Dubai’s flagship airline Emirates is inviting visitors to experience Expo 2020 Dubai in a new global campaign fronted by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth.
The campaign illustrates the ultra-futuristic themes and experiences in store at Expo 2020 Dubai when it opens its doors on October 1.
Reem Al Hashimy, UAE minister of state for international cooperation and Expo 2020 Dubai director general, said: “Expo 2020 Dubai will be one of the greatest must-see events in the world. In addition to impressive marquee pavilions that immerse visitors in the themes of mobility, sustainability and opportunity, and 191 amazing country pavilions, there will also be an unforgettable celebration of music, art and culture with a packed entertainment programme, unique culinary experiences, and much more. It’s truly shaping up to be an event not to be missed.”
Hemsworth said: “In 2019, I partnered with Emirates and Expo 2020 Dubai to help bring awareness to what is a really important event for the world. We all have the power to shape a better future, and the last year-and-a-half has shown us that the possibilities are endless when we put our minds together. At Expo 2020 Dubai, the world will come together in the spirit of collaboration to provide real-life solutions that will benefit future generations.”
Conceptualised and filmed pre-Covid in time for the original opening date of Expo 2020 Dubai, the ad aims to convey the energising spirit of innovation, creativity, and the drive to create a better future – all key themes of the global event. Taking a layered approach to storytelling, the ad is supported by a myriad of computer-generated imagery animations and visuals to illustrate what the event would look like, as it was filmed while the Expo 2020 site was still under construction.
In the ad directed by two-time Oscar-winning director Robert Stromberg, Hemsworth transports viewers from the beaches of Dubai to the Expo 2020 Dubai site, bringing to life the event’s flagship mobility, sustainability, and opportunity pavilions, alongside the participating country pavilions.
Emirates is the premier partner and official airline of Expo 2020 Dubai, running from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) has inked a MoU with a trio of other government agencies to boost the promotion of Filipino culinary tradition and the country’s unique food tourism experiences.
The MoU signing between DOT, the Department of Agriculture, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement, is aimed at driving up preservation and promotion of Filipino culinary traditions to ensure transmission to future generations and to support food tourism stakeholders such as farmers and agri-communities.
The agencies will also collaborate to infuse food tourism in the celebration of the Filipino Food Month every April.
“As we look forward to every annual celebration of Filipino Food Month, we would like to use this as a platform to promote travel for a taste of a place in order to get a sense of a place,” tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in her opening remarks during the virtual signing ceremony.
A DA-NCCA-DOT-PCHM Technical Working Group shall be formed and will conduct quarterly meetings to ensure the smooth implementation of the activities and responsibilities enclosed in the MOU.
DOT has been tasked to include its food and gastronomy tourism-related activities in the calendar of events for the Filipino Food Month. The department will also provide support to promote the Filipino Food Month through information dissemination via its platforms and networks.
Romulo-Puyat pledged the DOT’s full support and cooperation in the initiative, underscoring the immense potential of Filipino food in tourism prior to the pandemic.
“Our own internal studies in the DOT have revealed that prior to the pandemic in 2019, inbound tourists spent 22.4 per cent of their total expenditures on food and beverage items. For domestic tourists, eight per cent was devoted to F&B expenses and a big chunk of shopping expenses were also spent on foodie treats,” she said.
Further, the DOT chief also highlighted the department’s ongoing efforts in harnessing the potentials of food tourism by formulating regional tourism circuits with food and farm experiences as the centerpiece of itineraries.
She added that the DOT is also conducting food tourism resource inventories and mapping of key food tourism destinations in the country as well as facilitating capacity-building programmes to equip community stakeholders.