MANILA, Philippines —This year’s “KAIN NA! Food and Travel Festival” was made special by the tour developed by members of the Philippine Tour Operators Association Inc. (PHILTOA) and the food tourism consortium, according to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
The food and travel festival is once again a hybrid edition in partnership with Ayala Malls.
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With the theme “Food Tourism Reboot,” Kain na! which began last June 10 served a signature line-up of digital events such as the Global PROSPECTives in Food and Gastronomy Tourism, Food Tourism Exchange, and Food Tourism 101 which would be held until June 13.
These are also broadcasted on the Facebook page of the DOT.
On the other hand, Puyat also visited the on-ground festivities held at Ayala MarQuee Mall in Angeles City that opened June 11 and will conclude June 13.
A total of 20 physical booths were put up for the food and travel festival.
Below appears the participating booths from Central Luzon that promote their produces and services of food and farm tourism:
- Aleli's Pastries
- Apag Marangle/Cusina Manuela
- Tollhouse
- Sasmuan Local Products
- Wil-Fel's delicacies
- Farmers Joy
- Yamang Bukid Healthy Products
- Grann Garden Shop
- RV De Dios Food Manufacturing
- Kaka Association Incorporation
- My Lola Nor's Meryendahan
- Florida-Lubao Organic Farmers Association.
These booths were set up in cooperation with various DOT regional offices and the Department of Agriculture.
Puyat said Kain Na was made special by the unveiling of culinary tours, food trips, and excursion packages developed PHILTOA members and the food tourism consortium.
“With the help of the PHILTOA Food Tourism Consortium, let’s see what real places, stories, food and people we can find as they offer slow food travel experiences amidst the picturesque mountains of Benguet and the culture and history-laden lowlands of Ilocos, La Union, Pampanga and Bulacan,” Puyat said.
The tourism agency has been boosting its efforts to make the country a world culinary destination.
In view of this, the DOT has staged various food events to showcase Filipino dishes and renew the public’s interest and love for local cuisines.
Early this year, it led food tourism validation caravans that enabled representatives of PHILTOA to visit the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, and Central Luzon to experience new culinary activities and tourist attractions that they can incorporate in their tour packages.
“The packages include day tours, overnight stays, and 3-day/2-night promos to culinary tourism destinations like Pampanga, Bulacan, CALABARZON, Baguio, Subic, Benguet, Mountain Province, La Union, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur,” the DOT said.
It also has TED talks-inspired Food Tourism 101 featured learning sessions to help viewers maximize their online presence through Viber and Instagram. New culinary business models like cloud kitchens were likewise introduced through the sessions.
This month, DOT partnered with mobile video-sharing app TikTok and launched #SarapMagingPinoy campaign that encourages locals to discover food recipes and celebrate Filipino culture.
The DOT also organized a gastronomic event called “Flavors of Pampanga: Manyaman!,” that highlighted the diverse culinary heritage and rich food history of Central Luzon, particularly the country’s “culinary capital,” Pampanga.
Meanwhile, aside from the hybrid event, the DOT said there is also a Kain Na online store that can be accessed at www.kainnastore.com. This store offers hundreds of food products and local delicacies such as coffee, tea, among others.
It also features chocolate specialty stores, Ayala partner merchants, slow food and food trip merchants from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.