Front row from left: PCCI Chairman George Barcelon, Ayala Corp Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, PLDT Communications Pres. & CEO Doy Vea, PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista, ASEAN BAC Thailand Chairman Arin Jira, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship & GO NEGOSYO Founder Joey Concepcion, DOT Sec Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, US Amb Sung Kim and Singaporean Amb Ho Wei Hong. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
My Angel, Warmth, Amore, Delicate,
Written and photographed
By Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista
Tourism is a wide subject involving myriad industries. That’s why in the Philippines the attempt to develop or improve upon it is also met with innumerable challenges. A lot of them are seemingly unconquerable. Ironically, it was a Thai: ASEAN BAC-Business Advisory Council (Thailand) Chairman Arin Jira who took note of a Filipino tradition that was to become a key word in the summit: Bayanihan.
Jira lifted it from the speech of DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who was one of the speakers along with Tourism Summit founder Joey Concepcion. Jira basically said it is this Filipino tradition that should be employed in every level of the tourism industry. This is from businesses, organizations, to airlines across industries, from private to government agencies and more importantly even to the level of nations.
ASEAN BAC Thailand Chairman Arin Jira; The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
ASEAN Cooperation
Perhaps it is this Filipino concept of teamwork that Joey Concepcion, Pres. Adviser on Entrepreneurship and GO NEGOSYO Founder had in mind when organizing the very first TOURISM SUMMIT in the country. He was able to bring together minds from disparate sectors under one roof: Airlines, Hotel and Resort Owners, Travel Agencies even the Medical sector, Restaurateurs, Chefs, the diplomatic corps not just from ASEAN countries but those from Europe and the Americas.
from left: Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board Deputy Dir Gen. Dato Mohmed Razid Hasan, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship & GO NEGOSYO Founder Joey Concepcion, Malaysian Deputy Chief of Mission Rizany Irwan Mazlan Mohamed, Thai Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission Urawadee Sriphiromya and ASEAN BAC Malaysia Healthcare Working Group Dr. Hooshmand Palany. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
Concepcion said, “When you go ASEAN, when you go Thailand you should go to the Philippines. This is what ASEAN should do. 10 nations have been at this for 51 years today. We have to work together to help each of our countries prosper. Thailand and Malaysia lead that area with number of tourists. I’m glad that its Chairman and his council are here today. We are hopefully committed to really make the ASEAN a powerhouse in tourism. Eventually benefit everybody.”
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship & GO NEGOSYO Founder Joey Concepcion;The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
Through the many panelists covering different industries cooperation is already happening in some agencies and industries but not in others. It is clear that greater alliances have to happen between ASEAN nations to improve tourism numbers for each member.
Megan Young; The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
Movers & Shakers
The very first Tourism Summit 2019 PHILIPPINES was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. The monumental event brought together the movers and shakers of many industries: Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, Ayala Corp. Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, Philippine Airlines Pres. & COO Jaime Bautista, CebGo Pres. & CEO Xander Lao, ILOVE Foundation Founder Gina Lopez, Belo Medical Group Pres. & Medical Dir. Vicki Belo.
from left: SMIC Vice Chair Tessie Sy-Coson, Japanese Amb. Koji Haneda, Singaporean Amb Gerard Ho Wei Hong and Singaporean Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Suli. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
Panelists and interveners in the forums include: Megawide Chairman & CEO Edgar Saavedra, Malaysian Tourism Promotion Deputy Dir. Gen. Dato Mohmed Razip Hasan, Palawan Gov. Jose Alvarez, ASEAN BAC- Phil Chair George Barcelon, Grab Phil Pres. Brian Cu, CIBO Pres. & CEO Gaita Fores and many many more.
From left: Asia Brewery COO Michael Tan, AirAsia Zest Chairman Alfredo Yao, PCCI Chairman George Barcelon, Ayala Corp Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, PLDT Communications Pres. & CEO Doy Vea, PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista, ASEAN BAC Thailand Chairman Arin Jira, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship & GO NEGOSYO Founder Joey Concepcion.The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
It was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps: Amb. Sung Kim (USA), Amb. Gerard Ho Wei Hong (Singapore), Amb. Daniel Pruce (Britain), Amb. Koji Haneda (Japan) Thousands of GO NEGOSYO mentors, members of the academe and students were also in attendance.
For full list of panelists and interveners log on to the official summit website:
http://www.gonegosyo.net/tourism-summit-2019/
Invest in Tourism
DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat used the opportunity of addressing some of the biggest names of Philippine business and asked them to invest more to develop tourism, “To fully realize our vision I am inviting local and regional business sectors to invest in developing our tourism areas. We welcome all kinds of businesses from accommodation to food and beverage services. We need transport operators, tour and travel agencies. We require facilities that will give tourists the best experience whatever product they choose from beach adventures to wellness retreats.”
DOT Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat;The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
The concept of Bayanihan or teamwork became a common thread among the speakers and the prestigious panelists. She very eloquently used the Pinoy concept to encourage everyone to come together, “The DOT is asking all of you to be our partners. In the spirit of Bayanihan we all need to work together. Bayanihan is a cherished Filipino value. It is about championing the value of working together towards a common goal and the common good. That informs the DOT’s thinking and approach. How we can get things done and not just said. To truly make a change in people’s lives we need to involve the communities and that includes the private sector.”
From DOT Sec Puyat’s AVP: Mural by Filipino National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, commissioned in 1962 by UNILAB founder Jose Y. Campos.
PAL’s New Planes, New Systems
As if directly responding to the encouragement to invest by DOT Secretary Puyat, PAL (Philippine Airlines) Pres. and COO Jimmy Bautista talked about the latest outlays of the flag carrier, “We have invested in new airplanes because we believe tourists would like to have a very comfortable experience in flying to our country.”
PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista;The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
“We have invested billions of dollars in new airplanes. Last year we took delivery of 15 brand new airplanes. This year we’re taking a delivery of 6 more brand new airplanes. This will help us provide the desired customer experience for our passengers and tourists. We are also investing in new systems so our passengers would have ease in booking. And we are also investing in people. We are training our people to see to it that the atmosphere of Filipino hospitality is extended to all our passengers.”
For more details log on to official PAL website https://www.philippineairlines.com – 12
Role of PAL as Flag Carrier
Although Taipan Lucio Tan was not in attendance in the Tourism Summit, both Asia Brewery COO Michael Tan and PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista very ably represented him. It was the desire of Kapitan to rehabilitate the official flag carrier as a means of giving back to the country where he literally made his fortune. Now the country is reaping the benefits.
LT Group Founder Lucio Tan and PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista. Photo courtesy of PAL.
Bautista reiterated PAL’s vital role in nation building as the official flag carrier. He said, “First of all I’d like to congratulate Mr. Joey Concepcion for putting up this very important event. This is a very important sector in our economy. Tourism is providing a lot of employment to our people. At Philippine Airlines we are really supporting it because we are in the business of transporting people from one point to another. Last year we carried almost 17 million passengers: 8.5 million international and 8.5 million domestic.”
From left: Asia Brewery COO Michael Tan, AirAsia Zest Chairman Alfredo Yao and PCCI Chairman George Barcelon. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
PAL’s Landmark Awards
Because of the teamwork or Bayanihan within PAL, the country is now poised to increase tourism numbers. Bautista appropriately chose the first ever Tourism Summit to announce PAL’s landmark achievements, “We are very happy to inform you that in the last few years we’ve been garnering honors and awards. We were voted as the 49th best airline in the world last year and, Most Improved Airline for 2019. Another agency gave us a 7 star rating for Safety. We’re really investing. We’re spending more money to improve our service for the benefit of our passengers and tourists. These are some of the projects we’ve implemented and we are happy to share more.”
From left: PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista and Cebgo Pres. & CEO Xander Lao; The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
There are many challenges ahead in improving Philippine tourism. But if Filipinos can come together and meet them head on together with our ASEAN neighbors, there’s no reason why we can’t overcome them.
The PAL booth was extremely popular with millennials. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista (16)
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Front row from left: AirAsia Zest Chairman Alfredo Yao, PCCI Chairman George Barcelon, Ayala Corp Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, PLDT Communications Pres. & CEO Doy Vea, PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista, ASEAN BAC Thailand Chairman Arin Jira, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship & GO NEGOSYO Founder Joey Concepcion, DOT Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, US Amb Sung Kim and Singaporean Amb Ho Wei Hong. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
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ILOVE Foundation Founder Gina Lopez;The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
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From left: Ayala Corp Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, PLDT Communications Pres. & CEO Doy Vea, PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista, ASEAN BAC Thailand Chairman Arin Jira. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista (23)
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The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
For more details log on to official PAL website https://www.philippineairlines.com – 29
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from left: PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista and US Amb Sung Kim; The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
For more details log on to official PAL website https://www.philippineairlines.com
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from left: UK Amb Daniel Pruce & Ayala Corp Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala.The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista (35)
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From left: Global Entrepreneurship Network Thailand Pres. Steve Cheah, Ayala Corp Chairman & CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, Amb Delia Domingo-Albert, PAL Pres. & COO Jimmy Bautista, Cebgo Pres. & CEO Xander Lao, ASEAN BAC Thailand Chairman Arin Jira, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship & GO NEGOSYO Founder Joey Concepcion. The first ever TOURISM SUMMIT 2019 Philippines was held last May 2, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. Photo by Jude Bautista
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Text and Photos by Jude Bautista