PHILIPPINE delegates to the 2nd Miss and Mister Tourism and Culture Universe won convincingly at the grand finale held in Yangon, Myanmar last Saturday night, winning the male division and placing second in the female category.
Yves Lyrey Campos, a 26-year-old Cebu-born registered nurse now based in Las Vegas, Nevada, bested delegates worldwide to win as Mister Tourism and Culture Universe 2019 to succeed Soojae Wu of Korea, last year’s winner.
Aside from the coveted title, Campos also won as Mister Popularity, garnering the most votes on social media that fast-tracked him to the semi-finals. He also won the Best in National Costume award for his sarimanok-inspired ensemble.
It was the second time that Campos competed internationally; he was a top 20 semifinalist at Mister Supranational 2017 after winning at the national search for Misters of Filipinas that same year.
Runners-up to Campos, in order, were: Quach Tranh Lam of Vietnam, Donghun Chun of South Korea, Ronnev Rajput of India, Francisco Roberto Martinez Galvez of El Salvador and Guillaume Florent Canada of France.
In the female division, Roxanne Allison Baeyens, a 22-year-old Belgian-Filipino beauty from Baguio City, placed second to eventual Miss Tourism and Culture Universe 2019 winner Olivia Gunawan of Indonesia.
Baeyens, who also won as Miss Popularity, was sent to the pageant in her capacity as the winner of the Face of Tourism Philippines Pageant organized by Unica Hija Events of the mother-daughter tandem of Annie and Roanne Refrea, and sponsored by World Master International Travel CEO Dr. Climacosa Agana.
The other runners-up to Gunawan, in order, were: Wenanita Augang of Malaysia, Audrey Wafack of Cameroon, Milissa Grande of Canada and Sonia Ait Mansour of France.
The international pageant, celebrating tourism and culture of countries of the world, brought delegates from all corners of the globe in two-week long activities that brought them to the fascinating tourism sites of the Land of Golden Pagodas particularly in Yangon, Bagan City and the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw.