Ad Congress sets 20-year attendance record
SUBIC BAY Free Port: Ad Congress officials said the event this year has set a new record.
Boy Pangilinan, chief of staff of the 20th Philippine Advertising Congress set it had more than 4,000 participants which is the biggest ever since the event started.
“We currently have a total of 3,423 registered participants with another 1,000 who are attending Araw Award which will formally end the four-day event,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan added that when they held the Ad Congress in Cebu in 2005, there were only 2,600 participants.
“The total of 4,423 does not account for walk ins and the families that participants brought along with them, so there is a possibility that there is about 5,000 visitors in Subic now because of the Ad Congress,” Pangilinan added.
Subic according to Pangilinan provided the participants with the venue which is the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center which can seat 3,500, a huge dinning area and one of the biggest trade exhibition halls in the country.
Besides the participants, Susan Demacali, co-chairman for programs, said that they invited 24 speakers for the four-day event, 17 of whom are foreign.
“But we are very glad that we had John Gokongwei Jr. as our keynote speaker,” Demacali said.
No rooms in Subic
There are no more rooms available in Subic Bay two days before the 20th Ad Congress opened on Wednesday, November 21.
“The early birds got the best lodgings and accommodations,” said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza. “With this huge turnout, even the hotels in Olongapo City and Subic, Zambales, are also feeling the effects.”
From standard rooms that cost $30 a day to four-bedroom suites rented out at $250 a night, hotels and housing units in Subic have already been reserved by convention delegates, some as early as six weeks ago, according to Au Rementilla, reservations officer of the Subic Park Hotel.
Subic Park Hotel is located along the Waterfront Road where a chain of hotels and lodging accommodation can be found.
Even Grande Island Resort, which is 30 minutes away from Subic’s central business district and accessible only via ferry ride, is fully booked for the duration of the Ad Congress.
“The only way now for visitors to the posh resort to be accommodated is if they would be willing to camp out in the beachfront,” said Michelle Miguel, an employee at the resort’s reservation office.
Miguel reminded would-be campers, however, to bring their own tents.
According to the SBMA’s Ad Congress committee, some 25 establishments in the Subic Bay area have committed rooms for the use of Ad Congress delegates. These include Legenda Hotel, which reserved 186 rooms, and Subic International Hotel, which set aside 175 rooms.
“Even if we’ll be providing only lodgings to the delegates—since key events will be held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center, we’re doing all what we can to make our hotel look best,” Rementilla said while giving instructions to a crew putting up Christmas decors at the hotel lobby.
“We want to ensure that the Ad Congress delegates really enjoy their stay in Subic Bay,” she added.
Meanwhile, some 100 journalists from different media outfits signed in to cover the event.
--Anthony Bayarong -- Manila Times
Boy Pangilinan, chief of staff of the 20th Philippine Advertising Congress set it had more than 4,000 participants which is the biggest ever since the event started.
“We currently have a total of 3,423 registered participants with another 1,000 who are attending Araw Award which will formally end the four-day event,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan added that when they held the Ad Congress in Cebu in 2005, there were only 2,600 participants.
“The total of 4,423 does not account for walk ins and the families that participants brought along with them, so there is a possibility that there is about 5,000 visitors in Subic now because of the Ad Congress,” Pangilinan added.
Subic according to Pangilinan provided the participants with the venue which is the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center which can seat 3,500, a huge dinning area and one of the biggest trade exhibition halls in the country.
Besides the participants, Susan Demacali, co-chairman for programs, said that they invited 24 speakers for the four-day event, 17 of whom are foreign.
“But we are very glad that we had John Gokongwei Jr. as our keynote speaker,” Demacali said.
No rooms in Subic
There are no more rooms available in Subic Bay two days before the 20th Ad Congress opened on Wednesday, November 21.
“The early birds got the best lodgings and accommodations,” said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza. “With this huge turnout, even the hotels in Olongapo City and Subic, Zambales, are also feeling the effects.”
From standard rooms that cost $30 a day to four-bedroom suites rented out at $250 a night, hotels and housing units in Subic have already been reserved by convention delegates, some as early as six weeks ago, according to Au Rementilla, reservations officer of the Subic Park Hotel.
Subic Park Hotel is located along the Waterfront Road where a chain of hotels and lodging accommodation can be found.
Even Grande Island Resort, which is 30 minutes away from Subic’s central business district and accessible only via ferry ride, is fully booked for the duration of the Ad Congress.
“The only way now for visitors to the posh resort to be accommodated is if they would be willing to camp out in the beachfront,” said Michelle Miguel, an employee at the resort’s reservation office.
Miguel reminded would-be campers, however, to bring their own tents.
According to the SBMA’s Ad Congress committee, some 25 establishments in the Subic Bay area have committed rooms for the use of Ad Congress delegates. These include Legenda Hotel, which reserved 186 rooms, and Subic International Hotel, which set aside 175 rooms.
“Even if we’ll be providing only lodgings to the delegates—since key events will be held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center, we’re doing all what we can to make our hotel look best,” Rementilla said while giving instructions to a crew putting up Christmas decors at the hotel lobby.
“We want to ensure that the Ad Congress delegates really enjoy their stay in Subic Bay,” she added.
Meanwhile, some 100 journalists from different media outfits signed in to cover the event.
--Anthony Bayarong -- Manila Times
Labels: adcongress, olongapo, subic
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