Bacolod girds for 2007 WV Tourism Assembly
The Department of Tourism (DOT) Region VI office announces the staging of the 2007 Western Visayas Tourism Assembly (WVTA) on November 12-18, in Bacolod City. According to Dir. Edwin G. Trompeta of the DOT, this annual event is co-hosted by the City Government of Bacolod and the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental.
Gov. Joseph Marañon and Mayor Evelio Leonardia jointly issued Executive Order No. 07-017 dated August 14, 2007 creating the committees that will prepare the groundwork for the staging of the biggest tourism event in Western Visayas.
Trompeta said that the WVTA is the summit in the travel & tourism industry that seeks to combine the strength and tourism potentials of the six provinces and two highly urbanized cities (HUC) in Region VI.
The seven-day meet will highlight, promote and showcase the diversity of the tourism attractions, services and facilities of the different destinations of Western Visayas. The event is also intended to be a colorful display of tourism attractions, arts, crafts, cultural & historical festivals, and shopping & investment opportunities.
All these offerings will give tourism stakeholders including the LGUs the chance to explore, identify the issues, resolve priorities & establish linkages for the development of tourism in the region, Trompeta added.
Lined up for the whole week are events designed to give everyone the opportunity to interact with the consumers and travel trade. They are intended to maximize the exposure of the various facets of tourism life through display of attractions, exhibits, video and print collateral displays and business exchanges.
The WVTA will also feature special cultural presentations of each of the provinces and HUCs, craft demonstration, Search for Miss Western Visayas Tourism, Tourism Olympics and food festival.
A parade of festivals featuring world renowned celebrations like the Kalibo Ati-Atihan, Iloilo Dinagyang, Bacolod's MassKara, Antique's Binirayan, Capiz Sinadya sa Halaran, Guimaras Manggahan and many more will transform Bacolod streets into one big festival arena.
The highlight of the WVTA is the giving out of awards to the region's best practices, model LGUs, outstanding tourism entrepreneur, hotels, resorts, destinations as well as frontline personnel who have given tourism their outstanding and excellent service for the visitors.
Aside from the Tourism Congress that is the main activity featuring an expert presentation on tourism investment laws and incentives, a buyer-seller program is also organized to give tourism service providers a face to face meeting where business on the latest tour packages and contracts maybe forged in a table top negotiations
The WVTA is co-presented by the private sector including the Negros Island Tourism Inc., Association of Tourism Officers of Negros Occidental, Hotels & Restaurants Association of Negros Occidental, Women in Travel, NAITAS, ABS-CBN, and SM City Bacolod.
Senator Richard Gordon, Secretary Joseph Ace Durano of DOT, Mayor Benjamin Abalos, President of League of Cities, Governor Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, Com. Lilia de Lima of PEZA and others have been invited to grace the occasion and/or deliver presentations.
The theme of this year's event is: "Entrepreneurial Tourism: Beyond Tourist Arrivals".
For further information, the following maybe contacted, the DOT Region VI, Negros Occidental Tourism Center at the capitol and the Bacolod Tourism Office. (DOT Region VI).