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.