The
ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Conference and 2012 ICTC Annual Meeting came to a close last night as we returned from the post-conference tour to the
Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras. We've been very busy the past two weeks since our first delegates arrived on November 2.
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| Conference Chair Ivan Henares, National Museum Director Jeremy Barns, Ambassador Jose Maria Carino, ICOMOS Philippines President Augusto Villalon, ICOMOS ICTC President Susan Millar, DOT Director Cynthia Lazo, Conference Co-Chair Ivan Man Dy. Photo by Anson Yu |
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| Conference Chair Ivan Henares, ICOMOS Philippines President Augusto Villalon & Conference Co-Chair Ivan Man Dy. Photo by Anson Yu |
Official activities started on November 5 with the
Welcome Reception at the
Old Senate Session Hall of the
National Museum. Before that, foreign delegates were transported from
Intramuros to the
National Art Gallery on an air-conditioned jeepney courtesy of
Jeepney Tours, followed by a tour of the newly-opened galleries of the National Museum. I was astounded with how much of our national treasures were in storage all these years before they finally seeing light in these new exhibits.
Food was catered by Cibo, and cultural performances rendered by the Ramon Magsaysay High School and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
The next day, delegates flew to Laoag City. We got to visit
Paoay Church which was the only major embarrassment during the conference as ICOMOS experts pointed out violations that were being committed by the local government as we were visiting. Structures were being constructed in the core and buffer zones which raised a major concern among our guests.
In the
Historic Town of Vigan, we got a grand and festive welcome at the
City Hall of Vigan as each foreign delegate was assigned an assistant for the duration of the conference. Dinner was at the
Burgos House (National Museum) hosted by the
Department of Tourism Region I.
For the next two days, the conference was held at the recently-restored
Ilocos Sur Provincial Capitol. A temporary exhibit on archival material of the town plaza of Vigan was also opened by the
National Archives. In the evening, the
City Government of Vigan invited everyone to watch a
sarsuela which was followed by a festive dinner in front of city hall.
The next day, the
ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee held its annual meeting followed by a workshop with local stakeholders. The day ended with a
Closing Reception hosted by the
Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur at the
Vigan Plaza Hotel.
We returned to Manila the next day. In the evening, we got a glimpse of the reconstructed
Ayuntamiento de Manila, as well as an evening tour of
Fort Santiago, the
Rizal Shrine and
Casa Manila. A
Farewell Reception was hosted by the
Intramuros Administration at
Barbara's. Check out
photos of the conference in the Ivan About Town FB page and with
Estan Cabigas.
As most of the delegates went back home, the other half braved the long drive and truck traffic to visit the
Rice Terrace of the Philippine Cordilleras in Ifugao. It was a very meaningful visit to Banaue, Lagawe, Kiangan and Hungduan as we got to interact with local officials and stakeholders. The group had a very comfortable stay at the
Banaue Hotel. Here are some
photos of our post-conference tour to Ifugao.
Thank you very much to everyone who contributed, particularly the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur, the City Government of Vigan, Department of Tourism, Department of Foreign Affairs-TCCP, UNESCO National Commission, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Metrobank Foundation, City Government of Manila, Intramuros Administration, TIEZA, Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), National Museum and the Provincial Government of Ifugao among many others!
