By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez / Special to the BusinessMirror
Part Two
WHEN President Duterte approved the proposal to host the 65th Miss Universe in the country in July last year—this, amid prior controversies of his hesitance to do as such—Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo was quick to assure the public that hosting the international pageant here will boost the country’s already booming tourism industry.
“The President agreed that sponsoring the event would be a tourism-marketing coup, with Philippines’s Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach at the helm,” Teo said in a statement. Early last week a Department of Tourism (DOT) report confirmed tourist arrivals in the Philippines have risen significantly, as foreign and local visitors anticipate the grand coronation day at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on January 30.
“We’re getting a lot of tourist arrivals…. Tumaas talaga siya, especially for Cebu [We’re getting a lot of tourist arrivals. It really increased, especially in Cebu].” Tourism Undersecretary for Media Affairs Katherine S. de Castro said. “A lot of their flights are fully booked for Tuesday, kasi doon magaganap ang swimsuit presentation [A lot of flights going to Cebu are already booked for Tuesday, because the swimsuit presentation will be held there].”
De Castro said the DOT is expecting a lift in exposure and publicity to other tourist destinations in the country beside the capital, as the beauty candidates toured Boracay, Cebu, Vigan, Davao, Palawan and Iloilo. Media mileage is also expected to rise, as hundreds of journalists from both international and local media cover the event.
By tapping the worldwide appeal of the Miss Universe, the DOT is hopeful that the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign will flourish more, and that the budget otherwise spent on expensive promotions using various media platforms will be used to fund other DOT projects.
In the interim, the Philippines’s Maxine Medina shared similar hopes of endorsing the potentials of the tourism sector. “Being able to promote and represent the country in the global arena is a privilege to showcase what the Philippines has to offer. I want everyone to know how rich Filipino culture is,” Medina said. “To be able to promote the Philippines gives me the opportunity to show the beauty of our country and our people.”
Before the grand reveal
IN the lead-up to the big day, the spotlight now is not only focused on the Miss Universe candidates, but also the festivities before the grand reveal: from red carpet receptions to ancillary events, such as promotional shoots and tours around different areas in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
In a press conference held early this year, Teo listed the run-down of the final 16-day itinerary of the international beauty contest after meeting with pageant organizers and private partners.
The tour already started on January 14 in Boracay, followed by a trip of the candidates to Vigan on January 15. It was then tailed by visits in Manila on January 16; a visit to the oldest city of Cebu on January 17; a strawberry-picking event in Baguio on January 18; a visit to Davao on January 19; and a swimwear photoshoot in Batangas on January 19. Candidates also paid a courtesy call to Duterte on Monday.
On January 16 all the 86 candidates gathered at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City in a black-tie dinner/gala called the Governor’s Ball. Aside from Teo, other prominent people present in the event were Manila Mayor Joseph E. Estrada, Sen. Manny Pacquiao and officials from the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), including current titleholder Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and MUO President Paula M. Shugart.
TV personalities, like Gretchen Baretto and international supermodel Joey Mead, who hosted the ball, also graced the event.
Also present is Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis V. Singson of the LCS Group, the official host of the pageant. The event served as a private fund-raiser for the Pass It Forward Foundation, a “middleman” that acts as a bridge between givers (individuals, corporations and foundations) and receivers of charity. The cause, of course, is aligned with MUO’s long-standing advocacy of raising awareness toward HIV/AIDS.
On January 18 the 65th Miss Universe candidates ditched the long gowns and put on some aprons as they helped pack meals and lifesaving aids for “I Rise Against Hunger” at Conrad Manila in Pasay City.
Funded by private sectors
ON July 28 Teo announced that it will be the private sector who will be shouldering the $11 million (or roughly P495 million) expenses that will be incurred for hosting the Miss Universe pageant in the country.
“The government is not going to spend any single centavo here,” Teo said in a statement. “It would be the private sector who would shoulder the expenses.”
This is after the infamous commentary of the President that hosting Miss Universe is not the administration’s priority as of the time.
“The Miss Universe [pageant] is a world-renowned event that continues to get a strong following,” businessman Jay Aldeguer was quoted in a news article as saying. “I really think it shouldn’t be too difficult to get sponsorships to subsidize the event.”
Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Glenn Soco shares the same beliefs. “Miss Universe is a global marketing event,” Soco said. “The private sector can muster the resources needed to stage the event.”
And a sponsorship did it get.
A DOT report confirmed SM patriarch and business magnate Henry Sy as one of the sponsors, along with Japanese businessman and Tiger Resort Chairman Kazuo Okada.
To be concluded
With reports from Luigie P. Hadap
Image credits: Alysa Salen, AP/Bullit Marquez