Where Is Davao?

Early this month, we traveled the Philippines for just a little less than two hours.  We were at SM Mall of Asia’s SMX Convention Centre attending the Philippine Travel Mart 2012.  The entrance venue was P50 and it was worth it because there were giveaways, promo packages and there were booths and pavilions that beautifully showcased the different parts of the country.

We had fun having our photos taken at the Banaue/Sagada booth along with the real Igorots in their G-strings and their wooden scooters.  We marveled at the Higantes and stood beside the Roman soldier-dressed and masked guy of the Moriones festival. We pretended we were newly weds at the Bohol area and then, played with the windmills of Ilocos region but where is the Davao’s booth? We wondered. Retracing our steps, it took us a while to find it. Pearl Farm Resort had a small booth and it was an ordinary-looking one and that was it?? Undaunted, we searched more only to find out that the Region XI Department of Tourism booth was right there beside Pearl Farm Resort’s booth. Except for a long table and several handouts on it, the DOT Region XI booth was almost bare. Taking its picture was not worth it.   What a disappointment! What happened to the organizers of the said booth?

The other region’s pavilions or booths were really cool. They really showed the attractions of their provinces and it was obvious that they really prepared for their respective booths/pavilions. Can’t say the same to our region’s booth though. Hopefully, they shall do better next time. If they shall not, it is already a big injustice considering Region XI as well as the whole island of Mindanao has so much to offer to visitors from all over the world. The negative flak sometimes gets