𝗗𝗢𝗧 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆’𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁

MANILA — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is throwing its full support behind the Philippines’ bid to host the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) men’s Volleyball Championship in 2025.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco expressed this support on Friday (Feb. 29) during a briefing initiated by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and various public and private stakeholders from the sporting and volleyball community, upon the invitation extended by Senator Pia Cayetano.

Senator Cayetano, a former national volleyball player herself and a strong advocate for Filipino athletes, welcomed Secretary Frasco’s participation, saying that “(Secretary) Christina (Garcia) Frasco is a very important part of this journey, I’m so happy you accepted.”

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 [𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥] 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳,” she added.

In her message, the DOT chief emphasized that such hosting of an international sporting event will present massive opportunities to promote Philippine tourism.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰, 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴,” Secretary Frasco said.

Under Secretary Frasco’s leadership, the DOT has actively promoted sports tourism by backing major events like the Iron Man Philippines: Rock n Roll Manila, M5 World Championship, and FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023–which received a record-breaking attendance of 38,115.

Heeding the directive of the President, the DOT extended its full support in ensuring the country’s successful hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup last year, by way of providing airport arrival lanes and rondalla performances to give the 1,168 delegates the distinct Filipino welcome; enhancement of VIP rooms for distinguished FIBA guests; conduct of VIP tours among delegates; formation of a tourism consortium for tour packages, and provision of training for volunteers of the FIBA Basketball World Cup on the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) program, among others.

PNVF President Ramon Suzara delivered the opening remarks and presented the preparations being made in relation to the country’s bid, including prospective venues, hotels, and training areas for participants.

“𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱,” Suzara enthused.

Mr. Finn Taylor, Chief Business Officer of Volleyball World, noted the significance of the FIVB World Championships events.

“𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳,” Taylor said, adding that he considers the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) event last year at the Mall of Asia Arena was one of the “most significant events” in the league’s calendar.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘕𝘓, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 14 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Guido Betti, CEO of Volleyball World, expressed his optimism for the Philippines’ successful bid for the FIVB men’s World Championships. “Last year was an amazing success. We really were overwhelmed by what happened, and as being said, players are happy to come back because they how they really received the love–really the love from the people here was unique–they really felt probably something that all the volleyball players are dreaming for,” Betti said.

Also present at the meeting are Mr. Richard Bachmann, Chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC); PNVF Secretary General Donaldo Caringal; PNVF Executive Director Kyle Principe; PNVF Head of Operations Antonio Carlos; PNVF Marketing Head Raoul Floresca; Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary General Atty. Wharton Chan; FIVB Director for Asia and Oceania Luis Alexander; United Promotions Inc. Chief Operating Officer Irene Jose; Cignal TV Inc. VP for Channels & Content Sienna Olaso; The Sports Consultancy Senior Consultant Hannah Seymour; and Mr. Arnel Gonzales, Representative of Mall of Asia Arena.

With Secretary Frasco in the meeting were DOT Director for Film and Sports Tourism Roberto Alabado III, Head Executive Assistant Glenn Albert Ocampo, and representatives from the TPB Philippines MICE Department. (PR)