Northern regions upbeat on tourism expo in Clark

Upbeat on sustaining the inbound travel boom, the so-called “Solid North” is trooping to SM City Clark in full force to exhibit the region’s tourism destinations, products, services and all other attractions.

The Solid North comprises the sea-bounded Ilocano-speaking regions of Ilocandia, Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), with a combined 60,663 square kilometers of stunning natural beauty from ridge to reef.

CAR is a hub for natural wonders, Ilocandia for history and culture, and Cagayan Valley for all-terrain adventures.

A diverse sampling of such tourism draw, according to Ilocos Region tourism director Martin Valera, will be show- cased at the North Philippines (NorthPhil) Tourism and Travel Expo slated at SM City Clark on Nov. 16 to 18.

“Also to be showcased are NorthPhil’s gorgeous beaches, with Ilocandia and Cagayan Valley alone having a combined coastline of 1,581 kilometers,” Valera said.

Cagayan Valley tourism director Virgilio Maguigad cited new and emerging destinations as part of the NorthPhil showcase.

“Those destinations, especially along the Sierra Madre mountain range that lines the Philippines’ eastern seaboard facing the Pacific Ocean, make a perfect dream site for exciting adventures and discovery,” Maguigad added.

Those unique attributes, aug- mented by the Filipino brand of hospitality, conspire to make NorthPhil a tourism hub with an expected sustained increase in tourism volumes comprising both foreign and domestic tourists.

The uptrend is seen to continue, especially in the Solid North, as the fast-expanding Clark International Airport is poised to breach the 2.5-million threshold in passenger volume by year-end.

“The airport caters to 462 weekly flights, 296 of which are domestic and 166 international, mostly from Doha (in Qatar), Dubai (in United Arab Emirates), Inchon and Busan (in South Korea), Hong Kong and Macau (China), Taipei (in Taiwan) and Singapore,” Valera said.

“More foreign destinations are forthcoming pending ongoing negotiations. Thus, further increases in the number of our foreign and domestic visitors are in the offing. Many of them can be expected to drop by the SM City Clark during the NorthPhil Expo to view our exhibits,” Maguigad added.

The exhibits are displayed in 104 booths featuring all sectors of the tourism industry in North Philippines and other parts of the archipelago, including Asia.