In celebration of 50 years of Philippine Tourism this month, the Industry’s stakeholders took a fashionable break from the daily grind and staged a glittering affair for a noble purpose.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) – Philippines Chapter came up with an attractive way to mark the Tourism Industry’s golden year through a dinner event, PATA GALA – A Fashion Show with a Heart at the Ballroom of The Manila Hotel.
The event gathered together the leading tourism personalities and put up a dazzling show that drew in an overflow crowd.
The main objective of the milestone event was to raise funds for the organization’s dozens of tourism scholars currently enrolled in various universities in Metro Manila. Moreover, the boatmen of Pagsanjan Falls, who lost their livelihood during the pandemic, will also benefit from this golden anniversary celebration because part of the proceeds will fund PATA’s skills upgrading programs to accelerate the boatmen’s recovery from almost three years of zero earnings due to the pandemic.
The dinner fashion show highlighted the beautiful creations of young artists from the Fashion Institute of the Philippines, Wear Your Culture Boutique, and of celebrity designers Renee Salud and Philip Rodriguez. A total of twenty models, all leading personalities in our Tourism Industry, showcased our country’s beautiful textiles and weaves.
The show opened with Philip Rodriguez’s designs worn by Tourism Promotions Board COO Marga Nograles walking down the ramp in an elegant baro’t saya with a boldly striped tapis and a matching parasol, followed by Bluewater Resorts VP Sales & Marketing Margie Munsayac in a daintily embroidered patadyong. PAL COO & President Capt. Stanley Ng captivated the audience as he walked down the ramp in a meticulously embroidered barong.
The next segment featured the designs of the Fashion Institute of the Philippines, with different versions of stylized barongs modeled by PAL Manager Brian Solis, Air Asia Financial Officer Ray Berja, and PAL Vice-President for Sales Bud Britanico.
Following the gentlemen were two lovely ladies in elegant and enchantingly attractive ternos – Davao Tourism Association VP Nicole Ledesma and Conrad Manila Commercial Director Joanne Gomez.
The next segment featured the creative designs of Wear Your Culture fashion boutique which has become a favorite of millennials who proudly wear native-inspired attire. The male models in this segment all looked dapper in their youthful jackets which proudly displayed local weaves and textiles: Hotel 101 Global Senior Sales Manager Philip Olimpiada, Air Asia Spokesperson Steve Dailisan, DOT Undersecretary Shalimar Tamano, and Civil Service Commission Chairperson Karlo Nograles.
The show’s last segment featured the grand masterpieces and stunning ternos of Renee Salud worn by PATA Philippines Chapter Chairperson Pat Alberto, PAL VP for Marketing Ria Domingo, Chroma Hospitality Group VP for Sales & Marketing Carmela Bocanegra, Okada Manila VP for Sales & Marketing Cielo Reboredo, Hotel 101 Global Group General Manager Geraldine Gomez, and Megaworld Hotels & Resorts Managing Director Cleofe Albiso.
The show’s finale was the entrance of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco escorted by her husband Deputy House Speaker Congressman Duke Frasco, each in an elegant Filipino ensemble also by Renee Salud.
As a fitting end to a celebratory evening, Secretary Frasco shared with the audience how the Industry has successfully hurdled all challenges brought about by the pandemic and is, in fact, ahead of its targeted foreign arrivals for this year, She later told the jampacked crowd of stakeholders that we are well on our way to experiencing once again the pre-pandemic volume of visitors that has made our Tourism Industry a major revenue source.
This first-of-a-kind fashion celebration for and by our country’s tourism stakeholders is the Industry’s biggest social event this year, and was preceded by Cocktails which featured wines from Le Cellier and craft beer from the popular Engkanto Brewery. A silent auction of expensive jewelry, de luxe tour packages, and international airline tickets was also held during the Cocktails. Of course, the customary raffle of valuable luxury hotel packages, airline tickets, and lifestyle gadgets was conducted, much to the delight of the eager crowd.
PATA is currently the biggest travel organization in the world, with a membership of close to 10,000 coming from 55 chapters in different countries. It traces its history back to 1951 when it was first established in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Philippines Chapter, with approximately 100 carefully selected members, has existed since 1973 and lays claim to being the only tourism organization in the country that has tourism schools as members, in line with its advocacy of developing the culture of tourism among our youth. Membership to and additional information from PATA Philippines Chapter may be obtained through the Secretariat 09563409010.
The highly successful celebration was staged with the full support of the Department of Tourism, Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority, Tourism Promotions Board, Distileria Limtuaco, The Manila Hotel, Magical Gems, PAGCOR, Henann Resorts, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Wear Your Culture, Deluks Turizm, Engkanto Brewery, and Infinite Travel.
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