Miss Philippines Maria Francesca Taruc won a beauty pageant called Miss Tourism World Intercontinental which is neither related nor affiliated with any of the big four international beauty pageants.
The Miss Tourism World Intercontinental is not connected with Miss World and Miss Intercontinental, although it seems to be linked with Miss Tourism World, a supposedly international contest based in China.
Meanwhile, Miss World is managed by the Miss World Organization based in Britain. It is a pageant where candidates are given platforms to raise money or awareness about their respective advocacies.
Miss Intercontinental, on the other hand, is managed by Miss Intercontinental Organization based in Panama. It considers itself the “United Nations of glamour and beauty” and the winner is recognized as “the most beautiful woman of all continents.”
It is not immediately clear who the organizer or sponsor of the Miss Tourism World beauty pageant is. The pageant website at www.misstourismworld.cn is not in English.
The big four international beauty pageants are the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International.
The beauty pageant in which Taruc won was held in Nanjing, China on January 8, 2019.
The 20-year-old also won the “Best Body” award in the contest’s preliminary rounds.
Taruc is a model and vlogger who hails from Angeles City, Pampanga. She is a Mass Communications degree holder from the Holy Angel University.
The beauty queen is a granddaughter of Luis Taruc, the founder of the largest peasant-based resistance movement of the country during the Second World War—the Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (Hukbalahap).
She previously represented the Philippines in Miss Freedom World 2018 held in Kosovo. She also joined Miss Teen Earth Philippines in 2014.
What is the Miss Tourism World International?
The Miss Tourism World Intercontinental pageant appears to be affiliated with Miss Tourism World but a list of the recognized beauty pageants around the world does not include both.
Instead, the list only recognizes Miss Tourism International, a contest based in Malaysia that promotes the country’s tourism industry and encourages cultural exchange among its candidates.
This pageant is not connected with Miss Tourism World or Miss Tourism which is a legitimate contest that has its own website, Facebook page and documents certifying it is registered under the Trade Marks Registry of Britain and Northern Ireland.
News articles about Miss Tourism’s events and its candidates on their website reveal the contest refers to itself as Miss Tourism World.
However, the Chinese pageant calls itself Miss Tourism World on its website and Facebook pages as well.
Screenshot of a Chinese Miss Tourism World website with text translated in English.
The Chinese Miss Tourism World pageant has a different logo than the English Miss Tourism World. The former does not appear to be affiliated with Miss Tourism either despite the similarity in name.
The English Miss Tourism World notes the pageant is managed by the Tourism World Organisation based in Britain. Its aim is to promote the culture and tourism industry of the candidates’ countries.
Unlike Miss Tourism International, however, the pageant is not constantly held in Malaysia but in different countries.
China’s Miss Tourism World, on the other hand, is usually held in China and does not seem to be well-known, despite claiming that it has a “huge international influence” and is “one of the world’s three major beauty contests,” based on its website.