THE staging of the Davao International Travel Expo (Dite) 2016 last September 9 to 11 at the SMX Convention Center was described as successful amid challenges in the city’s tourism industry following deadly explosion that rocked the city early trhis month.
Mary Ann “Baby” Montemayor, regional tourism council chair and co-event manager of Globalink told reporters that it is still business as usual in the city especially on the tourism industry as the Davao blast last September 2 has minimal effects to the industry.
“We would like to thank everyone especially the exhibitors of the expo who did not cancel despite the threats. It only shows how confident they are in Davao City. But we assured you that it is still business as usual here,” she said.
The three-day expo was participated in by some 15 to 20 exhibitors across the country. The travel expo was one of the side events during the PhilConstruct Mindanao 2016.
Some of the exhibitors were Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park, Crown Regency Hotels and Resorts, Canyon Cove, Hotel H20, Las Casas, Limketkai Luxe Hotel and Waterfront Insular Davao, among others.
Organizers of the event said that bookings during the event went good, but official data of how many bookings were generated during the event has yet to be disclosed.
The International Travel Expo Series is set to feature the latest in all kinds of travel needs: from hotel accommodations to airlines to destinations and attractions to travel operators.
“ITE 2016 is truly a globally competitive show, opening up opportunities to many industry stakeholders, travel companies, transportation, entrepreneurs, and other tourism professionals across the country,” Globalink said in a statement.
The travel expo was also held in Cebu last June 30 to July 2. Another expo will be staged in Manila this coming September 22 to 24.
Davao City is set to host the business-to-business meeting for World International Travel Mart in October of this year.
Marilou Ampuan, Halal Committee head of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines and secretary of Mice-Davao, earlier said that some 50 companies, foreign and local, have confirmed their attendance in the event.
Those that confirmed their participation in the event are tour operators from countries like in the Middle East, India and Japan.