Korean experts headed by ASEAN-Korea Center (AKC) Secretary General Kim Young-sun pointed out that for Davao City to become competitive as a destination, it needed more qualified hotels and improved drainage, among other things.
The AKC official ‘much yet needs to be done or improved’ for Davao City to become a competitive MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination.
In an interview during the Tourism Capacity Building Workshop in Marco Polo Hotel on Monday sponsored by AKC in partnership with Philippine Department of Tourism, the AKC Secretary General said he also noticed during his tour of the city that drainage system in “one of the slum areas” in the city was not functioning.
Professor Lee Seul Ki of Sejong University who was one of the speakers stated the need of the city to have a ‘critical mass’ of qualified hotels to cater to a bigger wave of MICE delegates.
In a study conducted by Sejong University, Davao City’s “online presence” in terms of hotels advertised is the lowest number with 52 compared to Manila (110), Boracay (146) and Cebu (86).
He explained, MICE delegates are very particular in the infrastructure of an area since they are ensuring their safety and security.
Meanwhile, Lee commended the low cost of transportation in Davao City and the Philippines as a whole stating that compared to other ASEAN countries, Philippines account for the second lowest spending cost on transportation after Japan.
He also noted that the spending on accommodation, food, and shopping is “not very high” compared to Vietnam which has “a significantly higher mean transportation expenditure”.
Lee further suggests that since Korean travelers rely more and more on smartphones, improvement of wireless broadband access is crucial.
For MICE group package and incentives, aside from accessibility and infrastructure, AKC also emphasized the importance of having a guided program for pre-and post-conference events, special and customized events for incentive groups, and dining options and catering.
“You need to diversify your package tours,” stressed Lee who added that there must be separate package tour for each of the category namely family trips, honeymooners, sports tourists, students and MICE groups.
