THE Cebu Association of Tour Guides (CATG) will bid for Cebu’s hosting of the World Federation of Tour Guide Associations (WFTGA) International Convention in 2021.
The group, which is set to attend the 18th WFTGA International Convention in Tbilisi, Georgia in January, hopes to convince member-countries to consider Cebu City as a host city for the big-ticket convention that is usually attended by 300 to 500 delegates, mostly heads of different tourist guide associations from 70 countries.
According to CATG president Mary Grace Melendres, five countries have expressed an interest to host the convention, and the Philippines, specifically Cebu, is the only country in Asia that is joining the bid.
“We will present Cebu to the WFTGA in the third week of January next year. We expect to win in this bid because we are the only one from Asia,” said Melendres.
If they win, the CATG official said this will be an added boost to Cebu’s footing in global tourism.
She said that not only will this be an avenue to promote Cebu and the Philippines, the province is also set to rake in high revenues due to an expected boom in spending of delegates, from accommodation, tours, entertainment, food and beverage to souvenirs.
She added that the convention will also boost the profession of tourist guides.
The convention in Georgia is slated from Jan. 20 to 25, 2019.
Bernadette Jingco, a hospitality educator of the Republic Polytechnic in Singapore, who spoke during a recent tourism forum, said a delegate who attends meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (Mice) events usually spends six times more than a regular tourist.
Jingco said Mice is a high value-adding industry that creates a multiplier effect on other industries. It likewise stimulates trade and investment and facilitates technology transfer.
“We need to concentrate on this market, because this is where the revenue is,” she said. (KOC)