Phl witnessing renaissance of MICE industry, says TPB official

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines — The MICE industry is back.

This, in a gist, was the clear message of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) when its chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III led government and industry leaders in opening the international conference on meetings, incentive travel, conventions and events/exhibitions (MICE) in this freeport zone.

“While we may have somehow temporarily lost our momentum in MICE, we are actually now witnessing a renaissance of the industry.  Thanks to the renewed efforts placed solidly behind tourism — and MICE — by the national government in partnership with the local government units and the private sector,” Enerio said.

He recalled that in the early 80s, the country’s convention industry was generating successes, with international associations ranking the nation number eight in the world and number one in Asia.

But somewhere between then and recent years, there had been a lull until just recently when the industry saw the mushrooming of various tourism infrastructure and facilities that practically sparked and marked the resurgence of MICE.

Both the government and the business sector which funded such developments must have seen it coming, with MICE consistently accounting for a big chunk of the tourism market.

“The MICE market as we commonly know it, has shown significant growth and has, for the past years, become an ever-so important sector of the tourism industry,” Enerio said.

Citing data from the World Travel Monitor, Enerio said MICE accounted for 54 percent of the total worldwide business market in the first eight months of 2013 alone.

“Furthermore, Southeast Asia has become one of the most sought-after areas for MICE, with the World Tourism Organization reporting the region’s growth in the past year to have increased by 12 percent,” Enerio said, again pointing to MICE as one of the major segments of tourism and growing and maturing at a highly rapid rate.

Thus, the Philippines cannot and should not be left any further behind. Citing one example after another, Enerio said, “Just last month the country hosted the World Economic Forum on East Asia, with participation numbering to as many as 700 international delegates, described by some journalists to be ‘a veritable rolodex of must-meet people for business and networking.’ 

“And in 2015, the Philippines proudly plays host to APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), a yearlong calendar of top-level meetings, another series of events that will surely make the Philippines more visible in the worldwide radar.”

Enerio also announced that more and more international and regional events would be hosted in the Philippines such that the challenges over the years only proved to have brought the country to its present capability and competency in MICE.

Enerio further hinted at continued visitor arrivals, saying 2015 as “Visit the Philippines Year” would turn out a colorful MICE calendar showcasing the musicality, creativity and fun nature of the Filipinos.

For his part, Arthur Tugade, president and chief executive officer of the Clark Development Corp., TPB’s co-organizer of MICECON 2014, affirmed the country’s type of MICE as a rare blend of business and pleasure.

“(MICE in Clark is) like a package cart. In seven to 10 minutes, you can reach your (leisure) destination. Outside Clark, it’s 30 minutes or so and you can be in the beach, Mt. Pinatubo, Basilica, etc. And everywhere you go, you have people ready to smile and open their arms to welcome you,” Tugade said in welcoming the MICECON 2014 delegates and in apparently inviting them to come back.