Ad Congress pulls out of Baguio, cutting revenues for city's rehab

BAGUIO CITY - Organizers of the 21st Philippine Advertising Congress have chosen to hold the event elsewhere, depriving the city of much-needed revenue for its rehabilitation efforts. The Advertising Board, organizer of the annual gathering of the country’s advertising industry, has canceled hotel reservations, “even though the venues for the events were ready and waiting and none were affected by the typhoon," Anthony de Leon, head of the Baguio Tourism Council said. Slated for November 18 to 21, this year's Philippine Advertising Congress was expected to bring over 5,000 participants to the mountain resort. Millions of pesos worth of hotel reservations for both the Camp John Hay Manor and the Baguio Country Club have been lost due to the venue change. Despite the cancellation, the council “will be working double time to bring back tourism and business here," De Leon said. The city is also set to host the annual Fil-American Golf Tournament in December where 1,300 golfers are expected to converge for two weeks of play. “If these conventions take place tomorrow, we are still ready," De Leon said. Damage to highways and bridges due to typhoon Pepeng has added 14 kilometers to the Manila-Baguio route, adding extra hours to travel time. “That is the only setback, but all the booked venues are ready, (these were) not affected by the storm," De Leon said. Redoubling efforts to sell Baguio as a tourist destination, the Baguio Conventions and Visitors Bureau (BCVB) has launched the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba (Blist) sites last month at the Philippine Travel Mart in Mega Manila. The marketing initiative carried an outdoor adventure theme to attract a younger market. Package tours in neighboring municipalities have been formulated to satisfy its target customers. Since its launch, the highest grosser so far has been the Ambuklao Dam which offers kayaking. Efforts to promote these destinations have been the focus of the BCVB in trying to infuse a new trend in tourism that banks on outdoor adventures catering to youthful markets. A study by the BCVB revealed that the youth dictate where to hold family vacations. The BCVB in cooperation with the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio offers the said adventure packages, which have so far received positive response among their tourist clientele. - GMANews.TV