Starting this December until May 2021, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will feature one virtual town fiesta every month, in the hope that Filipino-Americans overseas will enjoy what the country has to offer and invite their friends to visit the Philippines once the pandemic is over.
At the same time, the DOT will identify 100 destinations and give them its stamp of approval, providing what hotels and resorts to stay in and the services that are available, said Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Robert Alabado III during a virtual conference.
He made the statement during the launch yesterday of the “Fiesta Filipinas: An Online Celebration of Philippine Festivals.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was represented by host, Mr Paolo Abrera and Ms. Chal Lontoc, with the virtual participation of DFA – Office of Strategic Communications and Research Acting Head of Office Ms. Marie Yvette Banzon-Abalos, and Alabado III, including members of the media from the Philippines and other parts of the world.
Ms. Banzon-Abalos called the event an innovative approach to promoting Philippine culture, and is a way of bringing Philippine culture and celebrations closer to Filipinos’ hearts despite the limitations of the pandemic.
DOT Usec. Alabado underscored the efforts of the Philippine government in ensuring a safe experience for tourists, once Philippine borders finally open up to international tourism, while National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairman Arsenio Lizaso, in a pre-recorded message, gave a sweeping overview of the deep roots of festivals in Filipino culture.
Banzon-Abalos said the project is anchored “on that longing that one day we can return to our lives and experience things with other people and enjoy a worry-freer existence, free of Covid-19.”
“Fiesta Filipinas: An Online Celebration of Philippine Festivals” is a six-part, multi-format online event series which will simulate the experience of a festival through a combination of live and pre-recorded videos of the festival location and the previous year’s celebration.
Every month from December 2020 to May 2021, one Philippine festival will be featured as a way for locals to introduce their cultural festivity to the world stage.
The first Fiesta Filipinas virtual event will aptly celebrate the Christmas season in the Philippines, with the Giant Lantern Parade (19 December), followed by the Sinulog, Ati-Atihan, and Dinagyang Festivals (30 January 2021), the Panagbenga Festival (27 February 2021), Visita Iglesia (20 March 2021), Lami-Lamihan Festival (24 April 2021), to end with the Flores De Mayo/ Santacruzan (29 May 2021).
A multi-sensory experience, Fiesta Filipinas will be sharing a limited number of kits to some lucky participants from all over the world, for them to be able to join in on the workshops that will be held as part of the virtual fiestas. Those living abroad who may wish to participate may contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate to request their kits.
The kits will contain familiar Philippine handicraft, food items, a bamboo parol (lantern) and things that are commonly shared during a particular fiesta.
DOT Secretary Bernadette Puyat asked the participants to join the program’s virtual tours of the Philippines cultural sites and sounds and at the same time share with the world the Philippine food items that whet the appetites for tourists, “what the Filipinos call patikim so that they would share the aroma, taste and sensation of our chocolate, durian, marang, accompanied by the thumping drumbeats of Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival.”