Economic impact of IEC in Cebu
A large majority of the Cebuanos, the international and national delegates, the media and all those aware of the holding of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City last January 25 to 31, would surely consider the event a great success. It achieved its religious purpose of enhancing the devotion to the Eucharist and the Holy Mass, and had succeeded in gathering more than 15,000 registered delegates, and having the attendance of hundreds of thousands of people in the procession and the culminating Mass.
The speakers were convincing, moving, and effective in the propagation of the faith. The hosting and the well-being of the delegates were adequately handled by the organizers, the local government, and the police.
Traffic was also manageable, even as it inconvenienced some people and areas, largely due to the cooperation and willingness to sacrifice of most Cebuanos for the duration of the event. In our post-event analysis of the traffic in CCTO, we have lessons learned that we can use in future large events that will be held in Cebu City. Moving almost a million people going home after the culminating mass, most of them walking due to the absence of mass transportation makes the Bus Rapid Transport and a Subway System imperative for Cebu City in the next eight years. In Milan, Italy EXPO held last October 2015, I observed that 70 percent of more than a million attendees in the last Sunday of the event went home via the Subway system.
The immediate economic impact of the IEC in Cebu can be realistically estimated. The organizers raised and spent slightly over P100 million. The expenditures of the 15,000 plus delegates at P1,000 a day for seven days would amount to P105 million. Then we have the local government and private sector in Cebu expenditures during the week of P50 million, and probably another P50 million spent after the Congress by the delegates that stayed over. These would total between P300 million to P350 million injected into the Cebu City economy in eleven days in January 2016.
Using the historical "velocity" of money in the Philippines and in many developing countries of 2.5 times, it means that P750 million to P900 million in additional purchasing power happened during the IEC in Cebu. This would add one fourth of one percent to the economy or Gross Regional Product of Cebu province in 2016. To the Philippine economy, which is now P14 trillion at current prices, it would have contributed .005 of one percent for 2016. Not really much in relation to the national economy but significant on the impact on the specific businesses, such as the hotels, restaurants, and stores that had their sales doubled or tripled during the week.
The IEC however has a long term and lingering economic impact that are not easily quantifiable but will contribute to the Cebu financially and economically. The IEC highlighted further Cebu in the tourism map nationally and internationally. The pleasant experiences and satisfaction of the delegates on the Congress itself and on Cebu, will translate into more tourists and visitors in the coming years: the mainstream and the social media coverage of the event extended beyond the week of the congress and to all the corners of the Catholic world. A five percent increase in the tourists arrivals in Cebu on top of the projected arrivals before the IEC, would be very possible in 2016 and 2017.
There is also the spiritual impact of the IEC on the Cebuanos and the Filipinos that we have to consider. A million people in the procession and in the culminating mass is a testament of the Cebuanos and the Filipinos religiosity. And this came after the Sinulog which also gathered almost a million people in the procession. It is a demonstration of the faith and prayerfulness of our people and the willingness to show and propagate this faith all over the world. As some of the speakers of the Congress have declared, the Filipinos in many places are the ones keeping the Catholic Churches full, by attending Masses in all the Catholic Churches all over the world.
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After my column on Cebu Country Club, I got even more comments and questions in person and in phone calls. I stepped out of an elevator and from a movie house and somebody wants to talk to me about it. In two meetings over coffee with another group, we finally agreed that a basic question that has to be answered by the management is, "Why are they trying to raise P800 million now when a Project Feasibility Study has not been presented to show the viability, profitability, and the beneficial effect of the project to the Club and the POC holders." Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?
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