Phl pushed as wedding destination

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is being groomed to become a more viable international wedding destination.

An official of the Philippine Association of Wedding Planners (PAWP) said they are looking at holding roadshows and will be actively participating in expositions in Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, the US and several countries in Europe.

“We want to go about this slowly and first go to places with large Filipino communities. There is a big market out there just waiting to be tapped. It will have to be a step-by-step process wherein our members and fellow wedding suppliers will eventually be able to maximize their reach,” PAWP president Liza Alviedo said.

According to Alviedo, their first stop this year will be the Philippine Wedding Expo in Singapore in July that is being organized by local firm Destination Events and Business Solutions.

Alviedo said they are partnering with the events company for the Singapore wedding expo because of their shared vision of promoting the country’s wedding industry internationally.

“Singapore is a bit different from other countries with large overseas Filipino workers’ presence as our countrymen there are working in offices, with some of them having middle management positions or higher. It is a market with a capacity to spend for their weddings,” she said.

Alviedo said PAWP, whose members are based in key cities across the country, has the ability to organize weddings domestically or abroad. She said the group is expecting to get at least 150 contracts from the expo.