Tourism stakeholders to get latest industry trends in CBM 2019 forum

Everything is set for the Tourism Innovation Forum, one of the activities for this year’s Cebu Business Month celebration, says forum chairperson Alice Queblatin (2nd from right) . Also in photo are (left to right) Lumba’g Laag sa Sugbo chair Edilberto Mendoza, CBM 2019 chairperson Lilu Alino and Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Virgilio Espeleta. /Irene R. Sino Cruz

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Tourism stakeholders will learn the latest trends in the tourism industry during the one-day Tourism Innovation Forum scheduled on June 18, 2019 at the Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu City.

The Tourism Innovation Forum, one of the events for this year’s Cebu Business Month celebration, will feature top-notch speakers who will discuss best practices as well as present and future trends in the tourism sector.

Representatives from local government units, hotels, resorts and restaurants, tour operators, industry associations and other different industries are expected to attend the day-long forum.

“We will have major speakers who will really tackle two important things – why and the how can the tourism industry gain from embracing technology, particularly digital marketing and all forms of technology to make our work in the tourism industry more efficient and fast,” said Alice Queblatin, chairperson of the Tourism Innovation Forum.

The major speakers include Donald Lim, country chief executive officer of Dentsu Aegis Philippines, a global marketing services group established focusing on digital economy.

“Lim will tackle the proverbial question of ‘innovate or die.’ And that will be a challenge thrown to the members and the stakeholders of the tourism industry,” Queblatin said.

The other speakers will talk about innovations that can be adopted, either by the hospitality industry like hotels and by the tourism travel agents, she added.

Ryan Tan Yu of Mataverse will discuss the Application of Innovation in Tourism: Experimental Marketing, Virtual Reality while former Tourism secretary Mina Gabor who will focus on Faith-based Tourism: The Significance of 2021.

The rest of the speakers include Orlando Ballesteros, chief operating officer of Ex-Link Events; Eduard Loop, vice president and chief operating officer of Cebu Safari & Adventure Park,; and Jun Ventura, president and editor of Eastgate Publishing Corporation. Department of Tourism Undersecretary Art Boncato Jr. and Regional Director Shalimar Hofer Tamano will also grace the event.

The tourism industry is a major contributor to the economy of Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas. According to the Department of Tourism regional office, a domestic traveler spends about P1,200 daily while an international traveler spends around P6,597 each day.

Last year, total travelers registered an increase of 16.3 percent, reaching 8.099 million. Of this, 4.465 million were domestic tourists while 3.364 million were international travelers. The DOT-7 estimates that tourism earnings for Central Visayas reach around P44.2 billion in 2018. /dcb