Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) chief operating officer Marie Venus Tan has left barely two years into the plum post, a move that sent shock waves through the Philippine travel trade that thinks highly of the veteran tourism official.
“I am gratified that my more than 30 years in government service that started with the Philippine Tourism Authority ended still in service to the tourism industry that I love with passion,” Tan wrote in a farewell message posted on TPB’s Facebook page.
“I would never trade the opportunity I was given, as Department of Tourism’s (DoT) Tourism Attache in Europe, to show the world how beautiful our country is and how charming the Filipinos can be – given the chance to meet them up close and personal.
“What gave me a sense of fulfillment too was working with our communities as DoT regional director, highlighting their awesome natural treasures, being a bridge that provided them with livelihood and entrepreneurial skills in the tourism value chain, giving them pride of place and, ultimately, enabling them to become beneficiaries of the developments that tourism brings.”
Bruited to replace Tan next month is Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones, a lawyer and currently executive director of the government agency Career Executive Service Board.
Velasco-Allones did not reply an email from TTG Asia seeking confirmation of her appointment to the top TPB post.
She clocks 22 years of public sector service, including stints as assistant secretary of National Defense and the Department of Labor and Employment and later, resident ombudsman of the Department of Labor and Employment.
