Travel Tour Expo ’03 exceeds expectations

SITE GROSS SALES: P84 M

The Travel Tour Expo 2003 managed to exceed expectations despite the fear of war and the persistent economic crisis looming over the international and domestic landscape.

Records showed that some 60,000 people went through the turnstiles of the Megatrade Halls 1 & 2 to take advantage of irresistible travel bargains, participate in daily raffle draws and get loads of special giveaways from over a hundred booths showcasing the best of both domestic and international tourism. The expo generated a huge on-site sales of R84 million during its 3-day run.

The event was another milestone for the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) led by the unstoppable tandem, president and TTE 2003 chair Annette Feliciano and co-chair Ricky Ordoñez. Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon and Rep. Krisel Luistro, chairman of the House Committee on Tourism graced the ceremonial rites on opening day along with representatives from TTE 2003’s major sponsors – PAL, Amadeus, EG&A and Globe HandyPhone.

Adopting this year’s theme – “Bringing you the world,” exhibitors of TTE 2003 showed off their eye-catching booths, creative marketing gimmicks and special one-time offers to lure visitors. Thai Airways International with their relaxing garden spa booth and Air France/Rajah’s authentic French outdoor café gave the organizers a hard time choosing the Best Decorated Booth for the international pavilion, that they ended up giving the award to both. The Barcelo Hotels and Resorts earned the Best Decorated booth for the domestic pavilion.

The Macau Government Tourist Office booth with its mini-version of the Guia Lighthouse, a historic landmark in Macau, staffed by talented Macanese artists in colorful costumes garnered the most number of awards – Best in Marketing Effort, Most Popular Booth and the 2nd place for the Best Decorated Booth for the international pavilion. For the domestic pavilion, Enchanted Kingdom was Best in Marketing Effort while first-time exhibitor, Marikina Council of Fashion, romped off with the Most Popular Booth award.

TTE 2003 co-chair Ricky Ordoñez said: “We, travel agents consider ourselves dream merchants giving the public a chance to live their dreams. People deep down, despite their apprehensions, would still want to take time off to see the world and visit other places. We encourage that and we keep the dream burning.” The success of the Travel Tour Expo is the punctuation to this statement, proving time and again that the tourism industry in the Philippines is in the pink and more than ready to face the challenges head on.