Mr. Jeffrey de Mesa, extreme left, gives a presentation of the 10th ACGTDT program before
the delegates from Honolulu.
(2 July 2015) With a week before the official start of the 10th Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour (ACGTDT) to the Philippines from 5 to 10 July 2015, the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu held a pre-departure briefing for the Tour’s participants on 30 June 2015 at the Consulate’s Alay sa Sakada Lanai. Around 35 participants attended the briefing.
The event also served as the Consulate General’s send-off activity and the “Visit the Philippines 2015!” bash for the participants from both Hawaii and French Polynesia, which number to 55 out of the 176 total number of participants, or 31 percent, from across the United States.
In her remarks, Vice Consul Joyleen E. Santos conveyed that this year’s ACGTDT was extra special for 4 reasons: (1) This milestone year marks the 10th year of the tour since its inception in 2005; (2) For the very first time, a trip to Cebu City was made part of the basic itinerary; (3) 2015 is a banner year for Philippine Tourism, with the Philippine Department of Tourism’s Visit the Philippines campaign, as well as the country’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings this year; and (4) the Honolulu contingent was able to reclaim the distinction of bringing the biggest number of participants this year among the other US states, eliciting the loudest cheers from the audience.
Mr. Jeffrey de Mesa, Protocol Officer and focal person for the ACGTDT, gave a thorough presentation of the 5-day program and some reminders.
Among the delegates from Hawaii include Reverend Alex Vergara, President of the Oahu Filipino Community Council, the Filipino umbrella organization in Oahu, Mr. Paul Alimbuyao, Vice President of First Hawaiian Bank and outgoing President of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, as well as Ms. Edith Gudoy and Ms. Rose Galanto, travel agents and consistent ACGTDT participants for 9 and 7 years, respectively. (END).
