A set of high-powered speakers await attendees of the Tourism Innovation Forum on June 18, 2019, at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu. Their coming together will provide local government units, hotels, resorts and restaurants, tour operators, industry associations, and other participants from different industries with the knowledge on the best practices and latest trends on tourism.
The one-day Tourism Innovation Forum is one of the events of the anticipated Cebu Business Month (CBM) 2019 in June with the theme “INNOVATION IN ACTION”, which is spearheaded by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
Edwin Ortiz, CBM 2019 tourism committee chairman, said that tourism arrivals in Cebu continue to grow. As per DOT7 figures, last year’s arrivals marked a 14% increase versus the previous year.
Ortiz added that the much awaited Tourism Innovation Forum wherein industry experts from all over the country and Asia will share and talk about the latest trends in tourism, success stories, new destinations, that will also include topics on latest digital technologies that can help the hospitality businesses, security innovations, farm tourism, faith tourism, etc.
The Tourism Innovation Forum will tackle current concerns at the same time gather stakeholders to address some actionable programs. It will hopefully stir our imaginations to innovate and capture more business opportunities in the 5A’s of Tourism: Arrival infra and services, Access infra and services, Accommodation innovation, Attractions, and Activities.
The 1-day event will be graced by Shahlimar Hofer Tamano – Regional Director of Department of Tourism (Region7) and Art P. Boncato, Jr. – Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation of Philippine Department of Tourism.
The admirable and exceptional line-up of speakers also include:
Donald Lim– Country Chief Executive Officer of Dentsu Aegis Philippines (Innovate or Die: Digital Transformation for the Travel & Tourism Industry), Ryan Tan Yu – Founder of Mataverse (Application of Innovation in Tourism: Experimental Marketing, Virtual Reality), Orlando Ballesteros – Chief Operating Officer of Ex-Link Events (Think Outside the Box), Mina T. Gabor, PhD – Founder and President of International School of Sustainable Tourism (Faith-Based Tourism: The Significance of 2021),Eduard Loop – Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cebu Safari & Adventure Park, and Jun Ventura – President and Editor of Eastgate Publishing Corporation.
Tourism Innovation Forum will also convene remarkable and distinguished panelists.Augustus Caesar “Ace” Esmeralda – President and Managing Director of Ace and Associates Risk Management, Inc.,CharoLagamon – Director for Corporate Communications for Cebu Pacific Air, Rico Navarro – Sports Director/Events Organizer of Ateneo De Cebu (Sports Tourism), Danny Ortiz – Owner of Adlawon Vacation Farm (Farm Tourism: A Farm Experience), Raquel T. Choa – President and Founder of Ralfe Gourmet/ The Chocolate Chamber (Food Tourism: A Curated Food Trip), Frances Aimee Tiu of Waterworld Cebu (Amusement Tourism), and Gin Kai – Chief Executive Producer of Silver Media Group (Film Tourism)
For ticket reservations, please call the CBM Secretariat at 232-1423/ 0916-4641747 look for Maribel Melgar or email secretariat@cebubusinessmonth.
A former educator and now working as a freelance writer. Simply living her own version of life’s passion – music, mobile photography, story telling, road trips and food trailing! 🙂