DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s scheduled visit to Japan was moved to next year.
This was City Information Officer (CIO) Jefry Tupas told SunStar on Tuesday, October 17, when asked why the mayor did not attend the first Davao City Tourism and Investment Roadshow in Japan as the mayor has previously stated that she will attend the event along with the city officials and businessmen.
Twenty-two officials and business sector representatives from Davao City arrived in Japan last Monday, October 16, for the first Tourism and Investment Roadshow.
The delegation included Davao City Administrator lawyer Zuleika Lopez, City councilors Jimmy Dureza and Al-Ryan Alejandre, Davao City Investment and Promotions Center chief Lemuel Ortonio, Davao City Tourism Chief Generose Tecson, and Davao City Information Officer Jefry Tupas.
They first had a series of meetings in Osaka, one of the four cities the Davao team will visit.
“We are very happy over the kind of reception that we got from our meetings,” Davao City Investment and Promotions Center Chief Lemuel Ortonio said in the report.
Business sector representatives from Damosa Land Inc., Yovel Agri Enterprise and Yovel East Research and Development Inc., Bloomers Travel and Tours and Bloomers Marketing, Eden Nature Park and Resort, Gasera Corporation, Waterfront Insular Hotel Hotel, and Ana’s Breeders Farm also formed part of the delegation.
CIO reported that the team from Davao met with the officials of the Osaka City Government International Relations Department, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and various tourism associations, tour operators, and travel agencies in Osaka City.
“There are commitments from Osaka officials and businessmen to help promote Davao City to Osaka residents and the business community. We hope these will translate to actual visits and investments in Davao,” Ortonio said as quoted in the report.
The Osaka City Government facilitated the visit of the Davao City delegation to the Osaka Central Wholesale Market Honjo to provide the group information on the goods that are in demand in Osaka, the quality required, and the distribution process involved.
The City Tourism Operations Office, on the other hand, presented the different tourism attractions during the meeting with tourism industry players in Osaka.
It was in 2012 when representatives from the City Government of Davao last conducted a business and tourism mission in Singapore.
The main objective of the new roadshow is to promote Davao City as the preferred tourism and investment destination in the Asia Pacific region, as well as enhance linkage and partnership with investment, trade, and tourism marketing representatives in major cities of Japan.
The roadshow will also include visits to the key cities of Kyoto, Yokohama, and Tokyo.
The roadshow is in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.
Duterte-Carpio in her State of the City Address said that they prioritize the foreign promotions in Japan because Japanese have "soft spot for Davao due to the fact that there are lot of Japanese people who lived in Davao city during and after the war.
During her speech Duterte-Carpio said that Davao City Investment Promotion Center and the Tourism Office will have a joint business and tourism mission in Japan on October 16 to October 21. (With reports from CIO)