Cebu hotels upbeat on MICE bookings

CEBU, Philippines - As Cebu’s hosting of the APEC meetings is about to end, the accommodation sector’s high occupancy rate, however, is far from over as major hotels are now booked for more MICE events for the rest of the year.

While the APEC Summit is the last international event to be hosted by Cebu this year, Hotel, Resorts, and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Julie Najar said more MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibits) will be held in the city in the next few months.

"There are still smaller national conventions scheduled before the year ends, and Cebu is the choice destination," Najar said.

Cebu's hosting of the APEC Summit, which gathered close to 3,000 delegates from all over Asia Pacific, not only poured in immediate revenue boost to the province, but also elevated Cebu's positioning as preferred MICE destination, said tourism advocate Robert Lim Joseph.

Joseph said that the different expansion moves like service and upgrading of amenities, including training programs for hotel personnel, are just few of the factors that brought Cebu a couple of steps higher in terms of attracting local and global MICE events.

This long term effect that Cebu could expect after hosting some of the APEC meetings, will not only put Cebu in the global MICE spotlight, it will also heighten awareness of some international investors to see the potential of Cebu.

"APEC delegates are businessmen too. Some of them are tourism investors," said Joseph stressing that everyone should collaborate in making the event "seamless" as this is one of the crucial events that will make or break Cebu's positioning as preferred MICE destination.

On the other hand, Najar, reiterated her call that Cebu should immediately have bigger convention facilities.

Although, hotels and even resorts are investing on expanding the accommodation of their respective ballrooms and convention facilities, a bigger convention facility is needed, especially that Cebu is capitalizing on bigger MICE events globally, said Najar.

"We do not have [right] venue or facility for bigger conventions and events yet. CICC has to be renovated and expanded to fit the requirement of MICE market. It has to have additional amenities for back-end operations like kitchen, etc.," said Najar in an interview.

Last year, major hotels in Cebu reported an all-time-high performance owing to the strengthening of Cebu's positioning as preferred destination for MICE events. — Ehda M. Dagooc (FREEMAN)