BASEL, SWITZERLAND – The “hilot,” or the traditional Filipino massage, hit it big in the Mustermesse Basel or MUBA, Switzerland’s biggest springtime trade and exhibit fair.The Philippine massage booth was on the edge of the pavilion but visitors to the exhibit eventually found the “guest country” and enlisted for their massage.
Tony Lovanes, a Department of Tourism employee who is based in Frankfurt, Germany but was assigned to the massage booth for MUBA 2009, told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau on the opening day of MUBA last February 13 that their reservation list was already booked up to the next Monday.
Lovanes said interest in the traditional Filipino-style massage was high.
“Talaga hong nare-relieve sila, talagang very relaxing daw, at gusto pa nilang bumalik,” said Lovanes.
Massage seekers found the rates cheap at Swiss Francs 20 for a half-hour whole body massage and a back-rub at 10 Francs. In contrast, a Thai massage session in the capital city Bern costs around 100 Francs an hour.
Swiss client Margrit Stein said she felt much better after her neck-and-shoulders rub.
“Once, I tried a Turkish massage but it felt very different from this. I had some aches in my body and now they are gone,” claimed Stein.
Evangeline Pritivac, a Filipina married to a Swiss, said she came to the booth “dahil nami-miss ko na yung Pinoy style na masahe”.
The massage booth for MUBA 2009 had two female therapists flown straight from the Philippines. One of them, Jo Carel, a head trainer in the Philippine Institute for Massage Therapy said MUBA 2009 was a chance for foreigners to sample Pinoy-style massage techniques and applications. Jo’s companion therapist in MUBA came from Boracay island resort and was therefore already used to foreign clients.
At the close of the 10-day MUBA, organizers said up to 300,000 people coming mostly from Switzerland and nearby countries like Germany, France and Austria had browsed through the estimated 1,000 exhibitors.
The Philippines as “guest country” had use of a 1,500-square meter exhibit space for its pavilion showcased with IT products; decorative ceramics; men’s and women’s wear; furniture and electronics; processed food/fruits; Christmas decorations and toys; jewelries (pearls and precious/semi-precious stones); fashion accessories; and travel goods. A budget of P10 Million was set aside by the Department of Tourism for MUBA 2009.
Only two Asian countries (the other was Vietnam in the year 2004) have been accorded “guest country” status since the MUBA was started in 1916. As “guest country”, the Philippines had direct contact with the estimated 300,000 visitors to the fair and exhibit grounds.
The new Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Maria Theresa Lazaro, said exposure of Philippine products and culture in the MUBA was very important.
“MUBA is very important because this is the block, the building block that we need in Switzerland, I guess despite the global recession, the awareness about the Philippines is very important,” she said.
Lazaro stressed that in terms of tourism visitors to the Philippines coming from Europe, Switzerland only comes in fourth after the UK, Germany and France.
“This is just the start. Hopefully we can enter into other facets in Switzerland, and they will know more about us and the best of the Filipinos,” said Lazaro.
Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard opened MUBA 2009 along with Philippine Tourism Minister Joseph Ace Durano. The Philippine chose the theme “100 Percent Natural” for MUBA.
Philippine participation to MUBA was a joint undertaking of DOT and the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC) as its implementing arm; and the private sector through the Philippine-Swiss Business Council (PSBC) of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Fairs & More, Incorporated (FMI) of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
An estimated 15,000 Filipinos live and work in Switzerland, most of them in the main cities of Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern. There is a Philippine Embassy in Bern and a consulate in Geneva, although there is also an honorary Consul-General based in Basel.
By Brady Eviota, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau