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Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano will lead the guests during the opening ceremonies of the 1st Philippine International Tourism Fair (PITF) at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City on Sept. 5.

Almost 150 foreign buyers of travel packages – tour operators, travel specialists and corporate executives – and owners and executives of local resorts, hotels, medical tourism hospitals, golf courses and other tourism-oriented establishments are attending the event. More than 300 corporate buyers are expected to transact business with tour providers and foreign buyers/wholesalers.

Meanwhile, the third and last day of the event on September 7, a Friday, is open for free to the public to enable consumers to see for themselves what possibilities for travel the tourism fair has opened for them.   
While the three-day event is mainly intended for business-to-business interaction or networking between foreign buyers and sellers on one hand and local sellers and buyers on the other hand, the last day was made open to the public to give interested parties a chance to pick out and purchase travel packages from travel organizers with newly formed alliances with their foreign counterparts.

The last day is to be conducted in the same manner that tourism fairs have been done in the past -- consumer-oriented, buyer-to-business model, said Angel Ramos-Bognot, PITF 2007 chair.
 
The PITF 2007 is the country’s first international travel trade fair. It is being held in conjunction with the Department of Tourism’s Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex), which will also be held at the newly built CICC.
The PITF 2007 is organized by the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (NAITAS), the country’s largest travel organization. It is supported by the DOT, Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), the provincial government of Cebu and the city governments of Mandaue and Cebu.

Among the event’s sponsors are Philippine Airlines, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Seair, Marco Polo Hotel, Montebello Hotel and Ralph’s Wines and Spirits, while its media partners are Manila Bulletin, Business Mirror, Cebu Daily News, Philippine Graphic, Cruising Magazine, The Freeman, Sun Star Cebu and radio stations Y101 and Love Radio.

Most of the sellers will have marketing presentations during the 3-day event. The event will officially open with formal ceremonies in the morning of September 5 with top government officials and local executives as guests. At 11 a.m., buyers will conduct tabletop discussions with sellers. 

A seminar on “Building up a Vibrant and Globally Competitive Tourist Destination” will start at 3 p.m. The speakers include Armand Arreza, administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority; Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado; Palawan Gov. Mario Joel Reyes, and Jay Aldeguer, president of the Cebu Visitors and Convention Bureau.

A presentation with cocktails on Boracay entitled “Beach Paradise Boracay” will begin at 4 p.m. 
On the second day, a number of presentations will be made by several service providers. These are the Sarrosa Hotel presentation at 11 a.m., followed by the University of Santo Tomas hospital presentation at 11:45 a.m., then the Bohol Divers Resort presentation at 1:30 p.m. and the Caylabne Bay Resort presentation at 2:15 p.m.

Following the presentations are seminars to be conducted by top-notch personalities. The seminars are on “Philippine medical tourism – a global economic activity” with Dr. Alfonso Cenon, CEO of UST Hospital, as speaker;  “Business opportunities in health and wellness tourism” with Alma Rita Jimenez, president and COO of St. Frances Cabrini Medical Center, as speaker, and “Wellness tourism -- Now a must for lifestyle traveler” with Marjorie Lopingco, president of the Spa Association of the Philippines, as speaker. Another destination presentation with cocktails this time featuring “Blazing Bohol” will wrap up the day’s events.

Two seminars will be held on the last day -- “Why do we have to participate in international tourism fairs” and “Philippines’ edge and competitiveness in international tourism fairs” with Patrick Gregorio, chief marketing officer of Microtel Inn & Suites, as speaker. At 4 p.m., the induction of the League of Tourism Students of the Philippines-Visayas chapter will be held before the closing ceremonies at 6 p.m.

For more information, contact the event organizer, Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corporation, at tel. nos. 832-5422 and 832-9303 or email [email protected] or visit the event’s website at www.philitf.com.

--Press Release


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