Screengrab from Miss Universe Facebook video
MANILA, Philippines — The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) continues its innovative approach to international pageantry this year with a tour package offered to interested guests who would like to watch the 2023 competition in El Salvador in November.
The organization announced on social media what it dubbed the “Hello Universe Tour in El Salvador,” an eight-day tour of the South American country that incorporates the 2023 Miss Universe pageant in the itinerary.
“Embrace the Splendor, Unveil the Beauty: Your Miss Universe Experience in Enchanting El Salvador,” MUO’s social media post said, will be scheduled from Nov. 12 to 19. The coronation show will be on Nov. 18 (Nov. 19 in Manila).
The package costs $7,650 (approximately P432,000) and will include a seven-night stay in a four-star property in El Salvador, airport transfers and sightseeing excursions within the country, English-speaking guides who will accompany the guests throughout the tour, entrance to local attractions and national parks, meals (seven breakfasts, six lunches, four dinners, two dinner boxes, and access to a gala dinner), and accident insurance coverage of up to $28,000 (approximately P1.6 million).
Here’s a once in a lifetime opportunity which you have all been waiting for! Presenting the launch of the #HelloUniverseTour where you get a chance to experience the World of beauty – The @MissUniverse finale with the final delegates from 90+ countries and the reigning… pic.twitter.com/Z6VpdPi30t
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) August 21, 2023
Screengrab from Miss Universe Facebook video
Tickets to the 2023 Miss Universe preliminary, national costume show, and final competition events will also be included in the package.
This announcement came after MUO declared its expansion to merchandising with the Miss Universe Beverage line, and the launching of the Miss Universe Skincare and Spa in Bangkok, Thailand, in July. Los Angeles-based Filipino skincare expert Olivia Quido-Co has also been appointed as the president of the latter.
The aggressive business moves are the fruition of the declarations made by Thai media mogul Anne Jakrajutatip when she announced her full acquisition of MUO in October last year. In a press conference beamed worldwide, she presented her plans and vision for the organization, which included branching out to merchandising, and capitalizing on the pageant’s brand value by expanding to fields outside of pageantry.
MUO had earlier announced that it will accept married women, mothers, or those who have borne children, to take part in the 2023 edition of the international competition. The Miss Universe Philippines organization has joined other national franchisees in observing this new directive and opened its doors to mothers and married women in its recent national contest.
The national organization has also implemented an innovative business strategy for the 2024 competition, recruiting accredited partners throughout the country and in several overseas Filipino communities who are authorized to field delegates to next year’s contest, along with the affiliate competitions The Miss Philippines and Mister Pilipinas Worldwide.
The Miss Universe Philippines’ accredited partners will also be the official and exclusive distributors for the national pageant’s merchandise in their respective locations.
Actress, model, and 2019 Miss World finalist Michelle Marquez Dee, daughter of 1979 Miss International Melanie Marquez and cousin of 2017 Reina Hispanoamericana Teresita Ssen Marquez, is the current Miss Universe Philippines, who will represent the country in the 72nd Miss Universe pageant.
Four Filipino women have captured the Miss Universe title so far—Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015), and Catriona Gray (2018). EDV