It's more fun in Philippine Pavilion at Yeosu Expo 2012

MANILA, Philippines - The thousands of daily visitors at the ongoing Yeosu Expo 2012 in Korea are experiencing why it’s more fun in the Philippines than anywhere they have ever been before.

The fun starts even before they enter the Philippine Pavilion, where they do the limbo rock, dance to the beat of a live band music, pose with giant clam mascot “Bok,” and even win prizes along the way.

“And inside the Philippine Pavilion, the fun activities do not seem to end as they come to see, hear, smell, taste and touch almost everything in their path — from the spectacular marine exhibits and their mesmerizing visual effects to the exotic fragrances and flavors at the ECHOstore — all defining the Philippines and marking its place in their hearts and minds,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

“Their experience of the Philippine brand of fun makes the big difference in their tour of the various country exhibits at Yeosu, where our pavilion, modest as it is in size, creates the most attractive spectacle, sound, scent, and sumptuous treats to draw huge and happy crowds,” Jimenez said.

The Philippine Pavilion, strategically located beside the traditionally large and crowd-drawing US and Australian exhibition areas, offers a unique and experiential cultural encounter that includes food sampling, raffle draws, dance with the band, mini-mall shopping at ECHOstore, and other fun activities that make it seem an exhilarating whole-day variety show altogether.

“So our large crowds of visitors come and go smiling, reflecting how they enjoy the unexpected entertainment that culturally characterizes the mood, spirit and character of the Filipinos as a nation,” said Philippine Organizing Committee (POC) Commissioner General Domingo Ramon Enerio III.

“No wonder we are attracting more than 10 percent or over 10,000 of the daily visitors of the entire Yeosu Expo, all having to pay quite a sum to see the exhibits,” Enerio said.

“Even our co-exhibitors from other countries visit our pavilion time and again to watch our show and buy food, drinks and souvenir and gift items at the ECHOstore,” Enerio added.

ECHOstore director Chit Juan said the bestselling items were Cebu’s dried mangoes and Cordillera’s coffee, which, along with many other products from various parts of the Philippines, carried a thousand stories about their origins.

“In effect, ECHOStore — which stands for Environment, Community, Hope and Organization — is selling not just the best of Philippine native products, but also the Philippines itself, and the visitors are buying into it,” Juan said.

“But, of course, that is of no wonder because of the universality of the ECHOstore, despite all its uniqueness, since it caters to the self, the country, and the planet, all representing the basic and the best commonalities of the human race that it strives to preserve and promote,” she added.

Thus, word about the Philippines echoes around the expo complex, which is expected to attract millions of visitors during its three-month run.

To further increase visitor inflow to the pavilion, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is preparing a grand musical extravaganza that will be staged during the Philippine National Day presentation on July 22.

The show is being organized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), which plans to bring together popular Filipino talents that include rhythm and blues singer and songwriter Kyla, male soloist Gian Magdangal, Ballet Philippines, and dance group UCDC, with either of Koreans Sam O or Grace Lee as emcee.

The show will revolve around the Philippine Pavilion theme “Islands of Diversity/Seas of Connectivity,” which strongly relates to overall expo theme “The Living Ocean and The Coast.”

Aside from the DOT and the CCP, the government agencies involved are the departments of Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Trade and Industry, and Budget and Management, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Supporting them are Korean firm Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., TV networks GMA7 and TV5, national flag carriers Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, the Network of Underwater Digital Imagers, Biemann Produktion Haus, retail giant SM Supermalls, the World Wildlife Fund, and various local government units, among others.

For other details about the expo, contact the POC at +632 525-7320, +632 525-9318 local 243, 258or 269; fax at +632 5256165; e-mail at philpavilion2012@yahoo.com or visit www.7107.co.kr/philexpo2012.