The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Czech, Hungarian and Polish ambassadors to the Philippines jointly held a half-day-long, tourism-oriented event in Makati City on October 28 that not only promoted the top tourist destinations in countries that form the Central European region, but also highlighted the growing popularity of these destinations with Filipino tourists.
The event, called “The Discover Central Europe: Roadshow Southeast Asia 2016” and held at the New World Makati hotel, attracted more than 100 representatives from various travel agencies who are looking to expand their offerings to include more destinations in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
The roadshow included a seminar led by officials from state-run tourism organizations from the four Central European countries, during which they invited the attendees to know more about the romantic, shopping, cultural, and nature-related and wellness-oriented activities that visitors can enjoy there. Turkish Airlines, which offers flights to the capitals of these countries, was the event’s main partner.
The event culminated in an elegant reception held to celebrate Czech Republic National Day and the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the aforementioned European nations, also collectively known as the Visegrád Four.
Diplomats and officials from other embassies and high-society figures, as well as artists, academics and writers, including National Artist for Literature F. Sionil José, were among those who attended the reception, led by Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Olša Jr.
A highlight of the reception was the special screening of the trailer of the forthcoming ABS-CBN teleserye The Promise of Forever, which was partially shot in the Czech Republic and features actresses Ritz Azul and Yna Asistio, who attended the event.
The two stars echoed Ambassador Olša’s hope that the expected “success of The Promise of Forever could double the number of Filipinos visiting the Czech Republic in the same way [a] similar TV series, Lovers in Prague, did in South Korea a decade ago.”
For his part, former film producer and critic Michal Procházka, now the representative of the state-run Czech Tourism Agency, expressed hope that the event could spark a more intensive tourism interaction between Central European countries and the Philippines. TMM