By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Mindanao region will take center stage as the Philippines once more attends the World Travel Market (WTM) to be held from November 7 to 9 at the ExCel, London.
In a statement, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) said it will take the opportunity to celebrate the exemplary beauty and rich culture of the island-group in the Philippines least known to foreign tourists, through a mini-fashion show. The statement said the show “will intricately look into the rich canvas of Mindanao culture, as featured in its weaves, ethnic tribes and beautiful vistas with a fusion of music, video, dance and neo-ethnic fashion.”
The Philippine delegation will be headed by Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, along with representatives from the TPB, the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), as well as executives from a number of hotels, resorts and tour operators/travel agencies.
Representing the private sector are about 25 tourism industry stakeholders, from Amorita Resort to Viva Ilocos Travel & Hospitality Services Inc.
This year the Philippines’s pavilion will highlight the greatest offerings of the country—from the renowned hospitality of its people to the country’s natural wonders and world-class facilities, according to the statement. The Philippines’s participation at “WTM London 2016” provides a venue for business-to-business meetings to strengthen linkages with industry counterparts in Europe and other key travel and tourism markets of the world that would catalyze new tourism business and tourist arrivals for the Philippines, the statement added.
TPB officials were quoted in the statement as expressing confidence that the Philippines’s participation in WTM 2016 will help sustain the growth momentum of the country’s tourism industry. This year the DOT projects some 6 million in foreign tourist arrivals, growing annually to hit 12 million by the end of President Duterte’s term in 2022.
Staged annually in London, the WTM is an event for the travel industry to meet contacts and seal tourism business deals. It presents a diverse range of destinations and industry sectors to the United Kingdom and other international travel locations. Now on its 36th year, the WTM generates more than £2.2 billion (P132 billion) of travel industry contracts, documents by the organizers said.