Business and association events are on the rise for the Philippines, but not all cities in the country are getting a piece of the action
The Philippines is enjoying a new resurgence in business and association events this year, thanks to the combined effects of good economic performance, improved governance and increasing awareness about the destination.
Even as the local economy continues to be one of Asia’s fastest growing, the World Economic Forum hosted by Manila this year, the APEC Summit 2015 and the visit of Pope Francis in January next year “had brought much awareness and exposure for the Philippines as an alternative destination to the oft-visited neighbouring Asian countries”, said Dexter Deyto, vice president and general manager of SMX Convention Specialist Corp.
“A growing number of international exhibition companies have started launching specialised tradeshows in Manila. Due to the migration of events from other continents to Asia, the Philippines…has been included in the destination search”, Deyto explained.
The business and association event boom is expected to last for several years as the Department of Tourism (DoT) is aggressively bidding to host a number of international events from Europe and North America, in line with the Visit Philippines Year 2015.
The travel trade agrees that the country is likely to exceed its performance in 2013 when the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranked it 13th in Asia-Pacific and Middle East for hosting 53 international meetings. In terms of city rankings, Manila takes 18th spot with 28 meetings.
The business growth is commendable especially as this sector does not enjoy cash subvention unlike other destinations. What it lacks in cash is compensated for by a more aggressive private sector in bidding for international events, creating their own international events and the emergence of new associations with international affiliations.
“The local associations…are highly regarded in the international community so (we want them) and their executives to be the magnet to pull in (association events),” said Jose Domingo Enerio III, CEO of Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).
PCO Ex-Link Events Management responded by creating its own International Beauty, Health and Wellness Expo, now on its second year, with participants from Asia. The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) won the bid to host the 17th Asia Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition next year.
Enerio said TPB is focusing more on promoting business and association events in the Philippines. It is understood that TPB will also launch a new Philippine MICE Manual as part of the effort to tap more of this high-yield sector.
The majority of association meetings and events are held in Manila as it is the most developed in terms of having the largest convention centres in the country, the most number of quality hotels, and the highest number of direct flights from other countries.
While the city wrestles with the issue of inadequate airport and road infrastructure, new hotels and venues cropping up in the Manila Bay area, Makati CBD, Bonifacio Global City, Ortigas and to as far as Quezon City help ease the shortage during the high business event season of September to December.
Unfortunately, accessibility and connectivity is a big challenge for other Philippine destinations desiring a slice of the market. Example, while Davao has already the SMX Convention Centre, which is the biggest privately owned venue outside Manila, it still has a long way to go in attracting more foreign events as it has only one direct regional flight – Singapore to Davao via SilkAir.
“Davao City is overshadowed by the popularity of Boracay, Cebu and Manila” which have more direct flights, said Kennedy Kapulong, hotel manager, Seda Abreeza Davao.
Davao is also hobbled by a misperception that it is unsafe, owing to its location in Mindanao, said Annie Lopez, assistant director of sales, Park Inn by Radisson, although this is already being addressed by the DoT by working closely with local government units.
Cebu, on the other hand, lacks a big convention centre so destination promotion is focused on attracting incentive groups and delegates on pre- and post-conference tours.
Boracay reaps the benefit of better accessibility with the ongoing upgrade of the Caticlan airport and more direct flights from abroad via Cebu Pacific and AirAsia.
“Business event travellers from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur now reach Boracay via Kalibo gateway,” said Amit Oberoi, general manager of Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa.
“We are also optimistic about Cebu Pacific’s direct flights from Australia (to Manila), in addition to the existing routes and frequencies of Philippine Airlines and Qantas,” said Oberoi.
Patty Escobal, tours manager in charge of business events at Travel People, said a perennial problem is the high hotel rates in the Philippines, many times even higher than their counterparts in Thailand – and even in Hong Kong.
High airfare is also an issue considering that there are fewer direct flights from abroad and many island destinations are reachable by plane.
