Tourism expo seen to spur infra projects, investments in N. Phils

An annual travel expo featuring North Philippines is drawing local and international attention to the region and the rest of Luzon, inspiring optimism that it can attract more investments and infrastructure projects to this diverse but contiguous sprawl of tourism destinations.

As the country’s biggest regional island grouping, Luzon has a great need for infrastructure to make travel between various tourism destinations fast and convenient, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

“However, government-funded infrastructure projects and private sector investments that increase tourism capacity must be supported and driven by demand,” said DOT Region 3 Director Ronnie P. Tiotuico.

“Fortunately for Luzon, that demand is increasing, partly boosted by the annual North Philippines (NorthPhil) Tourism and Travel Expo, warranting the development of more infrastructure projects and the influx of private sector investments in tourism facilities,” Tiotuico added.

The NorthPhil Expo has been successful in synchronizing local government efforts in promoting intra and inter-regional domestic tourism and foreign inbound travel, including the development of policy and physical support infrastructure.

For this year, the NorthPhil Expo is slated at the SM City Clark on Nov. 12 to 14, with the theme “Go North! A wellspring of diversity.”

As an international tourism showcase, the expo takes advantage of the new Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), both world-class infrastructure facilities.

The SCTEX strategically connects Luzon’s two popular international gateways – Clark and Subic – from which new road projects can be developed to provide accessibility to other untapped tourism attractions, or enhance those of existing ones – both generating demand for travel.

Nonetheless, both SCTEX and DMIA have contributed significantly to the increase in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals to the region.

Tiotuico said Central Luzon alone posted a sustained increase in local and foreign visitor arrivals from around 315,000 in 2006 to 430,000 in 2007, 530,802 in 2008, and 550,452 in 2009.

Similarly, the average monthly volume of inbound passengers flown in through DMIA rose from 7,000 in 2004 to 26,000 in 2009.

“Thus, infrastructure plays a very strategic role in generating, sustaining and enhancing demand, which the expo as a promotional effort is designed to pursue,” Tiotuico pointed out.

The expo also serves as a venue for direct interaction between the exhibitors from the tourism industry and the visitors from both local and foreign markets.

“Such interactions would give us an idea of the actual market requirements that should determine the industry’s product development goals and the government’s infrastructure development thrust,” Tiotuico earlier said.

Comprising the expo’s tourism exhibits are travel destinations, products and services, provincial showcases, corporate booths offering package tours, traders’ displays of arts and crafts, and souvenirs and delicacies at farm gate prices.

This year’s expo includes theatrical presentations on the history and customs of the different regions, corporate game shows, product demonstrations and raffles, food preparations, and social and business functions.

The three-day event will also gain exposure from the visitor traffic in SM City Clark, which has a land area of 17 hectares, total gross floor area of 100,000 sqms, and over 300 shops and restaurants frequented by thousands of consumers and tourists daily.

The Clark Freeport Zone itself is a famous tourism hub with its own world-class golf course and many other attractions.

Supported by the Central Luzon Tourism Council, the expo is managed by the Philippine Exhibits and Theme parks Corporation (tel. (632) 8329303 to 05, fax (632) 5562723, email northphilexpo@gmail.com, and website www.northphilexpo.com).