The ASEAN-Korea Centre will host a tourism capacity building workshop together with the Philippine Department of Tourism with the theme ‘Branding Davao as a Competitive MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) Destination’ at the Marco Polo Hotel on January 9, 2017.
Aside from strengthening the competitiveness of the MICE industry of Davao, the workshop also aims to support the development of the Philippine tourism industry, especially in helping provide quality MICE services to Korean travelers.
Davao City is one of the top three MICE destination of the Philippines and one of the top five tourism destinations along with Cebu, Boracay, Bohol, and Palawan.
In a press statement, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre Kim Young-sun noted, “MICE industry was identified by the Philippine Department of Tourism as one of the nine priority tourism products under the National Tourism Development Plan.
As the Philippines assumes ASEAN chairmanship this year and host numerous international meetings, conventions and exhibitions including the ASEAN Summit, which will open even more opportunities to expand its presence in MICE industry, the secretary general expressed his hopes that the workshop will make great contributions to strengthening the capacities of the professionals of Davao’s MICE industry professionals as well as promoting Davao to the Korean people.
According to the ASEAN-Korea Centre, on the day before the Workshop, Korean MICE/tourism experts will conduct on-site consultation, during which they will share ideas with stakeholders of incentive tour destinations in the region.
In addition, roundtable discussion with policy makers and professionals in the Davao tourism industry will be held, where they will exchange views and explore joint collaborations between the two countries.
At the workshop on January 9, tourism experts will deliver lectures to share Korea’s experiences in becoming a competitive MICE destination and in conductive effective online marketing to approximately 100 MICE professionals from both private and public sectors.
Also, participants will be able to gain information on the characteristics and needs of Korean tourists and their changing trends through lectures.
Koreans are the number one visitors to the Philippines, accounting for more than 25 percent of the total number of tourists in 2015.
In Davao City, Koreans stand as the 3rd largest tourists group after the United States and Japan, recording 8,658 in 2015.
With the growing number of Korean tourists joining MICE programs in the Philippines, the ASEAN-Korea Centre expects that the workshop will contribute not only to development of MICE industry of the region but also to quality of tourism products that Korean travelers could enjoy in Davao City.
