Davao City is poised to become a major hub for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) destination in the Philippines. In fact, more national conferences and seminars are now held in the city almost every week.
To encourage more conventions to be held in Davao City, the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) along with the private sector are considering revisiting the incentives program for MICE organizers.
“Kasi what we want to do is encourage more conventions to be held here in Davao especially yung big ones. Also yung mga liligawan natin para ma-hold dito sa Davao at mabigyan natin ng incentives para ganahan sila dito,” said Generose Tecson, CTOO officer-in-charge, in an interview.
Tecson said incentives for those holding conventions in Davao City are different from the incentives that they are offering to those they are inviting to come to Davao.
“Marami ng nagtatanong about holding their events here that is why minamadali namin yung incentives natin kasi iba yung incentives na binibigay natin sa conventions to be held here. Iba din yung ibibigay natin doon sa nililigawan natin para pumunta sa Davao,” she said.
Tecson said they are still fine tuning the incentive program and that Councilor Myrna Ortiz also sponsored the bill in the Sangguniang Panlungsod of establishing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the local government of Davao and the Davao MICE Execom Inc. for them to be able to work better.
“Meron kasi yan parang several sets like if you have 500 to 1000 people we may offer them aside from airport welcome maybe with performers.
There’s also other things like leis for the VIPs and syempre for the more than 1,000 may mga dagdag na incentives and the same thing to 3,000 and up. Even the private sectors are thinking kung ano ang maibigay nila. Like SMX Convention Center will give big discounts and even the hotels,” she said.
Since Davao City will be the host of most of the conventions, Tecson said tourism stakeholders want to encourage people to go around the region and do their pre and post tours especially in Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental to create a synergy of ‘One Davao.’
MICE Con 2020
Tecson also shared that they already had their first meeting for the upcoming holding of MICE Con 2020 in October in Davao City.
“So far so good. We have the support of the private sector and I think that is what going to get us through this because the promise natin we can do it better,” Tecson said.
The MICE Con committee motto is “We Can Do It Again Better.”
“Because we have more accommodations and more convention facilities right now and what we want to show them is yung difference ng Davao as a destination compared to other places. We have the culture here its a potpourri of different cultures which is absent in other places, at the same time its the creativity of Dabawenyos to make things happen,” she added.
The MICE Con committee is comprised of the city government of Davao and the private sector.
