THE City Government is preparing this early for the 2009 Ad Congress scheduled in November next year.

Upon learning that Baguio is the venue for the Ad Congress, City Tourism Officer Benedicto Alhambra said they immediately convened a committee to take charge of the preparations.

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It was agreed that the event will be handled jointly by the City Government and the private sector.

The Baguio Tourism Council and the Baguio Conventions and Visitors Bureau will be the partner organizations of the city.

In a series of meetings with members of the Ad Board, Alhambra said it was initially agreed that the 2009 Ad Congress will include as component the immersion of the delegates in the Baguio community.

Aside from the Baguio Country Club and the CAP Convention Center in Camp John Hay as venues for the assembly, the Burnham Park, Baguio Athletic Bowl, and Botanical Garden are some of the venues for minor activities, said Alhambra.

Both the City Tourism Office and the Department of Tourism are monitoring the construction of additional rooms of some hotels to accommodate the influx of visitors during that time.

Some new hotels are also being constructed and are expected to begin operation before the 2009 Ad Congress.

At the same time, tourism officials are still negotiating with Asian Spirit and Philippine Airlines (PAL) to resume their operations here.

PAL was the first commercial airline that flew Baguio’s skies while Asian Spirit, now Zest Airways, prior to its suspension of operations, was the only airline left servicing Baguio.

Alhambra said the airport will be most useful during the Ad Congress because many of the delegates would prefer to travel to the city by air rather waste the eight-hour travel time by land from Manila.

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(December 31, 2008 issue)
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