Press Release

PHILIPPINE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM AND PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL IN CHICAGO LAUNCH TOURISM AND CULTURAL EXHIBIT WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES AT O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Tourism Director-Attaché Francisco Lardizabal (4th from left) and Consul Ryan Gener (2nd from left) pose with American Airlines Vice President for ORD Operations Ben Humphrey (5th from left), American Airlines Asian Pacific Islander Employee Business Resource Group (API-EBRG) President Dott Carungcong (3rd from left), other EBRG members, and Filipino-American community leaders during the opening of the Philippine tourism and cultural exhibit. (Photo courtesy of Ruben Salazar)

17 October 2024 (Chicago) – The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago and the Philippine Department of Tourism – New York (PDOT-New York) graced the opening of the Philippine tourism and cultural exhibit at the hallway across the American Airlines Admiral’s Club/Flagship Lounge at Terminal 3 of O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on 11 October 2024.

PDOT-New York Director-Attaché Francisco Lardizabal and Consul Ryan Francis D. Gener joined the opening parade with American Airlines Vice President for O’Hare Operations Ben Humphrey, American Airlines Asian Pacific Islander Employee Business Resource Group (API-EBRG) President Dott Carungcong, other EBRG members, and Filipino-American community leaders garbed in Filipiniana attire and carrying Philippine and American flags. They visited the exhibit and paraded down the H & K Concourses of Terminal 3.

The exhibit features large backdrops of Philippine tourist destinations Tubbataha Reef, Mayon Volcano, Coron, and Lake Sebu, as part of the “Love the Philippines” experiential tourism campaign highlighting the Philippines stunning natural beauty, unparalleled dive sites and beaches, and diverse food and culture. It also features profiles of prominent Filipino-Americans prepared by API-EBRG in celebration of Filipino-American History Month, as well as a Filipiniana doll collection lent by Mr. Ruben Salazar, President of the Filipino-American Historical Society of Chicago. The exhibit will run for two weeks until 25 October 2024, and is expected to be viewed by thousands of passengers at Terminal 3, which serves as American Airlines’ hub in the Midwest. In 2023, O’Hare served 74 million passengers.

After the exhibit opening, Consul General J. Susana V. Paez, who supervised the Philippine Consulate General’s co-organization of the exhibit, lauded PDOT-New York and the American Airlines API-EBRG for their initiative. Apart from putting the “Love the Philippines” campaign at the front and center of the American mainstream market and commemorating Filipino American History Month, she also noted that the exhibit, which highlighted the richness and beauty of the Philippine archipelago through its islands and marine life, is a timely concluding event for commemorating Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month. She hoped that the exhibit will become an annual tradition at O’Hare to increase awareness about the Philippines among airline passengers.END

The exhibit is located across the American Airlines Admirals Club/Flagship Lounge lobby entrance at O’Hare Terminal 3.

The exhibit features large, vibrant panels of Tubbataha Reef in Palawan and Mayon Volcano in Bicol. Displayed in front of the panels is a Filipiniana doll collection.

The exhibit also featured a panel showcasing Coron, Palawan and the profiles of prominent Filipino Americans.

After the opening, the exhibit quickly got the attention of airline passengers, who took time to view the exhibit on their way to their gates.

Prior to the exhibit opening, Consul Gener (4th from right) and Director Lardizabal (3rd from right) posed with American Airlines employees and Filipino community leaders at the West Mezzanine Conference Room, where Filipino food was served and Filipino small business owners sold their wares in a fiesta-like atmosphere.