The 3rd Philippine International Tourism Fair

CEBU, Philippines - The 3rd Philippine International Tourism Fair 2009 (PITF) held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel  was an event  of superlatives organized by the National Association of Independent Travel Agents (NAITAS) headed by its chairman emeritus Robert Lim Joseph and chairman Angel Ramos Bognot and its  institutional partners the   Department of Tourism, Philippine Convention and Visitors Center and Philippine Tourism Authority.

The fair opened with the traditional ribbon cutting ceremonies led by Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia together with  DOT Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab, PTA Director DJ Bagatsing, Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama, together with Rep.Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, DOT Region VII Director Dawnie Roa, Marco Polo General Manager Hans Hauri, Robert Lim Joseph, and Angel Ramos Bognot.

The following day, the Travel Market Exchange or TRAMEX,  managed and supervised by PCVC opened with Tourism Secretary  Ace Durano,  together with the Philippine Tourism Authority General Manager Mark Lapid and Undersecretary of Planning and Promotions Edu Jarque gracing the affair.

The  activities which were  participated  by 74 companies that included travel agencies, hotels, resorts, spas and medical tourism professionals   gave  Philippine Sellers the  opportunity to conduct business-to-business, face-to-face interaction with Foreign Buyers, thus  helping the  Philippine Sellers increase their tourism receipts by building relationships with overseas business partners.

Several tourism related topics were presented and delivered  by eloquent and knowledgeable guest speakers such as  Verna Buensuceso, DOT Team Head- Europe, Annette Ablan, Russian Culture and language expert, Bong Bengson, DOT Team Head- Middle East Seminar and  Glenn Agustin, DOT Team Head- India.

Travel specialists Alice Queblatin of Southwind Travel and Tours,  Walter Sultan of Travel Village,  Cristina Ele Hildawa of Alta Vista de Boracay,  Art Boncato of Marco Polo Plaza Davao and Ed Nuque   spoke on the different leading destinations such as Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, Davao  and their tourism products and services available.

Chairman Angel Ramos Bognot and Claudine Roura spoke on Philippine Medical Tourism Global competitiveness.

The PITF officially closed with a farewell dinner hosted by the Marco Plaza Hotel. A playful entertainment showcased the elements of naturefollowed by  violin artist  Jay Cayuca. 

Awards were given to corporate exhibitors who excelled in the following categories: Most Popular booth went to PAGCOR, Best Booth design, Badian Island Resort and Spa, Best Corporate Booth, the Manila Hotel, Best Marketing Effort, the SBMA and Industry Choice Booth to the Department of Tourism, Central Visayas Region.