already devoted to the Internet and the rest for traditional media like TV,? Durano said.

DOT launched its ?Travel Mall? portal, which can be found in its Experience Philippines website.

Tourists planning on a trip to the Philippines can ?window shop? through travel packages offered by DOT-accredited travel agencies and operators in North America, categorized according to destination, trip duration and price range.

Durano was referring to the US and Canada, both of which have large Filipino-American communities that the DOT would like to tap into as a potential tourism market.

He said: ?We are targeting the 25- to 35-year-old demographic. Research shows that in the US, for example, people who belong to this group spend more time on the Internet than TV whether at home or at work.?

DOT has also enlisted Christine Gambito, a popular Internet personality who goes by the name Happy Slip, to be its ?ambassador? for North America.

Durano said his department wants to attract people like Gambito, whose parents are Filipino but was born in the United States, to visit the Philippines.