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RP Wedding Industry To Benefit from Global Recession
Philippine Wedding News
10 April 2009
With the global economic
downturn affecting many industries, the local wedding industry
is predicting a slow growth. But the local wedding industry
has the chance to reap the fruits of recession.
Last February 18-25, 2009,
Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Joseph ‘Ace’
Durano invited officers and members of the US-based Association
for Wedding Professionals International (AFWPI) for a familiarization
tour of some of the wedding and honeymoon destinations in
Batangas, Bohol, Cavite, Cebu, and Metro Manila.
Composed of wedding and
event coordinators, bridal show producers, professional photographers
and videographers, the participants were given a chance to
see a typical Filipino wedding featuring a real-life couple
and an entire wedding entourage held at the Ocean Pavilion
in Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu City. In Manila,
a mini-bridal fair was staged at The Peninsula Manila. The
participants in the mini-bridal fair include fashion designer
Malou Castillejos, Imacron, Smart Shot Studio, Matus Jewellery,
and Penk Ching of Pastry Bin.
During their stay, AFWPI
President Richard Markel was amazed on the variety of wedding
and honeymoon destinations in the country and their affordability
compared to weddings done in the United States. In an interview
with the Philippine News Agency, Mr. Markel shared, “A
basic wedding in the US costs around $ 50,000 (roughly Php.
2,400,000.00) while in the Philippines you can hold weddings
for less than half of that, with a honeymoon holiday thrown
in the package.”
DOT Sec. Durano aims to
tap the North America market by presenting the Philippines
as the best option for destination weddings. “This is
a specialized market with big returns, because couples bring
along 50 to 100 guests who stay here for 5-12 days for the
celebration. A lot of couples in the US have already cancelled
their weddings this year due to the recession. And most of
them are looking at holding more affordable weddings in nonetheless
romantic, exotic, and memorable destinations like the Philippines,”
added the Secretary.
Meanwhile, DOT Team North
America Head Corazon Apo Jorda also acknowledged, “Weddings
here come in neat little packages unlike in the US where the
couple has to go through each tiny detail and buy everything,
even the utensils.”
Jeff Sharpe of Sharpe Photographers,
one of the photographers who joined the familiarization tour,
shared he hope to entice his US clients to have their weddings
and honeymoons in the Philippines through the photos he took
during the tour.
Wedding suppliers who joined
the familiarization tour were also brought to some of the
popular wedding and reception locations in Manila. These include
St. James Church in Ayala, Alabang, The Glass Garden in Pasig,
Fernbrook Gardens in Las Piñas, Sonya’s Garden
and Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay, and the Caleruega Transfiguration
Chapel in Batangas. |
