Preparatory meet for tourism forum slated this July

REPRESENTATIVES from the eleven regions, who will participate in the East Asia Tourism Forum (EATOF), will be in Cebu on July 21 and July 22 for the event’s preparatory meeting.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said on Tuesday that six out of the eleven governors had already confirmed their attendance for the EATOF to  be held in September.

They are Quang Ninh, Vietnam; Tottori, Japan; Gangwon, South Korea; Tuv-Mongolia; Sarawak, Malaysia and Cebu, Philippines, which will be represented by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Magpale, tourism committee chairperson said that they are more than 80 percent prepared for the EATOF and all the committees were in place.

Grace Paulino, tourism staff, told Cebu Daily News, that they would be renting a simultaneous interpreter’s booth similar to what had been used during the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, which would be rented from Manila.

Garcia will also meet with motor companies like Hyundai and Toyota for the rental of the vehicles to be used by the governors during their stay in Cebu.

Last year. Gov. Garcia was in Vietnam to attend the EATOF held at Quang Ninh Province in Vietnam.

Garcia will assume as leader of the EATOF after Quang Ninh’s hosting.

Garcia said the Eatof, which was primarily for the tourism sector, had evolved into exchanges in trade and culture.

Magpale, for her part, said that the trade and culture would be included in the agenda of preparatory meeting for the EATOF.

One is the cultural EATOF Festival and the other one is the Tourism and Trade Investment

Forum.

Garcia earlier said that because of the goodwill ties, Cebu is now enjoying several chartered flights from visiting EATOF member provinces such as China, Korea, and Russia.

The 11 members of EATOF are Cebu, Philippines; Jilin, China; Gangwon, Korea; Sarawak, Malaysia; Yogyogarta, Indonesia; Tottori, Japan; Tuv-Mongolia; Primovsky-Russia; Chiang Mai, Thailand and Quang Ninh, Vietnam./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus