DOT to hold expo at Clark

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Tourism (DOT) is vigorously preparing for a grand exposition that virtually proclaims the rise of North Philippines as an international tourism hub.

DOT Region 3 director Ronnie Tiotuico said the North Philippines (NorthPhil) Tourism and Travel Expo 2010 would enhance the region’s emerging image as a “mall of destinations” featuring a rich diversity of cultures, history, traditions, and natural attractions — from Clark in Central Luzon to Cagayan Valley and Ilocos region, the Cordilleras and other parts of the Philippines.”

Slated at the SM City Clark on Nov. 12-14, NorthPhil Expo 2010 “will   thus       highlight Luzon’s contiguous sprawl of tourism destinations, all accessible by land to both foreign and local visitors,” Tiotuico said.

“This unique feature boosts the increasing role of the international airport in Clark as a global gateway to Luzon’s myriad of tourism attractions and activities and as an economic growth engine for its constituent provinces and cities,” Tiotuico added.

Central Luzon alone posted a sustained increase in local and foreign visitor arrivals of around 315,000 in 2006, 430,000 in 2007, 530,802 in 2008, and 550,452 in 2009.

The increase was attributed partly to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, whose monthly volume of inbound passengers rose from 7,000 in 2004 to 26,000 in 2009, mostly from Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. 

Korea’s Asiana Airlines, Malaysia’s Air Asia, and Singapore’s Tiger Airways are among the major users of the DMIA.

Similarly, Aurora province posted a 137-percent increase in tourist volume as it joined the region’s campaign urging foreign and local visitors to “Go North!”

With the theme “Go North! A wellspring of diversity,” the NorthPhil Expo 2010 strongly supports DOT’s tourism program centered on demand-driven tourism product and infrastructure development. 

Thus, the expo also serves as a venue for direct interaction between the exhibitors from the tourism industry and the visitors from both local and foreign markets.

“Such interactions would give us an idea of the actual market requirements that should determine the industry’s product development goals and the government’s infrastructure development thrust,” Tiotuico said.

Comprising the expo’s tourism exhibits are travel destinations, products and services, provincial showcases, corporate booths offering package tours, traders’ displays of arts and crafts, and souvenirs and delicacies at farm gate prices.

This annual expo includes theatrical presentations on the history and customs of the different regions, corporate game shows, product demonstrations and raffles, food preparations, and social and business functions.

The target exhibitors are agri-tourism enterprises and leisure establishments, airlines and air alliances, cruise and shipping lines, global distribution systems, golf courses, hotels and resorts, medical tourism hospitals and clinics, national and local government agencies, retirement villages, spa resorts and destinations, souvenir shops, theme parks and amusement centers, time share properties, tour operators and travel agencies, tourism boards, transport operators, travel associations, travel publications, guides and maps, travel insurance, and wellness and fitness centers, among others.

The target visitors are business and trade organizations, conference and convention organizers, corporate and local buyers, educational institutions, foreign buyers and the general public, government entities, holiday and sports specialists, international and domestic travelers, medical tourism service providers, travel agents and tour organizers, planners, associations and offices.

The three-day event will also gain exposure from the visitor traffic in SM City Clark, which has a land area of 17 hectares, total gross floor area of 100,000 square meters, and over 300 shops and restaurants frequented by thousands of consumers and tourists daily.

The Clark Freeport Zone itself is a famous tourism hub with its own world-class golf course and many other attractions.

Supported by the Central Luzon Tourism Council, the expo is managed by the Philippine Exhibits and Theme Parks Corp. (632 832-9303 to 05, fax (632) 556-2723, email northphilexpo@gmail.com, and website www.northphilexpo.com).