PR-133-2015

Philippine Embassy in Riyadh Partners with Supermarket Giant to Promote
Philippine Cuisine and Tourism

Figure 1: Consul General Iric C. Arribas inaugurates the Pinoy Fiesta 2015, together with Lulu Hypermarket
Regional Director for Central Province Shehim Mohammed, Regional Manager for Central Province Abdul
Saleem V.K. and Commercial Manager Shafeek Rahman

(Riyadh, Thursday, 1 October 2015) First Secretary and Consul General Iric C. Arribas inaugurated the 10-day Filipino food festival entitled “Pinoy Fiesta 2015” in Lulu Hypermarket Al Murraba, Riyadh. Organized annually by Lulu Hypermarket in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy Riyadh, “Pinoy Fiesta” aims to promote Filipino food products in the Kingdom. This year, new food products by Oishi Company and Robina Foods Corporation are now seen on the shelves of Lulu Hypermarket, one of the largest retail chains in Asia and is the biggest in Middle East with 117 outlets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including 5 in Saudi Arabia.

Consul General Arribas remarked: “I congratulate and thank Lulu Hypermarket for organizing the Filipino Fiesta 2015. Not only would it showcase the various Filipino food products made available to the local and expatriate community in Saudi Arabia, it also gives them a glimpse of what to expect when they visit the Philippines. Philippine cuisine reflects Filipino culture: it’s varied, colorful and rich. I hope that our partnership continue in the many years to come.” Filipino chefs working in five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia have also been invited to conduct live cooking demonstration using different Mama Sita’s products in the various branches of Lulu Hypermarket.

Figure 2: Consul General Arribas performs the ceremonial cutting of the cake with
Filipino journalist, Dr. Hannan Tago of Arab News.

To add more fun to the festival, Lulu launched a raffle draw for Filipino shoppers where they can win 20 airline tickets to the Philippines courtesy of Cebu Pacific. Grand draw will be on 10 October 2015. Consul General Arribas added that “the annual Pinoy Fiesta food festival indeed goes hand in hand the tourism promotion efforts of the Philippine Embassy”.  According to the Philippine Department of Tourism, the Philippines recorded a total of 43,483 tourist arrivals from Saudi Arabia in 2014. This represents an increase of 12.51% compared to 2013.  It is very important to note that among the foreign visitors to the Philippines, those from Saudi Arabia recorded the highest average per capita spending at Php 74,290.62.

Aside from Lulu Hypermarket in Riyadh, “Pinoy Fiesta 2015” is also being held simultaneously in the other Lulu Hypermarket branches in Al Khobar, Eastern Region and in other branches within the GCC.

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Figure 3: Consul General Arribas meets
with the Filipino staff of Lulu
Hypermarket