WE HAVE to give it to Atty. Felipe Antonio Remollo, president-CEO of the Clark Development Corp. Where his mouth is, there he puts his mind and heart. His muscles too, thrown in.
Remollo’s express mission at CDC, time framed 2011-2012, is: “Make Clark a destination of choice for leisure/sports, MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and wellness travel in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“Being one of the country’s top business and investment havens, Clark also has the capacity to carve its niche in the tourism industry through sports and eco-tourism.” So goes the Remollo doctrine.
And premium sports tourism spot, the Clark Freeport is fast shaping up to be.
The other weekend, heavy rains spawned by Typhoon Goreng failed to dampen, but mayhaps even heightened, the zest of combatants in the PALS 2nd Leg paintball competition held at the parade grounds.
More than 20 teams from Australia, Brunei, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the United States and the Philippines competed for the US$3,000 championship prize.
The PALS 2nd Leg paintball competition was organized by the United Paintballers of the Philippines, Clark Development Corporation, and the Department of Tourism Regional Office led by Director Ronnie Tiotuico.
In June, Clark’s parade ground hosted the semi-finals of the Baseball Philippines Series 8 among teams from Batangas, Cebu, Manila, and Taguig.
Over the weekend, CDC’s tourism promotions office and the Department of Tourism, Region 3 jointly press released what they dubbed as “the most colourful event of the year to hit Clark’s skyline” – the 1st ASEAN Kite Festival slated this coming November 25-27.
Tourism Director Tiotuico sees the participation of no less than 100 international kite flyers from the 10-member countries of the ASEAN bloc and hundreds more from Central and Northern Luzon.
Two local winners will be invited to represent the country in the annual Weifang International Kite Festival in China.
To drum up public interest, members of Kite Team Philippines will undertake a series of pre-event activities including kite-making workshops, indoor flying and kite photo exhibits at SM City Clark, SM City Pampanga and Marquee Mall.
Featuring special shaped kites and stunt kites plus a demonstration of lighted colourful giant kites in a special event of night flying, the kite festival – so the CDC-DOT blurb brags – “is even expected to challenge the magnitude and enormity of the hot-air ballooning event held in February of each year.”
(Here’s hoping though that CDC won’t be squandering P3 million in unaudited, unliquidated funds for this event as it has done for the past several years with the hot air balloon fest.)
Partner agencies of CDC and DOT for the kite festival include Global Gateway Logistics City, Kite Association of the Philippines, Kite Team Philippines, SM City Clark, SM City Pampanga, Marquee Mall, the Department of Education, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and Air Force City, the Clark contingent of the Philippine Air Force.
Yes, we have to give it to Remollo. Sport tourism things are on top spin at Clark. So where’s the catch? Sport tourism may implode within Clark.
With little, if any, impact on the communities contiguous to the Freeport. Sports tourism begins and ends in Clark. Clark is one-stop site. How can I say this?
Read the organizers of the above-cited events. I wrote them here not for PR purposes but to advance some arguments. For the paintball competition: UPP, CDC and DOT. For the kite festival: GGLC, KAP, KTP, SM, Marquee Mall, DepEd, CAAP, PAF, and again CDC and DOT.
Missing – sorely – in these events are the frontline stakeholders in the tourism industry: the tour and travel operators, the hotel and restaurant group, representatives of the airlines servicing Clark, the local government units.
Interphase. Holistic approach. Synergy among stakeholders. Many times we hear these phrases as requisites to success in any common endeavour.
We hope we will not only hear these again but see them concretized at the Sports Tourism Forum held today, July 19, at the Holiday Inn-Resort Clark.
After all, Remollo himself has noted that the Sports Tourism Forum uses a “scientific and methodological” approach to orient Clark stakeholders, including those in and around the Central Luzon Region, on how to capitalize on sports to boost the local tourism industry.
We take your word for it, Sir.
