Phl wedding planners to hold int’l roadshows

MANILA, Philippines - The biggest group of wedding planners in the Philippines is looking to tap the foreign market as the country becomes a more viable international wedding destination.

Philippine Association of Wedding Planners (PAWP) president Liza Alviedo said they plan to hold roadshows and actively participate in expositions in Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia, Canada, US, and several countries in Europe.

 â€œWe want to go about this slowly and first go to places with large Filipino communities.  There is a big market out there just waiting to be tapped.  It will have to be a step-by-step process wherein our members and fellow wedding suppliers will eventually be able to maximize their reach,” she said.

Alviedo said their first stop this year will be the Philippine Wedding Expo @ Singapore in July which is being organized by local firm Destination Events and Business Solutions.

She said they are partnering with the upstart events company for the Singapore wedding expo because of their shared vision of promoting the country’s wedding industry internationally. 

 â€œSingapore is a bit different from other countries with a large overseas Filipino workers (OFW) presence as our countrymen there are working in offices with some of them having middle management positions or higher.  It is a market with a capacity to spend for their weddings,” Alviedo said.

She said PAWP, whose members are based in key cities across the country and have the ability to organize weddings domestically or abroad, is potentially expecting to get at least 150 contracts combined from the expo.

Latest data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration ranked Singapore third in the total number of OFWs, after Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Destination Events and Business Solutions president Giselle De Leon said the participation of PAWP ensures that potential clients going to the Singapore expo will be acquiring the best wedding services available.

“PAWP members have established track records.  In the Philippines, they are the best in the business. We are delighted to partner with them for this expo,” De Leon said.

Over the past several years, the PAWP has been actively supporting the Department of Tourism’s campaign to make the Philippines one of the preferred wedding destinations in the world.