Business sector beefs up marketing efforts

CEBU, Philippines - The business sector in Cebu is beefing up marketing efforts to cushion the probable negative impact brought about by the peace and order concerns in the region.

"I believe the best way to deal with the situation is to increase our marketing efforts to promote Cebu and the region," said Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Melanie C. Ng.

Although there is no apparent bump in the business movement in Cebu and the rest of the region due to the highly publicized terrorism attack in Bohol, Ng said the private sector is making sure that the players are ready to deal with whatever negative impression the incident may have caused.

"In our observation, it's business as usual in Cebu. There has been no seeming negative impact on trade and investment activities with regards to the travel advisory or incident that happened in Bohol," said Ng adding that the chamber is encouraging the business community to increase security monitoring and to be more vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the proper authorities.

Major tourism markets and trade partners like United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, and recently South Korea have already released travel warnings against traveling specifically to Bohol and Cebu in the Visayas. This gesture is also believed to influence impressions of investors in considering the region as expansion sites.

"We cannot let what happened affect us or let it affect the way we do business nor affect our efforts to promote Cebu. Leading towards Cebu Business Month 2017, we will make sure more efforts will be given to highlight Cebu business opportunities," added Ng.

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president Glenn Soco, on the other hand, maintained positive belief on the economic stability of the region amid the threats of terrorism and kidnappings.

"These developments concerning our peace and order are isolated incidents. There is momentum in our growth as the economy is regarded as the best performing economy in Asia," Soco said.

This particular concern of peace and order fragility in the region is not seen to affect its attractiveness to investors in the long shot.

"Investors would still look at basic economic fundamentals, economic policies and political stability as their main basis for investing in our country" concluded Soco. (FREEMAN)