Foreign MICE buyers bound for more fun in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign wholesale buyers of tour packages for the global meetings, incentive travel, conventions and events/exhibitions (MICE) sector are bound for “more fun in the Philippines” before, during and after their forthcoming event in Clark, Pampanga.

Right after arriving in Manila and Clark for the M.I.C.E. Conference (MICECON) 2014, the foreign buyers, numbering at least 50 from four continents, will have pre-event and site-orientation tours that will give them their own experiential definition of the country’s tourism brand statement “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

And soon after the June 4-7 MICECON 2014 in Clark, the buyers will head for their chosen destinations — any of the cities of Cebu and Davao or the El Nido island cluster at the northernmost tip of mainland Palawan.

The post-event tours, according to the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), will highlight the country’s superiority in having holiday destinations and fun activities to complement its MICE facilities in the many central business districts across the archipelago.

“Local MICE organizers, venue and transport owners, destination management firms, travel agents and tour operators are among the many beneficiaries of M.I.C.E. Mart,” said TPB chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III, citing the one-on-one sessions between the foreign buyers and suppliers, a one-day business exchange between both parties at MICECON 2014.

To date, 46 foreign buyers are coming from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, the United States and Vietnam, with another eight from local associations and top companies, according to MICECON 2014 convenor Stanie Soriano. 

Slated at the Fontana Convention Center in Clark, MICECON 2014 will feature speakers from the US, Australia and New Zealand, each giving an update on global market trends, appropriate marketing strategies and best practices, and all related developments.

Foreign speakers are Peter Gray of Motivating People, Australia; Megan Singleton of Travel Blogger At Large, New Zealand; and Theresa Breining of Breining Group Llc; Shawna Suckow of Senior Planners Industry Network; Brad Weaber of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau; Tracy Stuckrath of Thrive! Meetings and Events; Susan Sarfati of High Performance Strategies; Liz Jackson of Jackson Consulting Inc.; and Michael Chia of Guidebook, all from the US.

Speakers from the Philippines are Carelle Mangaliag of Transtation Inc. and Alma Jimenez of ASEAN Integration Program and Marketing Association of the Philippines.

They will present and discuss the evolution and revolution in the meetings industry, what’s in and what’s hot in incentive travel and motivational events, winning business in trade shows, reinventing a city for MICE, neuro linguistics programming, digital marketing, media strategies in crisis situation, search for a leader in difficult times, meeting planners and suppliers’ pet peeves, business prospects and implications of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 and what’s in store for Philippine tourism, and creating a positive mindset in the workplace.

This year’s event carries the theme “MICE in 4D — Driving Passions, Developing Minds, Defying Limits, Designing the Future.”

The official participating hotels in MICECON 2014 include Fontana Hot Spring and Leisure Park, Widus Hotel and Casino, Holiday Inn Clark, and Montevista Villas-Mimosa Golf and Country Club.

For inquiries on registration, contact the MICECON Secretariat of the Tourism Promotions Board’s MICE Department at +632 525-6635, 525-9318 to 27 local 256, fax at +632 521-6165, e-mail at connie_antolin@tpb.gov.ph miceregn2014@yahoo.com/ or tpb.specialevents@yahoo.com. For more information on the conference, visit the MICECON 2014 website at micecon.ph.               

MICECON 2014 is organized by DOT-TPB with CDC. Partner organizations are the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Exhibition/Events Philippines Inc. and the Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers. 

Conference partner is the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. Major sponsors are the Primer Group of Companies (C.O.R.E), Philippine Airlines, Manila North Tollways Corp., Clark International Airport Corp. and Team Asia.

Sponsors are the Duty Free Philippines Inc., Travelife, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Guidebook, Association of Tour and Travel Agencies in Pampanga, Hotels and Restaurants Association in Pampanga, City of San Fernando in Pampanga, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Clark Is It.Com, Oxford Business Group, Manila Hotel, Diamond Hotel Philippines, Resorts World Manila, Zoocobia Fun Zoo, Solaire Resort and Casino, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Department of Tourism’s Regions 7 and 11, Philippine International Convention Center, Manila Marriott Hotel, Fairmont Makati, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, Park Inn by Radisson Davao, Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island, Cebu, Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa, and Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort.