The First HoReCa Festival 2014 Promotes Makati City as Business Tourism Hub of the Philippines

Calling all foodies, wine lovers and travelers... come sip, savor & swoon over one of the biggest tourism festivals in Makati.

Makati has always been considered the country's business district, and in an effort to attract more local and foreign tourists and draw business travelers further to Makati city, the Makati Tourism Foundation recently launched the HoReCa Festival on Monday, August 11, at the Glasshouse in New World Makati Hotel.

HoReCa stands for Hotel, Restaurant, Cafe and Catering services so you can expect to see the best promo deals and tourism-related presentations, when the festival kicks off September 15 and 16 at the Glorietta 2 Activity Center. With the theme “Finest Footprint at its FIRST,” the event is supported by the Department of Tourism.

(From L-R) Mr. Alex Willats General Manager of Dusit Thani,  Festival Chairperson Triccia Dacer, MFTI President Dr. Elton See Tan, Catherine Agustin, OIC from the DOT-NCR

Triccia Dacer, chairperson and main proponent of the HoReCa Makati Festival 2014, explained its concept via the press release.

“We wish to introduce to the general public the sector of HoReCa or Hotel Restaurant Café / Catering considered to be one of the fastest-growing touristic sectors in Europe and the Middle East. HoReCa is concentrated specifically on hotels, restos, cafes and catering companies because they are believed to be a pump-primer to propel economic growth due to high-rate employment especially in exhibitions that attribute high success rates in marketing and revenue generation of participating exhibitors. Hence, we trust that a similar principle is adoptable with the current market conditions in Makati,” she said.

Participants will have the chase to try the finest coffees, listen to hotel-ambiance music, and talk with industry leaders and practitioners from participating HoReCa exhibitors. She also said that with the festival, she wants to inform businessmen that Makati is not just about enterprising ventures.

“We want the public to know that doing business is not the only enterprising element found in Makati, in fact we want also to emphasize that business men, business travelers and tourists (local and foreign alike) are also attracted by Makati’s recreational venues for family bonding like parks, old symbolic churches and other cultural heritage spots that veer towards the traditional Filipino way of family bonding and away from the technologically-driven culture of today.”

(From L-R) Catherine Agustin, OIC from the DOT-NCR, New World Hotel General Manager Farid Schoucair and Hotel Intercontinental Hotel Area Manager Christian Pirodon

Representatives from the Department of Tourism (DOT) were there to support the event led by Catherine Agustin. More than 80 companies, including hotels such as Intercontinental Manila, the New World Hotel, Dusit Thani, and the Holiday Inn, will participate in the said festival as exhibitors.

So don't forget to save the date; The First HoReCa Festival 2014 on September 15 and 16 at Glorietta. See you there!