Cebu ‘has no unique offering’ to the world

CEBU, Philippines — Despite Cebu’s success in tourism, the province has yet to identify its own unique selling factor for strong branding recall.

Business leader Stanley Go made this pronouncement following his participation at the recently concluded 2019 Gulfood event, the largest annual food, beverage and hospitality exhibition in Dubai.

Go, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said he noticed that many of the participating countries during the expo showcased their own distinct products to offer to the world market.

But Cebu, he realized, has no identifying factor, an offering that would truly stand out.

While Cebu has dried mangoes, the same cannot be claimed unique to the province, as other countries are also producing similar products.

“I think we need to reassess, look for that unique selling point that we could develop,” Go suggested.

Likewise, Janet Tan-Collis, president of Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organizers & Suppliers (SACEOS) said Cebu needs to develop its own appeal and avoid being a “copy-cat.”

In her recent visit to Cebu, Collis underscored the huge potential of Cebu to lure more leisure tourists and even attract big MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) events, if it were to develop a good branding strategy capitalizing Cebu’s charm as an “all-in-one” destination.

Collis believes that Cebu could make it big in tourism, especially in MICE market, saying, “You already have the diamonds, make them shine.”

Clearly, she said, Philippines or Cebu need not to look from outside to make more revenues in tourism, because it already has everything it needs. — JMD