Davao’s bid for 2007 ad congress foiled

Davao’s dream to host the well-attended bi-annual Philippine Advertising Congress may just remain an unreachable star unless the city invests in bigger facilities.

“We have been bidding for the Ad Congress for eight years now and we made it to the top this time,” Davao Tourism Association president Art Boncato said during the Club 888 Forum held at the Marco Polo Hotel yesterday.

Boncato said it was a toss up between Subic and Davao but the former won because “we do not have enough facilities to accommodate at least four thousand participants.”

Davao’s tourism sector has been bugging the local government and the private sector to capitalize on bigger facilities for future big conventions like the Ad Congress.

However, no one has yet taken on the challenge to build a bigger venue in the city so the honor of hosting the 2007 Philippine Ad Congress went to Subic.

“We hope an investor can invest in a facility that can fit at least five thousand people at any given time,” he said.

The Philippine Ad Congress is known for gathering a great number of participants. There were at least six thousand participants during the 2001 Ad Congress in Cebu and the number is growing every year.(lovely a. carillo)