MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will not push through with its hosting of the fourth edition of Madrid Fusion Manila (MFM) next year, as the tourism department is focusing its resources on sustainable tourism efforts.
“The Department of Tourism (DOT) will continue to focus its resources on the many pressing challenges in the industry, in particular to address the needs of sectors that require support as the tourism industry adopts a policy of sustainable tourism,” the DOT said in a statement.
The fourth edition of the MFM was previously set for April 2019.
“Given the urgency of those demands, the department is fully dedicated to optimizing its resources and allocating its budget toward programs and projects that directly impact communities, especially at the grassroots, that need government aid to be sustainable,” the DOT said.
The DOT emphasized that efforts such as the development of farm tourism will provide a dependable source of income for Filipinos in their localities and is also vital to countryside development.
“The DOT recognizes what the local food industry has contributed to promoting the country as a vibrant culture with its own unique flavor to the world,” the DOT said.
“This was strengthened by events such as (MFM), which not only helped in creating a discussion about Filipino cuisine abroad but also in cultivating a more robust interest in our homegrown agricultural produce within the local culinary scene,” it added.
The tourism department said it would continue its support of Filipino gastronomy by focusing its efforts on areas that will make it truly sustainable.
Its regional offices will continue to develop and improve culinary and farm tourism product offerings, while the department’s foreign offices will promote the country as a premier culinary destination.
This year’s edition of the MFM was cancelled due to a number of problems that surfaced during the bidding process as the project was transferred from the DOT to the Tourism Promotions Board.
In June, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the MFM, which was set to take place in September, would not push through due to the lack of time to organize the project.
“When I was looking at the timeline, we need to bid. There’s no venue, no organizer. So we’ve decided not to pursue with it this year because by the time we end bidding, it might be already August,” Puyat earlier said.
“I already talked to (the MFM organizer) to make it just next year in April. Let’s not rush the project,” the tourism chief added.