Region III emerging as major tourism draw

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects  Central Luzon to play a major role in boosting domestic tourism in the country, a DOT official said.

Ronaldo Tiotuico, DOT Region III director, said they expecting the region to register  2.2 million domestic visitor arrivals by the end of this year, and 2.5 million in 2014.

Tiotuico noted that out of 35 million domestic tourist arrivals in 2012, about five million were registered in Northern Luzon.

According to the DOT official, the main driver of growth in the region is the growing number of incoming air passengers at the Clark International Airport.

Clark Airport has been registering around 60,000 foreign and domestic travelers on a monthly basis for the past two years.

“A large percentage of these travelers find their way to various provinces in the region,” the official said.

Based on DOT data, among the top most visited provinces in the region are Subic/Zambales and Clark/Angeles City, Aurora, Bulacan, Bataan, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.

The growing recognition of the North Luzon Expressway, now connected to the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx)  as the primary gateway to the north Luzon area has also contributed in pump-priming the region as an ideal destination and gateway to the north.

The world-class infrastructure facilities and support services now in place in Subic and Clark, Tiotuico will have likewise made headway in creating an alluring environment for a leisurely holiday.

Tiotuico said a wide array of festivals and events taking place in the region have also been contributing to the domestic tourism growth in the area.

Among these is the Food Festival in Marquee Mall in Pampanga which will showcase 100 food merchants from Northern Luzon.

The food festival, dubbed as Big Bite Food Festival, will run from Oct. 18. to 20, 2013 at Marquee Park, Angeles City as a special food and dining attraction this month.

In an interview on the sidelines of the press launch of Big Bite!, Ayala Land Inc. vice president & head of operations and support services/commercial business group Maria Rowena Tomeldan said Big Bite, which is open to the public, is envisioned to be the go-to-food gathering in the country.

“No better location lies than Pampanga, long hailed as the Philippines’ culinary capital. This is our first time to hold such a food festival and we decided to hold it in Pampanga, a place popular for good food and people who love to cook,” she said.

A product of three-month conceptualization, Tomeldan said they hope to bring Big Bite to all Ayala Malls nationwide. “We hope to roll out this kind of festival in our other malls like in Bacolod, Davao, Subic,” she said.

Known to carry homegrown concept in all of its malls Tomeldan said, ALI wants to showcase the rich talents of Filipinos and Philippines resources.

“Marquee Mall, the region’s premier destination for shopping, dining and entertainment, plays host to what will be the largest celebration of the Filipino’s love for great food,” she said.

The festival will showcase 100 food stalls featuring the best food products from Ilocos to Bulacan. It will be a culinary showdown of the most mouth-watering heritage cuisines from Northern Luzon. The food market will have vendors representing Pampanga, Metro Manila, Baguio, Bataan, Bulacan, Cagayan, Ilocos, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan and Zambales.

“We are excited to have renowned like Rolando Laudico, Sabrina Artadi and Pampanga’s own Sau del Rosario and Atching Lilian Borromeo showcase their cooking skills and prowess at the kitchen,” she added.

The festival will also have a Big Bite cook off heirloom recipe contest; and cooking demonstrations.

Students, chefs and other food enthusiasts will face off in culinary cook-offs adjudged by food industry experts and celebrities.

For every P500 receipt from a Marquee Mall shop entitles the shopper to free food samples from selected vendors every day of the festival from 6 to 8 p.m.

The festival is staged in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, Manila North Tollways Corp., Asian Food Channel, Cignal Digital TV, and Mercato Centrale Group.

Opened in 2009, MarQuee Mall is located just by the NLEX exit. It has over 400 shops, exclusive boutiques restaurants and cinemas. It is home to famous Kapampangan brands like Apag Marangle, Nathaniel’s Susie’s Cuisine, Kabigting’s Halu-halo and Pampanga’s Best.