23 September 2016, Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province. The Philippines was showcased as one of the premiere island tourist destinations in the world in the recently concluded International Islands Tourism Conference (IITCZS) 2016 Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, China. In its second year, the IITCZS aims to build dialogue, exchange and cooperation among various island destinations of the world and to showcase these destinations in an international tourism platform. The 2016 theme for the IITCZS is “Interconnecting the Marine Silk Road: Sharing Island Development, New Silk Road, New Blue Sea” which is part of China’s efforts to build bridges of friendships among nations through various projects and programs.

Consul General Wilfredo R. Cuyugan, Head of the Philippine Delegation, was invited to be one of the round table discussants during the Sister City Tourism Salon, a key Conference event. Consul General Cuyugan underscored the robust tourism figures of Chinese nationals entering the Philippines, citing 340,000 visa issuances from January to June 2016.

“Truly, it is more fun in the Philippines and for our Chinese guests, it is like coming home as more than half of the Filipino population has Chinese blood running in their veins. It is my hope that this Conference will not only result in a more robust two-way traffic of tourists between our two countries but more importantly to serve as a sign post of friendship that would bring Filipino and Chinese people together to forge better relations between the two countries,” the Consul General said.

Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi and a delegation of councilors, including the father of the Mayor, former Mayor and Congressman Ireneo “Ayong” Maliksi from the City of Imus were also present during the conference as Imus has forged a sister-city agreement with Zhoushan in 1997.

Aside from Zhoushan City volunteer tourism students, manning the Philippine tourism booth were Vice Consul André Peter C. Estanislao, Protocol Officer Sanny Darren Bejarin, Cultural Officer Chris Ian San Juan and Tourism Attaché Niel Ballesteros. The organizers, noting the importance of the Philippines as a prime tourist destination provided extra space for the Philippine booth making one of the biggest during the exposition.

Vice Consul Estanislao was interviewed by various Chinese media outlets during the exposition and he invited Chinese citizens to explore the beauty of the Philippines and expressed hope that tourism between the two countries expand even further. He also called on Filipinos to come visit Zhoushan and discover other tourist destinations in China.

This year, the following island destinations/countries, aside from the Philippines, participated in the event and had tourism booths during the Expo proper which was at the National Fitness Center of Putuo District in Zhoushan: Lefkada, Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, Kingdom of Tonga, Hawaii, Seychelles, Reunion Island, City of Greater Geraldton, Australia and Guam.

Aside from these island destinations/countries, over 30 other districts in China and Asia participated including China travel industry giants CTrip and Ali Travel, Hainan Airlines, and more. Organizers estimate that 15,000 individual travel enthusiasts, 5000 travel practitioners, 200 professional buyers and over 200 exhibitors from various Chinese and international private companies that deal with tourism participated in this year’s IITCZS.

Zhoushan, the largest archipelago in China comprising of 1,390 islands situated in the eastern seabed of Zhejiang Province on the East China Sea, welcomed a total of 34 million tourists in 2015, is also home to a bustling marine economy which includes hi-tech ship building and manufacturing as well as an important seafarer training base.

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