Everything’s coming up roses for Philippine MICE, with high profile event wins in the bag, stronger tourism push by a new tourism chief and an ISO-certified TPB. Rosa Ocampo reports
Clockwise from above: Malate Church, Manila; snorkelling
in Cebu; colourful jeepneys Picture by Tappasan Phurisamrit/shutterstock,
View Apart/shutterstock and soft_light/shutterstock
Major changes looming on the Philippine business events tourism horizon bode well for this small but fast-growing sector.
Foremost is the need to “reinvent” the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) – the Tourism Department’s marketing arm – as local governments bond with the private sector in taking the initiative to create the equivalent of their own convention bureaus and promote their own business events campaigns instead of relying on TPB.
This trend in northern Luzon, Cebu, Davao and other parts of the country will help spread business events out of Manila to other local destinations, according to TPB COO Domingo Ramon Enerio III.
As well, it will enable TPB to engage more in international activities without precluding the need to reach out to Philippine destinations requiring its guidance.
“Now is the golden opportunity for the destinations to be responsible for their own marketing. This is a welcome thing. We can create more noise with more players,” Enerio told TTGmice.
“MICE has become a byword for the industry,” he added.
Charting the state of Philippine MICE, Enerio shared that 2015 targets were achieved with about 200 MICE-assisted events held in the country. This year’s target is to increase that by 10 per cent.
While the Philippines still doesn’t get big events of 5,000 pax or more, it is however getting its fair share of smaller events with 500 to 3,000 pax.
“And we have been able to organise a few ourselves,” said Enerio, pointing to the Asia Premium Travel Mart which is now on its second year as well as other travel trade shows for both consumers and businesses.
Katrina Cruz, American Express Transnational’s team leader for meetings and events, agreed that Philippine MICE is growing as the country gains marketing traction abroad. Cruz is also satisfied with the direction the TPB is taking.
Another change concerns the country’s MICE campaign – Fun Works – which is aligned with the It’s More Fun in the Philippines overall tourism campaign.
While Fun Works highlights the Philippines as being easier for work and ideal for fun and productive meetings, Enerio said it requires more explanation as it is sometimes misinterpreted as the name of a theme park, like DreamWorks.
There are also comments that a MICE campaign should be serious, since it deals with businesses.
However, the trade is generally supportive of reviewing the effectiveness of Fun Works. One of them, Khristinne Araneta, marketing manager of Cebu-based Green Earth Tours and Travel, said that even with the criticisms, MICE prospects are bullish as there are now more hotels and events venues not only in Manila but in up and coming destinations such as Cebu and Davao.
Indeed, one of the thrusts of new tourism secretary, Wanda Tulfo Teo, is to develop new tourist destinations and activities. Teo is also conferring with other government agencies to build and improve infrastructures including airports, roads and rail networks linking destinations all over the Philippines.
Another positive change is ICCA’s approval of the Philippines’ appeal to consolidate metro Manila as one geographical location instead of separating Manila from nearby cities like Pasay and Paranque.
A bigger geographical coverage for Manila enables the Philippines and the metro to improve their standing in ICCA’s country and city rankings.
Enerio sees 2016 as a good year for MICE due to a number of event wins by local organisations and associations. Also this year, Manila hosted the ASEAN Tourism Forum, Madrid Fusion for the second time, and the World Street Food Congress for the first time.
And the country isn’t just attracting solemn business events. The Cobra Energy Drink Ironman triathlon which Cebu has been hosting the past three years, is now an Asia Pacific Championship. Close to 3,000 athletes from 43 countries – the biggest triathlon event in the Philippines – came to race in August this year.
A bonus this year for the local MICE trade, Enerio said, is that TPB has become ISO certified after passing the auditing stages conducted by Certification International Philippines Inc, an affiliate of Swindon-based Certification International UK, covering the design, development and provision of Philippine tourism marketing and promotion services.
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There may be winds of change in the Philippine MICE sector, and the trade is waiting to see what plans new tourism secretary, Wanda Tulfo Teo, has for growing this industry. They want to know whether Teo, a seasoned travel agent, will maintain the status quo or implement new policies and direction.
The delicate political relationship between China and the Philippines, made even more tenuous by the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague rejecting China’s claims over the disputed islands in the South China Sea, has a bearing on MICE from China. As of press time, several chartered flights from China to Kalibo (Boracay) and Cebu – an indispensable lifeline for bringing in Chinese incentive groups – were cancelled, something that happened repeatedly in the past few years each time there is a geographical tussle between the two governments.
The private sector is reducing its dependence on the Tourism Promotions Board and becoming more proactive in bidding for international events. It is even spending its own resources to mount its own events like the Asia Premium Travel Mart as well as inbound, travel consumer and B2B travel shows.
