TUMANDOK: Attractions, Products, Culture of Iloilo

Watch out for the 14th year of Tumandok coming this September 19-23, 2018 from 10am-9pm at the Fountain Area Robinsons Place Iloilo Main Mall along Mabini-Ledesma Streets. This is a premier tourism event consistently held every September in celebration of Tourism Month.

Tumandok, is local Hiligaynon term means “a native of,” is the annual tourism month celebration of Iloilo Province that will bring together attractions, products and culture in which participating municipalities of Iloilo province partner with tourism students from different tourism universities in the city.

This year, the event will bring together the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Igbaras, Miagao, San Joaquin, Leon, Pavia, Leganes, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Badiangan, Calinog, Duenas, Passi City, San Enrique, Concepcion, Estancia and Carles with the students of Hotel and Restaurant Technology Department of the Iloilo Science and Technology University, Lapaz Campus, Iloilo City.

Tumandok will be featuring cultural performances from the College of PESCAR of WVSU on the opening day, September 19 (Wednesday) at 4 p.m.; September 20 (Thursday) Piannica Anklung from Sta. Barbara; September 21 (Friday) Hablon Fashion Show featuring the candidates of Miss Iloilo Tourism; September 22 (Saturday) WVSU College of PESCAR and, September 23 (Sunday) Tumandok Fashion featuring the HRT students of ISAT University.

Tumandok is the marketplace for travelers from Iloilo. Buyers benefit from a comprehensive range of products and services throughout the province. It offers a plethora of attractions, destinations and products wanting to place their foothold in the Ilonggo market.

The event is very informative. It showcases the many tourism potentials of Iloilo as the emerging tourist destination for nature and sports adventure, cultural heritage, culinary, and the arts.

Tumandok has given participating LGUs a platform to meet new customers, to reach out to existing clientele, and to build their more established and reliable tourism brand for their town.

Organized by Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism of the Iloilo Provincial Government, the Department of Tourism VI, Robinsons Place Iloilo and in partnership with ISAT University, the Iloilo Tourism Officers Association, Inc., Tinukib, DOST and DTI, the five-day travel and product fair continues to be an important medium for local government units to carry out their mission, to be a catalyst for community development.

Iloilo Province Celebrates Tourism Month with Tumandok

Tourism Month---taking place at the fountain area of Robinsons Iloilo main mall on September 19-23, 2018---celebrates Tumandok, Iloilo’s most progressive tourism-oriented event by bringing together the destinations, attractions, product and cultural presentations that have always made Iloilo such an exciting and vibrant destination.

Tumandok, an annual Tourism Month celebration organized by the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism of the Iloilo Provincial Government invests in marketing Iloilo Province. Coined from a Hiligaynon term for “a native of a place,” Tumandok features all that is Iloilo; its attractions and destinations, product and culture.

The tourism industry is unlike any other because, instead of selling a product, you are selling a place and all the things it has to offer. You are competing with the entire world every time you promote tourism in a given destination, and this high level of competition demands a creative and unique approach. To be successful, your marketing should constantly put forth the best possible image of your destination, while creating interest on a broad scale in as many ways as possible.

Events play a strong role in increasing destination awareness and intention to visit. They can be the reason for visitors to “act now” and book travel; they also encourage repeat visitation for those looking for something new and different.

Conceptualized and developed primarily to enhance awareness, appeal and profitability of  Iloilo Province as tourist destination, Tumandok has become the collective representation of an event which can showcase the best of that Iloilo can offer in terms of tourism. Marketing activity includes promotion of existing and emerging destinations and significant investment in partnership campaigns jointly implemented by The Department of Tourism VI and Robinsons Place Iloilo.

Tumandok, organized in 2004 is the marketplace for new and/ or repeat visitors to Iloilo with the objective of:

a   a. Creating, enhancing and increasing awareness of Iloilo Provinces’ domestic tourism by  

         providing proper information to visitors; 

b   b. Building and/ or improving a corporate image or brand for every town and for the 

         province as a whole;

c   c. Increasing annually the volume of tourist traffic and investments for the province;

d  d. Encouraging proactive participation and involvement by all stakeholders including 

        government bodies, private sector, tourism organizations, local communities, academic 

        institutions, youth clubs etc. at all stages of tourism life cycle;

e  e. Preserving and enhancing local culture, art, handicrafts, etc;

f.   f.    Introducing tourism product innovations;

g g. Supporting local tourism products.

Tumandok’s uniqueness lies in the fact that tourism students from different academic institutions in the city and province were utilized to market and promote Iloilo’s tourism offerings.

Robinsons Place Iloilo has continuously involved in supporting government institution initiatives. Every year, the mall hosts and partakes in local promotional initiatives and activities which help students and supports LGUs‘ tourism campaign.

Tumandok has provided a sense of identity not just as a tourism event for Iloilo Province but for the participating LGUs. Establishing their presence to the event has given them a platform to meet new customers, to reach out to existing clientele, and to build their more established and reliable tourism brand for their town.

The annual Tourism Month celebration is brought to you this year by Robinsons Place Iloilo, ISAT University, Iloilo Tourism Officers Association, Inc., Tinukib and DOST.