Northstar

31 MAR-APR 2020 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM M etro Manila, where the Philippines' sprawling convention centres and international brand hotels are heavily concentrated, has always been the country's favoured meetings and conventions site. As an option for large international conferences and gatherings, it relies on the scale of its infrastructure and, to a large extent, the charms of its onward destinations - mostly quaint coastal towns and white-sand islands surrounded by crystalline waters, an hour or so by plane. But the landscape has been changing of late. Mr Arnold Gonzales, acting deputy COO of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the Department of Tourism's (DOT) marketing and promotions arm, said, "More regions and destinations [in the Philippines] are now recognising the importance of MICE." Iloilo and Davao Thanks in part to recent DOT- and TPB- led regional MICE educational sessions, two destinations have been particularly aggressive and e!ective in ramping up their MICE e!orts: Iloilo, a coastal hub in the middle of the country, and Davao, in the southern island of Mindanao. Iloilo's rich heritage - made tangible via a gallery of well-preserved ancestral houses and several iconic dishes, such as La Paz batchoy, a clear-broth noodle soup - along with its new riverside infrastructure, have helped make it a popular domestic holiday destination. Now, its bullish business community and local government are aiming to draw the MICE crowd to the city. "The Iloilo MICE Alliance, consisting of the private sector and local government units of the city, Iloilo province, and Guimaras province, came up with attractive incentives for both convention planners and delegates," said Mr Gonzales. The alliance promotes venues such as the Iloilo Convention Center (ICON), the biggest MICE facility in the city, and the soon-to-come SMX Convention Center Iloilo, scheduled to open in 2021 and is expected to accommodate large groups of up to 4,000. The alliance also markets new mid-range business hotels such as The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, Seda Atria and Park Inn by Radisson, as complementary accommodations. Over in the south, Davao City is set to host, for the second time, the Philippine MICE Conference (MICECON) from September 28-30, 2020, the biggest gathering of 600 MICE players in the Philippines. The TPB describes MICECON's main mandate as "[providing] a platform to integrate and strengthen all sectors involved in the Philippine MICE industry into one cohesive, comprehensive educational program". The Philippines is going for a bigger slice of the MICE pie, with hotel openings, blossoming destinations outside Manila, and a slew of government-backed initiatives WORDS TARA SERING Catching more MICE "The Iloilo MICE Alliance, consisting of the private sector and local government units of the city, Iloilo province, and Guimaras province, came up with attractive incentives for both convention planners and delegates," – ARNOLD GONZALES, ACTING DEPUTY COO OF THE TOURISM PROMOTIONS BOARD (TPB), THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM'S (DOT) MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS ARM

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