Historic back-to-back victory of Thailand at Miss Tourism International 2023

Tia Taveepanichpan of Thailand was crowned the 2023/24 Miss Tourism International during the pageant’s grand coronation night at Sabah International Convention Center (SICC) here, last Saturday, out of 43 other world beauties.  She was crowned by Miss Tourism International 2022 Suphatra Kliangprom of Thailand, and brought home RM10,000, a crown, sash and a trophy.

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Una publicación compartida de 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 (@missgrandthailand)

Winner • Malaysia • Aanavi Kher
1st RU • Spain • Katia Rodriguez
2nd RU • Philippines • Anna Lakrini
3rd RU • Nigeria • Duru Esther Chidera
4th RU • USA • Kirstin Yvonne Bangs

Top 15 also included delegates from Jamaica, USA, Norway, Albania, India, Nigeria, China, Ukraine, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Spain, Poland, Thailand and Venezuela.

“I am proud that Sabah has been chosen to host this event,” said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Christina Liew.

The event will see the participation of 45 countries from around the world.

The MTI is a 17-day event, starting from the arrival of the 45 countries’ Miss Tourism International delegates on November 10.

The MTI World Finals coronation night will be held on November 25 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC).

Liew said the MTI World Finals will definitely bring tremendous publicity to the State and put Sabah into the Pageantry World News.

She thanked the president and owner of MTI, Tan Sri Datuk Danny Ooi for selecting Sabah as the hosting State for the prestigious World Finals and also congratulated the joint organising chairpersons, Xandria Ban and Genie Chua, and her team for accepting such a great responsibility to organise an event of such magnitude.

“Sabah will definitely be in the limelight when the 45 countries set foot in our beautiful State, The Land below the Wind,” she said at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the appointment of EventLab Works & Supplies Sdn Bhd as the host organizer of Miss Tourism International 2023 World Finals.

She added that her ministry and Sabah Tourism Board (STB) will render their full support and welcome the Miss Tourism International delegates from the 45 countries with Sabah’s warm and kind hospitality, thus making it a memorable experience for them to enjoy what Sabah has to offer.

Also present at the event were Miss Tourism International 2022 reigning queen, Miss Suphatra Kliangprom from Thailand and Miss Tourism Global 2022, Miss Chrystal Huang from Singapore, as well as local beauty queens, Phoebe Ong (Miss South East Asia Tourism Ambassadress 2022) and Ellen Rachel (Miss Malaysia Tourism Metropolitan 2022).

Meanwhile, during the press conference held after the MoU ceremony, Ooi said Sabah was selected to host the MTI World Finals because it has a lot to offer to the delegates.

“The 45 countries will come and see for themselves. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising,” he said.

He also said that among the activities that the delegates will be doing is the International Friendship Garden where they will each plant a tree.

“The purpose of the event is to promote tourism, culture and friendship. There will be a lot of activities focusing on local culture, the traditional way, and a lot of exposure would be given to Sabah,” he said.

On the travel advisory issued by a certain country against visiting Sabah, the minister said Sabah is safe.

She reminded that the advisory was issued due to kidnapping incidents that occurred two decades ago.

Liew also reiterated her calls for Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB) to expedite the upgrading of the facilities at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) following the chaotic situation at the airport on Wednesday when five airlines from South Korea carrying a total of 1,098 passengers landed at the airport at close intervals.

She added that the incident caused congestion at the Immigration counters.

She also said that she will meet with the management of MASB next week to discuss the issues further.

The winner will represent Bolivia at the 71st Miss Universe (Miss Universe 2023) in El Salvador.

27 official contestants compete for the title.

Miss Beni – María Estefany Rivero Geise

Srta. Beni – María Lisbeth Padilla Vidal

Miss Cochabamba – Victoria Olguin Pol

Srta. Cochabamba – Ana Camila Buitrago Álvarez

Miss Chuquisaca – Maria Alejandra Torres

Srta. Chuquisaca – Esdenka Morales Durán

Miss Illimani – Daniela Marite Alanez Mendoza

Srta. Illimani – Mariel Ortega Mercado

Miss Llanos Tropicales – Abigaíl Moreno Araújo

Srta. Llanos Tropicales – Lizbeth Fabiana Fuentes Terrazas

Miss La Paz – Yessica Estefanía Ibarra Córdova

Srta. La Paz – Violeta Gonzáles Villafan

Miss Litoral – Fernanda Balcazar Cortez

Srta. Litoral – Selva Jimenez Alba

Miss Oruro – Grecia Karen Schuett

Srta. Oruro – Amara Maya Colque Ochoa

Miss Pando – Hillary Almanza Sánchez

Srta. Pando – Sharis Meryjhen Espinoza Da Silva

Miss Potosí – Lissette “Liss” Gabriela Ondarza Tejerina

Srta. Potosí – Erika Elena Villalobos Rodríguez

Miss Residentes – Ivana Girard Hurtado

Miss Santa Cruz – Vanessa Hayes Schutt

Srta. Santa Cruz – Darla Reyes Becerra

Miss Tarija – Maria del Rocio Galean Espindola

Miss Valle – Giovanna Macías Balderrama

Srta. Valle – Isabel “Isa” Luisa Rehfeldt González

Miss Villa Imperial – Estephanny Laura Ontiveros Ticona

Elicena Andrada Orrego was elected as Miss Universe Paraguay 2023. The young woman will represent Paraguay in the main beauty pageant in the world, in Salvador, soon.

Elicena is 28 years old and is 1.71 meters tall. She has lived in Spain for years and dedicates herself mainly to plastic arts.

“Happy and proud of all the path I have traveled, it has been a hard path with a couple of little stones, but in the end I have been able to overcome all the obstacles, I am fulfilling a dream today despite all the defeats, I want to serve as an example and that my story be a motivation”, said Miss Universe Paraguay 2023.

The final gala themed “Reinas del Arte” featured 11 contestants vying for five national titles at stake — Miss Universe Paraguay, Miss World Paraguay, Miss International Paraguay, Miss Earth Paraguay, and Reina Hispanoamericana Paraguay 2023.

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The 28-year-old Filipino-Irish beauty from Manila succeeds last year’s winner Kayra Wouters of Belgium. She became the first representative from her country to win the two-year-old international pageant which is dedicated to the environment.

Her court of runners-up includes Flora Puira of Cameroon, Pauline Marere of Zimbabwe, Romane Alvies of Sri Lanka, and Savannah Robyn of the United Kingdom.

They were awarded the titles Miss Flora and Fauna, Miss Ecosystem, Miss Aqua, and Miss Paradigm, respectively.

Rounding out the Top 6 finalists was Colombia’s Juliana Aristizábal who bagged the Ambassador of the Environment title.

Belgium (Charlotte Bulcke), Rodrigues Island (Jhoanna RB), Mexico (Natalie Nevarez), and South Africa (Nokwazi Kwazi Ndwandwe) were the rest of the Top 10 semifinalists.

Prior to winning the crown for the Philippines, the new Miss Environment International represented Makati City at Mutya ng Pilipinas 2022 national pageant where she took home the title Mutya ng Pilipinas Luzon 2022 and was named Miss Environment International Philippines.

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She is the first woman from her country to win the title. The pageant was supposed to take place last October but was moved twice due to the political crisis in Bolivia.

Virreina – Venezuela, Adriana Perez
1st Runner-Up – Brazil, Guilhermina Montarroyos
2nd Runner-Up – Puerto Rico, Ediris Rivera
3rd Runner-Up – Mexico, Diana Robles
4th Runner-Up – Colombia, Maria Lucia Cuesta

Completing the top 14 were the delegates from Costa Rica, Chile, Equatorial Guinea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Spain, Dominican Republic and the Philippines. 

Russo, a multilingual pilot who hails from Minas Gerais, beat 37 other women from around the world to win the inaugural edition of the contest.

The first runner-up is Annabelle McDonnell, 22, of the Philippines and the second runner-up is Olivia Tan, 29, of Indonesia. Completing the top 6 were the delegates from Colombia, Venezuela and South Africa. 

In the final round of pageant, the top three candidates were asked: “Every morning when you wake up, what do you think is the meaning of life? What are you living for?”

Russo answered: “If I have to sum it up in one word: freedom. Freedom, being able to travel where you want to, be who you want, do what you want, be the woman you are meant to be, follow your dreams…. To be able to achieve the knowledge, not only academically but the knowledge of culture, of emotional intelligence, to be able to reach your full potential.”

Here are the placements of the other Miss Charm aspirants:

Top 6

• Venezuela
• Colombia
• South Africa

Top 10

• Argentina
• Puerto Rico
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic

Top 20

• Chile
• China
• Korea
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Ukraine
• Thailand
• Russia
• Poland
• Vietnam
• Netherlands

Miss Charm was first held in Vietnam with the aim of promoting culture, tourism and educational activities. The contest was originally scheduled to take place in 2019 but had to be delayed twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contest winner goes beyond skin color, because “it’s not just being a perfect woman but a real one. It’s not about what we see in the mirror, it’s what’s in our hearts,” said Valentina.

Similarly, she said: “I have always believed that women belong in all places where important decisions are made. That’s why at #TheNewEraofBeauty, there’s room for every woman and every girl with a dream and the determination to speak up to pioneer change in her community.”

Valentina Sánchez is a radio and television producer; and specialist in international business. She was Miss Supranational Venezuela 2021 and 3rd Runner-up at Miss Supranational 2021.

The 27-year-old Venezuelan beauty queen will receive a $100,000 prize.

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This is the 8th time an American representative won the title of Mrs. World.

Mrs. America, Shaylyn Ford, 37, from Granville, was crowned Mrs. World at the annual Mrs. World pageant on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ford is a professional makeup artist who has worked in every setting from movie sets to Make-A-Wish projects. Her love for helping others feel beautiful and valued extends to every part of her life. She also serves as a charitable director and volunteers with the Tim Tebow foundation to bring services and events to special needs families. As a mother of three and “autism mama” of two, she understands the critical need of these families firsthand. Her platform is to help raise awareness for resources and services to families, caretakers, siblings of those with special needs. Working alongside the Victoria’s Voice foundation, the official charity of the Mrs. American organization, Ford will also be an advocate for raising awareness of the opioid epidemic that is destroying generations on a massive scale.

The two-hour event featured 41 delegates from across the world, vying to win the coveted title of Mrs. World. Each delegate competed in three areas of competition, including interview, swimsuit and evening gown.

This is the 36th year of the Mrs. World pageant, the sister pageant to Mrs. America, owned by David and Elaine Marmel.

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Mrs World 2021: Shaylyn Ford, America

1st Runner-up: Jaclyn Stapp, Jordan

2nd Runner-up: Debanjali Kamstra, United Arab Emirates

Top 6: Sri Lanka, American, Korea

Top 15: Romania, Malaysia, America-21, Zambia, Uganda, India, Russia, Philippines, Canada.

Special Award Winners:

Fitness Award: Brazil

Congeniality Award: Jordan

Photogenic Award: Thailand

Publication Award: Iceland

Ambassador Award: Trinidad & Tobago

Best National Costume: India

Original Costume: Mexico

Whimsical Costume: Germany

Most Exotic Costume:  United Arab Emirates