History Con 2018 breaks own record

MANILA, Philippines — History Con 2018 is back for the third time and expected to break its attendance record last year. The entertainment convention opened Friday and runs until today at the World Trade Center in Pasay. Leading Friday’s opening ceremonies were stars of History Channel shows such as Ancient Aliens’ Giorgio Tsoukalos, Vikings’ Katheryn Winnick, Ride N’ Seek’s Jaime Dempsey, Lifetime’s Who Runs The World’s Yeoh Mong Chin, plus local actors Xian Lim and Diego Loyzaga who are part of the reality show Celebrity Car Wars. Foreign Affairs Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Grace Poe and US Amb. Sung Kim also joined the stars in kicking off the latest edition of History Con. ?

A crowd of 68,800 showed up in 2017 and 50,000 in 2016. It is poised to breach 70,000-mark this year. “We’re very confident... we’re basing it from the reception of the exhibitors, the demand compared to last year. We sold 900 booths. It’s so much bigger,”?said Jacque Ruby, country head of A+E Networks, the global media company that operates History Channel, among others.?

When it first started, the plan was to simply promote History Channel shows, but Ruby said they didn’t expect it would become such an attraction not just among locals but also foreign tourists. “We are endorsed by the Department of Tourism... and the government wants us to mount it in Visayas and Mindanao. We’re looking at Cebu and Davao (in the future).” History Con 2018 features over 400 booths, activities like drift racing, escape rooms and even a carnival.

The guest stars lost no time making the most? of their visit. Tsoukalos took the advice of Pinoy journalists in his last visit two years ago to explore the mysteries in the Philippines. He went to National Museum of Anthropology last Friday. “It is one of the greatest museums in the planet. Go to that museum and look at the different references of ancient flying horses and creatures that can turn from animal to human, all Ancient Aliens related ideas,” the Ancient Aliens host said.  Dempsey, on the other hand, was proud to share that she recently encountered American tourists at the airport of Dumaguete who came here because of Ride ‘N Seek’s previous feature on the Philippines. “Just seeing that the show is working and highlighting all the best parts of the Philippines... that was a nice experience,” she said.

Asked if there’s anything she would like to see the country improve on, she laughed, “Maybe the traffic?” Meanwhile, Winnick just came from a brief break in El Nido, Palawan. The Vikings star admitted that?like many other Canadians as well as Americans, the country wasn’t on top of her list of destinations to travel to not until the strong recommendation of a sister who came here last year.

She gushed about the seafood and her island-hopping experience. “I will come back to America and I’m gonna tell everybody that they have to come to the Philippines because your country is stunning!”